HBA-EDN H.B. 3361 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3361
By: Goolsby
Licensing & Administrative Procedures
4/26/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, organizations licensed to conduct bingo must remit
quarterly taxes and prize fees, otherwise, their license may be subject to
revocation.  An organization is entitled to a hearing with an
administrative law judge if their license is suspended, but it may be as
long as 6 months before the hearing is held.  Meanwhile, the organization
continues to incur further debt.  Requiring a hearing to be held within a
reasonable amount of time after the suspension would expedite due process
and minimize the debt incurred by these organizations.  House Bill 3361
authorizes the Texas Lottery Commission to summarily suspend a license
under certain conditions, but requires that a preliminary hearing be held
within ten days of the suspension.       

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 3361 amends the Occupations Code to authorize the Texas Lottery
Commission (commission), through its charitable bingo director (director),
to summarily suspend, without notice or a hearing, the license of a person
if the director finds that the action is necessary to prevent financial
loss to the state and the licensee fails to file a report or return or make
a fee or tax payment required by the Bingo Enabling Act. The commission,
through its director, is also authorized to summarily suspend a license if
proceedings for a preliminary hearing are initiated simultaneously with the
summary suspension.  The bill requires a preliminary hearing to be set for
a date not later than 10 days after the date of the summary suspension,
unless the parties agree to a later date.  At the preliminary hearing, the
licensee must show cause why the license should not remain suspended
pending a final hearing on suspension or revocation and provides that the
Administrative Procedure Act does not apply to a summary suspension under
these provisions.  To initiate a proceeding to summarily suspend a license,
the commission must serve notice to the licensee.  The bill sets forth
provisions regarding such notice and provides that a summary suspension
takes effect on the third day after the date of notice.  The bill requires
the commission to terminate a suspension when the licensee files all
required reports and returns and makes all required tax and fee payments,
including payments of interest and penalties that are due. 

H.B. 3361 repeals provisions relating to the temporary suspension of a
license.     

EFFECTIVE DATE

October 1, 2001.