HBA-KDB H.B. 870 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 870 By: Dutton State Affairs 3/7/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current Texas law provides for a legislative continuance in any criminal or civil suit, including matters of probate, and to any matter ancillary to the suit that requires action by or the attendance of any attorney who is a member of the legislature. At any time within 30 days of a date the legislature is in session, any time during a legislative session, or when the legislature sits as a constitutional convention, courts are required to continue a case in which a party applying for the continuance or the attorney for that party is a member of the legislature and will be or is attending a legislative session. In such an instance, the court is required to continue the case until 30 days after the date on which the legislature adjourns. Currently, no similar provision exists to continue administrative proceedings when an attorney or person who is a party to the proceedings is a member of the legislature. House Bill 870 extends the continuance provision to cover the contested cases before state agencies. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 870 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to provide that legislative continuance applies to a contested case. The bill provides that if the attorney for a party to a contested case is a member of the legislature who was employed within five days before the date on which the contested case is set for a hearing or within 10 days before the date on which a contested case in which a hearing has been held is scheduled to be considered for a final order or decision, the continuance is discretionary with the state agency. The bill provides that in a contested case regarding a matter in which a state agency is required by state law to decide a matter within a prescribed amount of time, the deadline for decision is extended to 30 days after the legislature adjourns. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.