34 Tex. Admin. Code § 23.4 - Public Participation in Adoption of Rules
(a) "Interested person" means any member of
the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS); any beneficiary of a member; any
retiree of TRS; any guardian, administrator, or executor of a member, retiree,
or beneficiary; or any public school.
(b) Any interested person may informally
request adoption of a rule by correspondence or conference with TRS staff
members. If satisfactory results cannot be achieved in this manner, any
interested person may petition TRS to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule by filing
a clear, written request to initiate rulemaking procedures with the executive
director. The petition shall set forth the exact text of the proposed rule and
the petitioner's name and address, and the name, business address, and
telephone number of petitioner's counsel, if any. The petition may also include
written documents in support of the petition.
(c) The executive director shall grant or
deny the petition within 60 days of its receipt. The executive director may
consult informally with staff members and the petitioner in reaching a
decision. The petition may be amended with consent of the petitioner at any
time before a final decision is rendered.
(1)
Upon granting the petition in writing, the executive director shall initiate
rulemaking proceedings pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act and the
rules and regulations of TRS.
(2)
Denial of the petition by the executive director, and reasons therefore, shall
be in writing. The petitioner may appeal this decision to the board of trustees
provided that a written notice of appeal is filed with the executive director
within 10 days after the decision of the executive director is issued. If no
such notice of appeal is timely filed, or if the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the board of trustees will occur more than 60 days after receipt of
the petition by the executive director, and the petitioner is unwilling to
waive the deadline for a final decision until that meeting, the decision of the
executive director shall be a final decision of TRS. The final decision of the
board shall be based on the written petition and written decision of the
executive director unless the board orders a hearing on the petition. If the
board approves the petition, the executive director shall initiate rulemaking
proceedings pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act and the rules and
regulations of TRS.
(d)
All interested persons shall be given a reasonable opportunity to submit oral
or written data, views, or arguments on a proposed rule to TRS after
publication of notice of the proposed rule in the Texas
Register.
(e) A written
request for a public hearing on a proposed substantive rule may be submitted to
the executive director within 10 days after publication of notice of the
proposed substantive rule in the Texas Register, provided that
the request is made by 25 persons, a governmental subdivision or agency, or an
association having at least 25 members. The request shall contain the name and
address of each person requesting the hearing and shall clearly specify the
proposed rule for which a hearing is requested.
(f) The executive director shall schedule the
proposed rule for hearing within a reasonable time but in no event shall the
hearing be scheduled earlier than seven days after notice of the hearing date
is published. The executive director or the board of trustees may reschedule
the hearing in the interest of justice or administrative necessity or for good
cause; however, the proposed rule shall not be adopted prior to the requested
hearing.
(g) The executive director
shall designate himself, a TRS employee, or a specially appointed person as
hearing officer to take the testimony of any interested person in support of or
in opposition to the rule. The hearing officer shall designate the order of
taking testimony and may establish reasonable time limits on oral testimony,
provided that reasonable opportunity is given to amplify oral testimony in
writing. All hearings will be held in the offices of TRS in Austin, Texas,
unless for good cause TRS shall designate another place of hearing.
Notes
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