Texas Water Code - Section 5.228. Appearances At Hearings
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§ 5.228. APPEARANCES AT HEARINGS. (a) The position of
and information developed by the commission shall be presented by
the executive director or his designated representative at hearings
of the commission and the hearings held by federal, state, and local
agencies on matters affecting the public's interest in the state's
environment and natural resources, including matters that have been
determined to be policies of the state.
(b) The executive director shall be named a party in
hearings before the commission in a matter in which the executive
director bears the burden of proof.
(c) The executive director may participate as a party in
contested case permit hearings before the commission or the State
Office of Administrative Hearings for the sole purpose of providing
information to complete the administrative record. The commission
by rule shall specify the factors the executive director must
consider in determining, case by case, whether to participate as a
party in a contested case permit hearing. In developing the rules
under this subsection the commission shall consider, among other
factors:
(1) the technical, legal, and financial capacity of
the parties to the proceeding;
(2) whether the parties to the proceeding have
participated in a previous contested case hearing;
(3) the complexity of the issues presented; and
(4) the available resources of commission staff.
(d) In a contested case hearing relating to a permit
application, the executive director or the executive director's
designated representative may not rehabilitate the testimony of a
witness unless the witness is a commission employee testifying for
the sole purpose of providing information to complete the
administrative record.
(e) The executive director or the executive director's
designated representative may not assist a permit applicant in
meeting its burden of proof in a hearing before the commission or
the State Office of Administrative Hearings unless the permit
applicant fits a category of permit applicant that the commission
by rule has designated as eligible to receive assistance. The
commission shall adopt rules establishing categories of permit
applicants eligible to receive assistance.
(f) The fact that the executive director is not named as a
party in a hearing before the commission is not grounds for
appealing a commission decision.
Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 795, § 1.001, eff. Sept. 1,
1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 3, § 1.018, eff. Aug.
12, 1991; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 965, § 1.20, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Section: 5.222 5.223 5.224 5.225 5.226 5.227 5.2275 5.228 5.229 5.2291 5.230 5.231 5.232 5.233 5.234
Last modified: August 10, 2007
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