Monitoring the Session

HB 3249

Darby’s bill on sending contested case issues to TCEQ

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Drew DarbyRHouse 72

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to rules providing for certification of issues to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in contested cases referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings by the commission.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Changes joint rules for kicking issues up from a hearing judge.

The bill changes the joint rules that the State Office of Administrative Hearings and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must adopt for sending issues from a hearing judge up to the commission. It adds a requirement that any dispute raised by a party over the scope of discovery in an environmental permit contested case must be promptly sent by the judge to the commission itself. This touches permit applicants, protesting parties, and judges in contested environmental cases, and it moves discovery fights out of the judge's hands and to the commission.

Labels

Labels: STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the House Environmental Regulation committee 5-0 on Apr 17, 2025. Never placed on a calendar. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB3249 · 2025-02-24

SOLD BY

Rep. Drew DarbyRHouse 72

ITEM

relating to rules providing for certification of issues to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in contested cases referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings by the commission.

WHAT IT DOES

Changes joint rules for kicking issues up from a hearing judge.

The bill changes the joint rules that the State Office of Administrative Hearings and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must adopt for sending issues from a hearing judge up to the commission. It adds a requirement that any dispute raised by a party over the scope of discovery in an environmental permit contested case must be promptly sent by the judge to the commission itself. This touches permit applicants, protesting parties, and judges in contested environmental cases, and it moves discovery fights out of the judge's hands and to the commission.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 1, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Environmental Regulation
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in public hearing
  9. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  10. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  11. Committee report distributed
  12. Committee report sent to Calendars
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Drew Darby

Donors

Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC$50KGideon Powell$30,000Dustin Burrows Campaign$28K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Jul 9, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC$50,000.00

Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC

$50,000.00

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$50,000.00

Also funds 44 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jun 24, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 25, 2025 to Oct 8, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101007659, 101072052.

Gideon Powell$30,000.00
Dustin Burrows Campaign$27,600.00

Dustin Burrows Campaign

$27,600.00

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$27,600.00
Total
$27,600.00
polling $27,600.00

Also funds 39 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Sep 13, 2025 to Sep 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Aug 5, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101068080.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC

$50,000.00

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$50,000.00

Also funds 44 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jun 24, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 25, 2025 to Oct 8, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101007659, 101072052.

×

Dustin Burrows Campaign

$27,600.00

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$27,600.00
Total
$27,600.00
polling $27,600.00

Also funds 39 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Sep 13, 2025 to Sep 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Aug 5, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101068080.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Witnesses8
For
6
Against
0
On
2
Names

For

  • Dow1 registration
  • Republic Services1 registration
  • Texas Association of Manufacturers1 registration
  • Texas Chemistry Council1 registration
  • Waste Connections, Inc.1 registration
  • Waste Management of TX, inc1 registration

On

  • SOAH1 registration
  • TCEQ1 registration
Sources

8 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 1, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Feb 24, 2025

04/28/2025 H Committee report sent to Calendars

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Environmental Regulation · Committee vote 5 aye, 0 nay, 4 absent · Out of committee

Companion

SB 2203 by Birdwell (identical)

Subjects

Environment--General

State Agencies, Boards & Commissions--Admin. Procedure

ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS, STATE OFFICE OF

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, TEXAS COMMISSION ON

Text

The text as introduced · 242 words

89R14204 JRR-F

By: Darby
H.B. No. 3249

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to rules providing for certification of issues to the

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in contested cases

referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings by the

commission.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 2003.047(i), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(i) The office and the commission jointly shall adopt rules

providing for certification to the commission of an issue that

involves an ultimate finding of compliance with or satisfaction of

a statutory standard the determination of which is committed to the

discretion or judgment of the commission by law. Each agency shall

publish the jointly adopted rules. The rules must :

(1) address, at a minimum, the issues that are

appropriate for certification and the procedure to be used in

certifying the issue ; and

(2) provide that any issue raised by a party relating

to the scope of discovery under Subsection (g) shall be promptly

certified by the administrative law judge to the commission . [ Each

agency shall publish the jointly adopted rules. ]

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.