The Regulatory Reform and Efficiency Act aims to improve the efficiency of state agencies in Texas by establishing the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office within the governor's office. This office will focus on streamlining the rule adoption process, assisting agencies in eliminating unnecessary regulations, and enhancing public access to information about state agency rules. The bill mandates that proposed rules be presented in plain language and introduces new requirements for notices of proposed rules, including requests for information on the costs and benefits associated with them. Additionally, a Texas Regulatory Efficiency Advisory Panel will be created to support the office in its mission to foster a more transparent regulatory environment.

The bill also amends several sections of the Government Code to clarify procedural requirements for state agency rule adoption and judicial review. It establishes that a rule is voidable unless adopted in substantial compliance with specified sections and sets a two-year limit for contesting rules based on noncompliance. Furthermore, it allows courts to conduct a de novo review of legal questions without deferring to state agency interpretations. The bill repeals certain existing sections and introduces new provisions regarding the scope of judicial review, specifying that courts may consider reasonable agency legal determinations that align with statutory language. The changes will apply only to rules proposed and proceedings initiated after the Act's effective date, which will be immediate upon a two-thirds vote or on September 1, 2025, if such a vote is not achieved.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Government Code 2001.007, Government Code 2001.024, Government Code 2001.035, Government Code 2001.040, Government Code 2001.022 (Government Code 2001)
House Committee Report: Government Code 2001.007, Government Code 2001.024, Government Code 2001.035, Government Code 2001.040, Government Code 2001.022 (Government Code 2001)