| (a) Any interested person or agency may petition the
commission requesting adoption of a rule. Petitions shall be in writing,
should be filed with the general counsel, and shall comply with the
following requirements.
(1) Each petition must state the name and address of
the petitioner.
(2) Each petition shall include:
(A) a brief explanation of the proposed rule;
(B) the text of the proposed rule prepared in a manner
to indicate the words to be added or deleted from the current text,
if any;
(C) a statement of the statutory or other authority
under which the rule is proposed to be promulgated; and
(D) a justification for adoption of the rule.
(3) For the purposes of this section, an interested
person must be:
(A) a resident of this state;
(B) a business entity located in this state;
(C) a governmental subdivision located in this state;
or
(D) a public or private organization located in this
state that is not a state agency.
(b) The general counsel or the general counsel's designee
shall review all petitions for compliance with this section. The petitioner
shall have the right to file a corrected petition which complies with
the requirements of this section.
(c) Upon receipt of a petition which complies with
the requirements of this section, the general counsel or the general
counsel's designee will consult with the persons in the commission
who are responsible for the area with which the rule is concerned
to evaluate the merits of the proposal. Not later than the 60th day
after the date of receipt of a petition, the general counsel or the
general counsel's designee shall present the petition to the commission
with a recommendation on whether a rulemaking proceeding should be
initiated.
(d) The commission shall deny the petition or initiate
rulemaking proceedings in accordance with the Administrative Procedure
Act (APA) and these rules. The commission may modify any proposed
rule to ensure that it conforms to the format of commission rules,
adequately addresses the perceived problem or other subject matter,
and conforms to the filing requirements of the Texas
Register.
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