1. (a) Submission of the petition.

   1. (1) Any person may petition the agency to adopt a rule.
   2. (2) The petition shall be mailed or delivered to the general counsel of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice at the Austin headquarters office of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

   3. (3) The petition shall be in writing, shall contain the petitioner's name and address, and shall describe the rule and the reason for it. If the general counsel of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice determines that further information is necessary to assist the agency in reaching a decision, the general counsel 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 benefit anticipated as a result of adopting the rule or the anticipated injury of inequity that could result from the failure to adopt the proposed rule.

2. (b) Consideration and disposition of the petition.

   1. (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the agency shall consider and dispose of all petitions submitted.
   2. (2) Within 60 days after receipt by the general counsel's office of the petition, or within 60 days after receipt by the general counsel's office of a resubmitted petition in accordance with subsection (a)(1)-(3) of this section, the agency shall deny the petition or institute rulemaking procedure in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The agency may deny parts of the petition or institute rulemaking procedures on parts of the petition.
   3. (3) If the agency denies the petition, the general counsel shall give the petitioner written notice of the agency's denial and the reasons for the denial.
   4. (4) The petitioner may appeal the denial to the Board Chairman, whose decision is final.
3. (c) Subsequent petitions to adopt the same or similar rule. All initial petitions for the adoption of a rule shall be presented to and decided by the agency in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection. The general counsel may refuse to consider any subsequent petition for the adoption of the same or similar rule submitted within six months after the date of the initial petition.

Source Note:The provisions of this §151.6 adopted to be effective April 8, 1996, 21 TexReg 2476.