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Committee considers extending TCEQ license renewal grace period from 30 to 90 days
Summary
House Bill 12 37 would extend the renewal grace period for certain Texas Commission on Environmental Quality occupational licenses from 30 to 90 days, create tiered late fees for longer expirations and clarify renewal limits for licenses expired more than one year.
House Bill 12 37 would extend the grace period for renewing certain occupational licenses and registrations issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from 30 days to 90 days, add fee tiers for later renewals, and clarify that licenses expired for one year or more cannot be renewed and require applicants to satisfy new‑application requirements including examinations.
The sponsor said current law allows only 30 days to renew an expired TCEQ occupational license, which can lead to unintentional lapses that disrupt workers and industries that depend on environmental professionals. Under the bill as explained, renewal within 90 days would be allowed with a 1.5× renewal fee; renewal between 90 days and one year would be allowed with a 2× renewal fee; a license expired at least one year could not be renewed and would require meeting all new‑application requirements.
A committee substitute was offered to clarify that a person who applied for renewal before the 90‑day deadline may continue to engage in activities that require the license until the renewal is granted or denied, and to change the point at which renewal is barred to 180 days in the substitute language (rather than one year in the filed bill). The committee resource witness from TCEQ was present; no public testimony was offered and the bill was left pending for a future vote.
No formal committee vote on the bill or substitute was recorded at this hearing.
