Sec. 2003.024. INTERAGENCY CONTRACTS; ANTICIPATED HOURLY USAGE AND COST ESTIMATES

(a) If a state agency referred matters to the office during any of the three most recent state fiscal years for which complete information about the agency's hourly usage is available and the costs to the office of conducting hearings and alternative dispute resolution procedures for the state agency are not to be paid by appropriations to the office during a state fiscal biennium, the office and the agency shall enter into an interagency contract for the biennium under which the referring agency pays the office, at the start of each fiscal year of the biennium, a lump-sum amount to cover the costs of conducting all hearings and procedures during the fiscal year. The lump-sum amount paid to the office under the contract must be based on:

(1) an hourly rate that is set by the office in time for the rate to be reviewed by the legislature as part of the legislature's review of the office's legislative appropriations request for the biennium; and

(2) the anticipated hourly usage of the office's services by the referring agency for each fiscal year of the biennium, as estimated by the office under Subsection (a-1).

(a-1) Before the beginning of each state fiscal biennium, the office shall estimate for each fiscal year of the biennium the anticipated hourly usage for each state agency that referred matters to the office during any of the three most recent state fiscal years for which complete information about the agency's hourly usage is available. The office shall estimate an agency's anticipated hourly usage by evaluating:

(1) the number of hours spent by the office conducting hearings or alternative dispute resolution procedures for the state agency during the three most recent state fiscal years for which complete information about the agency's hourly usage is available; and

(2) any other relevant information, including information provided to the office by the state agency, that suggests an anticipated increase or decrease in the agency's hourly usage of the office's services during the state fiscal biennium, as compared to past usage.

(a-2) If a state agency did not refer matters to the office during any of the three state fiscal years preceding a state fiscal biennium for which complete information about the agency's hourly usage would have been available and did not provide information to the office sufficient for the office to reasonably and timely estimate anticipated usage and enter into a contract with the agency before the start of the state fiscal biennium, and the costs to the office of conducting hearings and alternative dispute resolution procedures for the state agency are not paid by appropriations to the office for the state fiscal biennium, the referring agency shall pay the office the costs of conducting hearings or procedures for the agency based on the hourly rate that is set by the office under Subsection (a) and on the agency's actual usage of the office's services.

(b) If the costs to the office of conducting hearings and alternative dispute resolution procedures for a state agency that refers matters to the office are anticipated to be paid by a lump-sum appropriation to the office for a state fiscal biennium, the office shall timely provide to the legislature the information described by Subsection (c).

(c) Each state fiscal biennium, the office as part of its legislative appropriation request shall file:

(1) information, as estimated under Subsection (a-1), related to the anticipated hourly usage of each state agency that refers matters to the office for which the costs of hearings and alternative dispute resolution procedures are anticipated to be paid by appropriations to the office; and

(2) an estimate of its hourly costs in conducting each type of hearing or dispute resolution procedure. The office shall estimate the hourly cost based on the average cost per hour during the preceding state fiscal year of:

(A) the salaries of its administrative law judges;

(B) the travel expenses, hearing costs, and telephone charges directly related to the conduct of a hearing or procedure; and

(C) the administrative costs of the office, including docketing costs and the administrative costs of the division of the office that conducts the hearing or procedure.

(d) This section does not apply to hearings conducted:

(1) by the natural resource conservation division or the utility division; or

(2) under the administrative license revocation program.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 85, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2000. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1215, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.