(a) Issuance of permit. The commission shall review the permit application submitted pursuant to §26.13 of this title (relating to Application for Archeological Permits) and may issue the permit, issue the permit with special conditions, request additional information for review, request a revised scope of work or research design, or deny the permit application.
  (1) Review by commission staff. Within 30 days of the receipt of a permit application, staff shall notify the applicant in writing that the permit application is complete and accepted for filing or that the permit application is incomplete and specify the additional information required for review. The commission will also issue or deny the permit within 30 days. Investigations may commence upon receipt of notification of the assignment of a permit number, and a copy of the permit will be sent to all signatories to the permit application.
  (2) Review by the Antiquities Advisory Board. The executive director may choose to submit the permit application to the Antiquities Advisory Board for its consideration. Permits that are denied by commission staff may be appealed by the applicant to the Antiquities Advisory Board. The board shall review such applications at its next scheduled meeting, provided it shall have a minimum of 15 days to prepare for such review. Recommendations of the board shall be taken to the next scheduled meeting of the commission by the chair of the board or by one of the other commissioners who serve on the board for action thereon.
  (3) The deadlines in this section may be extended for good cause. In the event a deadline is extended, the commission shall provide notice of the extension and the good cause to the applicant in writing. The applicant may complain directly to the executive director if the staff exceeds the established period for processing permits and may request a timely resolution of any dispute arising from the delay.
  (4) Failure to respond. If no response has been made by the commission within 30 days of receipt of any permit application, the permit shall be considered to be granted.
(b) Review by controlling entities. It is the responsibility of the permit applicant to obtain all necessary permissions and signatures prior to submitting an archeological permit application.
(c) Special requirements. When a permit is issued, it will contain all special requirements governing that particular investigation; it must be signed by the director of the Archeology Division of the commission or his or her designated representative.
(d) Permit period. No permit will be issued for less than one year nor more than ten years, but a permit may be issued for any length of time as deemed necessary by the commission in consultation with the principal investigator.
(e) Transferal of permits. No permit issued by the commission will be assigned by the permittee in whole or in part to any other institution, museum, corporation, organization, or individual without acknowledgement of the original permittee and the consent of the commission. If the investigative firm cannot obtain acknowledgement of the transfer from the original permit holder, documentation of the firm's efforts must be submitted together with the transfer application form.
(f) State site survey forms. TexSite electronic forms for all sites recorded as a result of activities undertaken through an Antiquities Permit will be completed and submitted to the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas in Austin, upon the completion of field work.
(g) Permit expiration date. The expiration date shall be specified in each permit and is the date by which all terms and conditions must be completed for that permit. It is the responsibility of the permittee, sponsor, investigative firm, and principal investigator to meet any and all permit submission terms and conditions prior to the expiration date listed on the permit.
  (1) Expiration date notification. Principal investigators will be notified 60 days in advance of permit expiration date.
  (2) Expiration date extension. A principal investigator must complete and submit a First Extension Application Form to the commission if he or she desires an extension of the final due date for the completion of an Antiquities Permit that was issued to him or her. The Archeology Division (AD) of the commission will review the submitted Permit Extension Form, determine whether an extension is warranted, and extend the permit expiration date once for no less than one year and no more than ten years as deemed appropriate. In addition, and upon review and recommendation by the Antiquities Advisory Board, the commission may, by a majority vote of its members, approve or disapprove an additional extension of the expiration date of an Antiquities Permit beyond the single extension that the AD staff of the commission is authorized to issue under subsection (c) of this section and this paragraph, provided that the following conditions are met:
    (A) the principal investigator (PI), and/or the investigative firm listed under an Antiquities Permit, must complete and submit a Second Extension Application Form to the commission, and give an oral presentation before the Antiquities Advisory Board justifying why a second permit expiration-date extension is warranted; and
    (B) the justification for the second extension must show that the extension is needed due to circumstances beyond the control of the PI. Examples include, but are not limited to: funding problems, death of the PI, and artifact curation problems.
(h) Expiration responsibilities. Investigative firms must ensure that a principal investigator is assigned to a permit at all times, regardless of whether the permit is active or has expired. Both the principal investigator and investigative firm should ensure that a new principal investigator is assigned to the permit if, for any reason, the original principal investigator must leave the project. The assignment of a new principal investigator must be approved by the commission.
(i) Permit amendments. Proposed changes in the terms and conditions of the permit must be approved by the commission.
(j) Permit cancellation. The commission may cancel an Antiquities Permit if one or more of the following events occur:
  (1) death or withdrawal of the principal investigator without a new principal investigator being named and approved by the commission;
  (2) cancellation of the project by the sponsor or permittee prior to the completion of the archeological field investigations;
  (3) violation of §26.18 of this title (relating to Compliance with Rules for Archeological Permits); and/or
  (4) destruction of the permit area or associated cultural resources due to natural causes, prior to the substantive completion of the field investigations being performed under the permit.
(k) Permit censuring. The commission may censure a principal investigator and/or investigative firm under the following conditions:
  (1) if it is found that two or more permit application offenses have occurred in one calendar year. Permit censuring will render a principal investigator and investigative firm ineligible for issuance of another permit for six months after a finding by the board that two or more permit application offenses have occurred in a one-year period; or
  (2) if an investigative firm does not assign a new principal investigator to a permitted investigation within one month of the departure from the firm by the principal investigator assigned to the permit. Permit censuring will render the investigative firm ineligible for issuance of another permit until a new principal investigator is assigned to the applicable permits.

Source Note: The provisions of this §26.14 adopted to be effective May 20, 2013, 38 TexReg 2980; amended to be effective February 29, 2016, 41 TexReg 1440; amended to be effective December 31, 2017, 42 TexReg 7383; amended to be effective March 6, 2022, 47 TexReg 908