(a) An administratively complete petition shall be referred to the appropriate agency personnel for review and recommended action.
(b) Within 15 days of receiving a petition, agency personnel shall make a recommendation to the executive director to either deny the petition or initiate rulemaking, and shall include reasons for the recommendation.
(c) The executive director shall forward to each member of the commission a copy of the petition and the staff recommendation.
(d) If the staff recommendation is to initiate rulemaking, the executive director shall place the petition on the agenda of a commission meeting and notify the petitioner in writing of the date, time, and place of the commission meeting at which the petition will be deliberated.
(e) If the staff recommendation is to deny the rulemaking and, by the 50th day following the submission of the petition, no member of the commission has determined that further deliberations are warranted, the petition will be considered denied. The department shall notify the petitioner in writing of the staff recommendation and final disposition of the petition by no later than the 60th day after submission of the petition.
(f) In the event that rulemaking is to be initiated as a result of a petition involving any portion of Chapter 65, Subchapter A of this title (relating to Statewide Hunting Proclamation), or Chapter 57, Subchapter N of this title (relating to Statewide Recreational and Commercial Fishing Proclamation), the department may defer the rulemaking activity until such time as it initiates other rulemaking activity involving Chapter 65, Subchapter A of this title or Chapter 57, Subchapter N of this title.
(g) If a petition for rulemaking seeks essentially the same action as a petition that has been denied within the preceding six months, then the executive director may deny the petition without forwarding the petition to commissioners.

Source Note: The provisions of this §51.3 adopted to be effective February 25, 2001, 26 TexReg 1749; amended to be effective October 13, 2003, 28 TexReg 8952; amended to be effective January 3, 2005, 29 TexReg 12225; amended to be effective February 2, 2009, 34 TexReg 664; amended to be effective January 2, 2013, 37 TexReg 10221