Bill Text: TX HB3151 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the powers and duties of the board of pilot commissioners for certain ports.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-08 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB3151 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB3151-Introduced.html

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84R4584 JAM-F
By: Smith H.B. No. 3151

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the licensing and regulation of pilots in certain
ports.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 66.016(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The board may adopt rules to carry out this chapter,
including rules for conducting hearings and admitting evidence at
the hearings.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 66, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 66.0215 to read as follows:
Sec. 66.0215. SUBPOENAS. (a) The board may issue a
subpoena to compel the attendance of a relevant witness or the
production, for inspection or copying, of relevant evidence that is
in this state.
(b) A subpoena may be served personally or by certified
mail.
(c) If a person fails to comply with a subpoena, the board
may file suit to enforce the subpoena in a district court in Harris
County.
(d) On finding that good cause exists for issuing the
subpoena, the court shall order the person to comply with the
subpoena. The court may punish a person who fails to obey the court
order.
(e) The board may delegate the authority granted under
Subsection (a) to the secretary of the board.
(f) The board shall pay a reasonable fee for photocopies
subpoenaed under this section in an amount not to exceed the amount
the board may charge for copies of its records.
(g) The reimbursement of the expenses of a witness whose
attendance is compelled under this section is governed by Section
2001.103, Government Code.
SECTION 3. Section 66.022, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 66.022. JUDICIAL REVIEW. (a) Proceedings for
judicial review of a board decision shall be brought in a district
court in Harris County.
(b) Judicial review is by trial de novo.
SECTION 4. Section 66.062(c), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The board shall set a hearing date not later than the
45th day after the [within two weeks of] receipt of an application.
The board shall begin [hold] the hearing not earlier than the 20th
day and not later than the 60th [40th] day after the date the board
sets the hearing date.
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 66.063, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 66.063. PILOT FINANCIAL REPORT; ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION.
SECTION 6. Section 66.063, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) Not later than a date established by the board [the 10th
day before the date set for a pilotage rate hearing], the pilots who
are licensed or certified to serve the port for which the rates are
being considered shall submit in writing to the board and to any
party designated by the board complete accounts of:
(1) all amounts received from performing pilot
services, organized by categories or classifications of rates, if
rates are set in that manner;
(2) all earnings from capital assets devoted to
providing pilot services;
(3) all expenses incurred in connection with
activities for which amounts described by Subdivisions (1) and (2)
were received and earned; and
(4) estimates of receipts and expenses anticipated to
result from the requested changes in pilotage rates.
(a-1) The date established by the board under Subsection (a)
may not be later than the 10th day before the date set for a pilotage
rate hearing.
(d) The board may require from any person relevant
additional information it considers necessary to determine a proper
pilotage rate.
SECTION 7. Section 66.065, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 66.065. RATE DECISION. (a) Not later than the 60th
[10th] day after the date of the completion of a hearing on an
application for a change in pilotage rates, the board shall
publicly issue a [written] decision that:
(1) grants or denies the application in whole or in
part;
(2) states the reasons for the decision; [and]
(3) states each new pilotage rate; and
(4) states the effective date for each new pilotage
rate.
(b) Before the effective date of a new pilotage rate, the
board may continue or reopen the hearing at which the rate was
decided to reconsider the decision.
SECTION 8. Section 66.067, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 66.067. APPEAL OF BOARD DECISION. (a) Any party
aggrieved by a board decision on pilotage rates, after exhausting
all administrative remedies, may appeal the order to a court.
(b) Judicial review is by trial de novo.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.