The Regulatory Reform and Efficiency Act is designed to improve the efficiency of state agencies in rule adoption and regulatory requirements. It establishes the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office within the governor's office, which will focus on streamlining the rule adoption process, reducing unnecessary regulations, and enhancing public access to information about state agency rules. The office is tasked with creating a regulatory economic analysis manual and a regulatory reduction guide, and it will also oversee the establishment of an interactive website for public access to rules. Additionally, the act creates the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Advisory Panel to provide expert guidance to the office.

Key amendments to existing law include a requirement for proposed rules to be written in plain language to ensure accessibility for the general public, including those with limited English proficiency. The bill modifies Sections 2001.035 and 2001.040 of the Government Code to clarify that a rule is voidable unless adopted in substantial compliance with specified sections and establishes a two-year timeframe for individuals to contest a rule's compliance. It also introduces provisions in Sections 2001.042 and 2001.1721 that allow courts to conduct de novo reviews of legal questions without deferring to state agency determinations. The act will take effect immediately upon a two-thirds vote from both houses 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)