1. (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to delineate the procedures of the Texas Board of Health (board) for the submission, consideration, and disposition of a petition to the board to adopt a rule.

2. (b) Submission of the petition.

   1. (1) Any person may petition the board to adopt a rule.

   2. (2) The petition shall be in writing; contain the petitioner's name, address, and organization, if any; and describe the rule and the reason for it; however, if the commissioner of health determines that further information is necessary to assist the board in reaching a decision, the commissioner may require that the petitioner resubmit the petition and that it contain:

      1. (A) a brief explanation of the proposed rule;
      2. (B) 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. (C) a statement of the statutory or other authority under which the rule is to be promulgated; and
      4. (D) the public benefits anticipated as a result of adopting the rule or the anticipated injury or inequity which could result from the failure to adopt the proposed rule.
   3. (3) The commissioner may refuse to accept a petition which does not contain the information in paragraph (2) of this subsection or the information in paragraph (2) (A)-(D) of this subsection if the commissioner determines that the latter information is necessary.
   4. (4) The petition shall be mailed or delivered to the Commissioner of Health, Texas Department of Health, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756.

3. (c) Consideration and disposition of the petition.

   1. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, the commissioner shall submit an accepted petition to the board for its consideration and disposition.
   2. (2) Within 60 days after receipt of an accepted petition, the board shall deny the petition or institute rulemaking procedures in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, Government Code, Chapter 2001, Subchapter B. The board may deny parts of the petition and/or institute rulemaking procedures on parts of the petition.
   3. (3) If the board denies the petition, the commissioner shall give the petitioner written notice of the board's denial, including the board's reasons for the denial.
   4. (4) If the board initiates rulemaking procedures, the version of the rule which the board proposes may differ from the version proposed by the petitioner.
4. (d) Subsequent petitions to adopt the same or similar rule. All initial accepted petitions for the adoption of a rule shall be presented to and decided by the board in accordance with the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section. The commissioner may refuse to forward to the board for consideration any subsequent petition for the adoption of the same or a similar rule submitted within six months after the date of the initial petition.

Source Note:The provisions of this §1.81 adopted to be effective October 5, 1982, 7 TexReg 3420; amended to be effective July 9, 1984, 9 TexReg 3610; amended to be effective October 16, 1986, 11 TexReg 4153; amended to be effective June 13, 1999, 24 TexReg 4227.