(a) An interested person may petition the Commission requesting adoption of a rule. Petitions shall be in writing and filed with the Office of General Counsel.

(b) Each petition must state the name and address of the petitioner.

(c) Each petition shall include:

(1) a brief explanation of the proposed rule;

(2) the text of the proposed rule prepared in a manner to indicate the words to be added or deleted from the current text, if any;

(3) a statement of the statutory or other authority under which the rule is proposed to be promulgated; and

(4) a justification for adoption of the rule.

(d) For the purposes of this section, an interested person must be:

(1) a resident of this state;

(2) a business entity located in this state;

(3) a governmental subdivision located in this state; or

(4) a public or private organization located in this state that is not a state agency.

(e) The Office of General Counsel shall review all petitions for compliance with this section. If rejected, the petitioner may file a corrected petition that complies with the requirements of this section.

(f) Upon receipt of a petition that complies with the requirements of this section, the Office of General Counsel shall present the petition to the Commissioners with a recommendation on whether a rulemaking proceeding should be initiated.

(g) The Commissioners shall either deny the petition or approve initiation of rulemaking proceedings in accordance with the APA and these rules. The Commission may modify any proposed rule to ensure that it conforms to the format of Commission rules, adequately addresses the subject matter of the petition, and conforms to the filing requirements of the Texas Register.

Source Note: The provisions of this §1.301 adopted to be effective August 21, 2017, 42 TexReg 4131