Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
GA-0947
| Tex. Att'y Gen. | Jul 2, 2012Background
- SOAH administers contested case hearings under Govt. Code ch. 2260, including fee setting and allocation between prevailing and non-prevailing parties.
- A General Appropriations Act Rider 7c provides funding for 34 agencies to receive SOAH hearings without using their own appropriations.
- Agencies not listed in Rider 7c receive specific appropriations or pay SOAH via interagency/hourly arrangements to conduct hearings.
- The Chief Administrative Law Judge may assess fees against the non-prevailing party or apportion fees equitably, under §2260.102(a) (2).
- The issue presented: how SOAH should bill under Rider 7c vs non-7c agencies and who bears the cost when the non-governmental party vs government agency prevails.
- The opinion concludes billing should align with the Rider 7c framework and appropriation provisions, with offsets for 7c agencies and chargeable costs to non-7c agencies or non-governmental parties as appropriate.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| How should SOAH bill when the agency is listed in Rider 7c? | SOAH should offset costs with its appropriation when 7c agencies prevail. | 7c agencies’ costs should be borne from their own appropriations or SOAH offset as Rider 7c contemplates. | If agency is in Rider 7c, use SOAH appropriation to offset costs. |
| How should SOAH bill when the agency is not listed in Rider 7c? | SOAH may bill the agency for its share of costs when the state agency prevails. | Costs should be billed to the non-prevailing party or to the agency depending on the prevailing party and statutory framework. | SOAH should bill the state agency if the non-prevailing party is not the agency; otherwise bill the non-governmental party. |
| Who bears the costs when the non-governmental party prevails and the agency is not in Rider 7c? | The non-governmental party should bear costs only if the agency is not in Rider 7c; otherwise offset via appropriation. | Agency costs may be charged to the agency when the non-governmental party prevails and the agency is not Rider 7c; not otherwise. | If non-prevailing party is non-governmental, agency bears costs only if not in Rider 7c; else SOAH uses appropriation to offset. |
| Can fees be equitably apportioned instead of being assigned to a party? | Equitable apportionment is permissible under §2260.102(a)(2). | Equitable apportionment is possible but not addressed in this opinion's holding. | The decision acknowledges but does not address the standards for equitable apportionment. |
Key Cases Cited
- Exxon Corp. v. Emerald Oil & Gas Co., 331 S.W.3d 419 (Tex. 2010) (plain-language statutory interpretation; read related statutes together)
- Calvert v. Fort Worth Nat'l Bank, 356 S.W.2d 918 (Tex. 1962) (read related statutes together to determine legislative intent)