Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 30, Administration, Subchapter A, State Board of Education: General Provisions, §30.1, Petition for Adoption of Rule Changes
(Second Reading and Final Adoption)

April 21, 2017

COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION

SUMMARY: This item presents for second reading and final adoption a proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 30, Administration, Subchapter A, State Board of Education: General Provisions, §30.1, Petition for Adoption of Rule Changes. The proposed amendment would update the petition form adopted in rule to require the petitioner to indicate that the petitioner meets one of the four definitions of an interested person specified in statute and add language to specify the reasons the State Board of Education (SBOE) may deny a petition for rulemaking. No changes are recommended since approved for first reading.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Government Code, §2001.021.

Texas Government Code, §2001.021, authorizes a state agency to prescribe by rule the form for a petition and the procedure for the submission, consideration, and disposition.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §30.1 would be 20 days after filing as adopted with the Texas Register. Under the Texas Education Code, §7.102(f), the SBOE must approve the rule action at second reading and final adoption by a vote of two-thirds of its members to specify an effective date earlier than the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. The earlier effective date would ensure that the petition form adopted in rule aligns with statute in a timely manner.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted 19 TAC Chapter 30, Subchapter A, effective December 5, 2004. Section 30.1 was amended effective April 26, 2009. The SBOE approved the amendment to 19 TAC §30.1 for first reading and filing authorization at the January/February 2017 meeting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Texas Government Code, §2001.021, requires that procedures to petition for the adoption of rule changes be adopted by rule. To comply with statute, the SBOE adopted 19 TAC §30.1 effective December 5, 2004. Effective April 26, 2009, the section was amended to adopt in rule as a figure the form used to petition for the adoption of rule changes to ensure compliance with statute and increase public awareness.

House Bill 763, 84th Texas Legislature, 2015, amended the Texas Government Code, §2001.021, to define the term interested person for the purposes of petitioning a rule change. The statute states that an interested person must be one of the following: a resident of Texas, a business entity located in Texas, a governmental subdivision located in Texas, or a public or private organization located in Texas that is not a state agency. The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §30.1 would update Figure: 19 TAC §30.1(a) to require the petitioner to indicate that the petitioner meets one of the four definitions of an interested person specified in statute.
 
In addition, in order to facilitate public awareness of the petition process, the proposed amendment would add a new subsection (d) that would specify the reasons the SBOE may deny a petition for rulemaking. The reasons would include lack of jurisdiction or authority; conflict with statute, court decisions, or another SBOE rule; determination that another process would be more appropriate than rulemaking; inappropriate use of the petition process if filing a petition within one year of having the petition denied or to amend a rule proposed or adopted by the SBOE that has not yet become effective; or any other reason the SBOE determines is grounds for denial.

No changes are recommended since approved for first reading.

FISCAL IMPACT: The Texas Education Agency has determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed amendment. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required. There is no effect on local economy for the first five years that the proposed amendment is in effect; therefore, no local employment impact statement is required under Texas Government Code, §2001.022.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §30.1 would align the rule with statute by including the four definitions of interested person in the petition form and facilitate public notice of the reasons the SBOE may deny a petition for rulemaking.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendment would require a petitioner to indicate which of the four definitions of interested person the petitioner meets.

LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed amendment would have no locally maintained paperwork requirements.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Following the January/February 2017 SBOE meeting, notice of the proposed amendment was filed with the Texas Register, initiating the official public comment period. No public comments had been received at the time this item was prepared. Any public comments received and corresponding agency responses regarding the proposal will be provided to the SBOE during the April 2017 meeting.

ALTERNATIVES: None.

OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.

MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:

By an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the board, approve for second reading and final adoption the proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 30, Administration, Subchapter A, State Board of Education: General Provisions, §30.1, Petition for Adoption of Rule Changes, with an effective date of 20 days after filing as adopted with the Texas Register.

Staff Member Responsible:
Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez, Director
Rulemaking
 
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citation (PDF, 14KB)
II. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 30, Administration, Subchapter A, State Board of Education: General Provisions, §30.1, Petition for Adoption of Rule Changes (including Figure: 19 TAC §30.1(a)) (PDF, 35KB)