Relating to the certification of discovery issues to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in contested cases referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings by the commission.

This bill (SB 2203) modifies Texas law to require administrative law judges to immediately send disputes about evidence requests ("discovery scope") in environmental cases to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for resolution. It directly affects parties involved in contested environmental cases handled by the State Office of Administrative Hearings when they disagree about what evidence can be obtained. The key mechanism is that the judge must certify such disputes to TCEQ, then pause the case timeline until TCEQ issues a final decision on the certified issue. This aims to streamline resolution of discovery conflicts in environmental regulatory hearings.