(a) If qualified voters in counties or parts of counties included in the target area or operational area petition for and cause an election or elections to be held in accordance with Agriculture Code Chapter 301, Subchapter D, the Department must evaluate the results of the election or elections, as certified and filed by the respective county commissioners court in accordance with Agriculture Code Chapter 301, Subchapter D before issuing the permit. (b) If, as a result of the election or elections, certain areas are excluded from the coverage of the permit as applied for, the Department must determine if the proposed operation is still feasible for those areas in which no election was requested and in those areas in which the voters gave their approval. The Department may conduct a public meeting for the sole purpose of determining the feasibility of the proposed operation. (c) The Department shall not issue the permit if a majority of the qualified voters voting in the election precincts, which are wholly or partially within the target area, vote in opposition to the issuance of the permit. (d) The Department may issue the permit if a majority of the qualified voters voting in the election precincts that are wholly or partially within the target area vote in favor of the issuance of the permit. However, the permit must exclude any precinct in which the majority of qualified voters voted in opposition to the issuance of the permit if that precinct is wholly within the target area and contiguous with its outer boundary or is wholly or partially within the operational area. (e) No permit can be issued covering any county or part of a county previously excluded from the coverage of a permit by virtue of an election for at least two years from the date of the election, and then, only if a subsequent election is held at which the majority of voters vote to approve the permit. |
Source Note: The provisions of this §79.62 adopted to be effective December 30, 2001, 26 TexReg 10525; amended to be effective August 14, 2002, 27 TexReg 7104; amended to be effective July 13, 2004, 29 TexReg 6641 |