1. (a) Place for filing original materials.

   1. (1) Contested cases generally.

      1. (A) The original of all pleadings and other documents, except contested cases referred to SOAH by the PUC and the TCEQ, shall be filed with SOAH when it acquires jurisdiction.
      2. (B) Pleadings and other documents to be filed with SOAH shall be mailed to P.O. Box 13025, Austin, Texas 78711-3025; hand delivered to 300 West 15th Street, Room 504; or faxed to (512) 475-4994. If the parties are notified that the case has been assigned to a judge in a field office outside Austin, pleadings and other documents shall be filed with the judge at the appropriate field office address.
      3. (C) The time and date of filing shall be determined by the file stamp affixed by SOAH. Unless otherwise ordered by the judge, only one copy of any pleading or document shall be filed.

   2. (2) Cases referred by the PUC.

      1. (A) Except for exhibits offered at a prehearing conference or hearing, the original of all documents shall be filed at the PUC in accordance with the PUC rules.
      2. (B) The party filing a document with the PUC (except documents provided in the discovery process that are not the subject of motions filed in a discovery dispute) shall serve the judge with a copy of the document by delivery to SOAH on the same day as the filing.
      3. (C) The court reporter shall provide the transcript and exhibits to the judge at the same time the transcript is provided to the requesting party. SOAH shall maintain the transcript and exhibits until they are released to the PUC by the judge. If no court reporter was requested by a party, SOAH shall maintain the recording of the hearing and the exhibits until they are released to the PUC by the judge.

   3. (3) Cases referred by the TCEQ.

      1. (A) Except for exhibits offered at a prehearing conference or hearing, the original of all documents shall be filed with the TCEQ's Chief Clerk in accordance with the TCEQ rules.
      2. (B) The time and date of filing these materials shall be determined by the file stamp affixed by the chief clerk, or as evidenced by the file stamp affixed to the document or envelope by the TCEQ mail room, whichever is earlier.
      3. (C) The party filing a document with the TCEQ (except documents provided in the discovery process that are not the subject of motions filed in a discovery dispute) shall serve the judge with a copy of the document by delivery to SOAH on the same day as the filing.
      4. (D) The court reporter shall provide the transcript and exhibits to the judge at the time the transcript is provided to the requesting party. SOAH shall maintain the transcript and exhibits until they are released to the TCEQ by the judge. If no court reporter was requested by a party, SOAH shall maintain the recording of the hearing and the exhibits until they are released to the TCEQ by the judge.

2. (b) Confidential materials.

   1. (1) Filing of confidential materials generally. A party filing materials made confidential by law shall file them in a sealed and labeled container, accompanied by an explanatory cover letter. The cover letter shall identify the docket number and style of the case and shall explain the nature of the sealed materials. The outside of the container shall identify the docket number, style of the case, and name of the submitting party, and be marked "CONFIDENTIAL AND UNDER SEAL" in bold print at least one inch in size. Each page of the confidential material shall be marked "confidential."
   2. (2) Materials submitted for in camera review. A party submitting materials for in camera review by the judge shall supply them to the judge in a sealed and labeled container, accompanied by an explanatory cover letter copied to all parties. The cover letter, addressed to the judge, shall identify the docket number, style of the case, explain the nature of the sealed materials, and specify the relief sought. The outside of the container, addressed to the judge, shall identify the docket number, style of the case, and name of the submitting party, and shall be marked "IN CAMERA REVIEW" in bold print at least one inch in size. Each page for which a privilege is asserted shall be marked "privileged." The judge will determine whether the materials will be received for filing by SOAH. Unless otherwise ordered by the judge, materials reviewed in camera will be returned to the party that submitted them.

3. (c) Discovery materials.

   1. (1) Discovery requests and documents produced in discovery shall not be filed with SOAH, except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
   2. (2) Documents produced in discovery shall be served upon the requesting parties and notice of service shall be given to all parties. The party responsible for service of the discovery materials shall retain an exact duplicate of the original documents.
   3. (3) Motions and responses in a discovery dispute shall include only the relevant portions of the discovery materials.

4. (d) Facsimile materials.

   1. (1) Filings made by facsimile transmission shall be no more than 35 pages.
   2. (2) The quality of the original shall be sufficiently clear to transmit legibly.
   3. (3) The first sheet shall indicate the number of pages being transmitted and shall contain a telephone number to call if there are transmission problems.
   4. (4) Neither the original nor any additional copies of facsimile filings shall be filed with SOAH.
   5. (5) The sender shall maintain the original of the document with the original signature.
   6. (6) The date imprinted by SOAH's facsimile machine on the accompanying transaction report shall determine the filing date. Documents received when SOAH is closed shall be deemed filed the next business day.

Source Note:The provisions of this §155.101 adopted to be effective November 26, 2008, 33 TexReg 9451.