16 Tex. Admin. Code § 22.72 - Formal Requisites of Pleadings and Documents to be Filed with the Commission
(a)
Applicability. This section applies to all pleadings as defined in §
22.2 of this title (relating to
Definitions) and the following documents:
(1)
All documents filed relating to a rulemaking proceedings;
(2) Applications.
(3) Letters or memoranda relating to any item
with a control number;
(4) Reports
required by PURA, commission rules or request of the commission, however, the
following reports are exempt from the requirements of subsections (c), (d),
(e), (f) and (h) of this section:
(A) Reports
filed on commission prescribed forms;
(B) Reports prepared for other agencies and
filed as information only with the commission. These reports will be accepted
by the commission as filed with the other agency;
(C) Reports filed under § 24.73 of this
title (relating to Water and Sewer Utilities Annual Reports), §
25.73(a)(3) of
this title (relating to Financial and Operating Reports), and §
26.73(a)(2) of
this title (relating to Financial and Operating Reports); and
(D) Reports that are submitted directly to
the commission using the commission's website under subsection (j) of this
section.
(5) Discovery
requests and responses, however, any portion of discovery responses that are
copies of documents not generated for the purpose of responding to the
discovery request, are exempt from the requirements of subsections (c), (d),
(e), (f) and (h) of this section.
(b) Requirements of form.
(1) Unless otherwise authorized or required
by the presiding officer or this chapter, documents shall include the style and
number of the docket or project in which they are submitted, if available;
shall identify by heading the nature of the document submitted and the name of
the party submitting the same; and shall be signed by the party or the party's
representative.
(2) Whenever
possible, all documents should be provided on 8.5 by 11 inch paper. However,
any log, graph, map, drawing, or chart submitted as part of a filing will be
accepted on paper larger than provided in subsection (g) of this section, if it
cannot be provided legibly on letter-size paper. The document must be able to
be folded to a size no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches. Documents that cannot be
folded may not be accepted.
(c) Format. Any filing with the commission
must:
(1) have double-spaced or one and
one-half times spaced print with left margins not less than one inch wide,
except that any letter, tariff filing, rate filing, or proposed findings of
fact and conclusions of law may be single-spaced;
(2) indent and single-space any quotation
which exceeds 50 words; and
(3) be
printed or formatted in not less than 10-point type.
(d) Citation form. Any filing with the
commission should comply with the rules of citation, set forth, in the
following order of preference, by the commission's Citation and Style
Guide, the most current edition of the Texas Rules of
Form, published by the University of Texas Law Review Association (for
Texas authorities), and the most current edition of A Uniform System of
Citation, published by The Harvard Law Review Association (for all
other authorities). Neither Rule 1.1 of the Uniform System nor the comparable
portion of the Texas Rules of Form shall be applicable in
proceedings.
(e) Signature. Every
pleading and document shall be signed by the party or the party's authorized
representative, and shall include the party's address, telephone number, and,
if available, facsimile machine number. In addition, every pleading and
document shall include an email address, unless the party or the party's
authorized representative has filed a statement under §
22.106 of this title (relating to
Statement of No Access). If the person signing the pleading or document is an
attorney licensed in Texas, the attorney's state bar number shall be
provided.
(f) Page limits. In major
rate proceedings, proceedings initiated under PURA chapter 36, subchapter D or
chapter 53, subchapter D, fuel reconciliations, petitions to declare a market
subject to significant competition, and applications for licensing of new
generating plant, except for testimony and rate filing packages, no document
shall exceed 100 pages in length, including attachments. In all other dockets,
no document shall exceed 50 pages in length, including attachments. The page
limitation shall not apply to courtesy copies of legal authorities cited in the
pleading. A presiding officer may establish a larger or smaller page limit. In
establishing larger or smaller page limits, the presiding officer shall
consider such factors as which party has the burden of proof and the extent of
opposition to a party's position that would need to be addressed in the
document. The page limitations in this subsection do not apply to discovery
responses.
(g) Hard copy filing
standards. Hard copies of each document shall be filed with the commission in
accordance with the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1)-(7) of this
subsection.
(1) Each document shall be typed
or printed on paper measuring 8.5 by 11 inches. Oversized documents being filed
on larger paper as allowed by subsection (b)(2) of this section shall be filed
as separate referenced attachments. No single document shall consist of more
than one paper size.
(2) One copy
of each document, that is not the original file copy, shall be filed without
bindings, staples, tabs or separators.
(A)
This copy shall be printed on both sides of the paper or, if it cannot be
printed on both sides of the paper, every page of the copy shall be single
sided.
(B) All pages of the copy
filed under this paragraph, starting with the first page of the table of
contents, shall be consecutively numbered through the last page of the
document, including attachments, if any.
(3) For documents for which an electronic
filing is required, all non-native figures, illustrations, or objects shall be
filed as referenced attachments. No non-native figures, illustrations, or
objects shall be embedded in the text of the document. Non-native figures means
tables, graphs, charts, spreadsheets, illustrations, drawings and other objects
which are not electronically integrated into the text portions of a
document.
(4) A cover letter may be
attached to any document filed with the commission, and must be included with
tariff-sheet filings. The cover letter for tariff sheets shall state the
control number, if available, the name of the party submitting the tariff
sheets, sufficient detail to identify the tariff sheets, and shall be signed by
the party or the party's representative.
(5) Whenever possible, all documents and
copies shall be printed on both sides of the paper.
(6) If the document contains a barcode, the
barcode shall be covered or redacted.
(7) If the document contains personally
identifiable information such as social security numbers or bank account
numbers, either the information must be covered or redacted, or the document
shall be filed confidentially under §
22.71(d) of this
title (relating to Filing of Pleadings, Documents and Other
materials).
(h)
Electronic filing standards. In addition to the hard copy filings required by
subsection (g) of this section, any document may be filed, and all documents
containing more than ten pages shall be filed, electronically in accordance
with the requirements of paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection. Electronic
filings are registered by submission of the relevant electronic documents via
the internet in accordance with transfer standards available in Central Records
or on the commission's website. Alternatively, electronic filings may be
registered by submission of a physical medium that is acceptable to the
commission, is prepared in accordance with submission standards available in
Central Records or on the commission's website, and contains the relevant
electronic documents. The commission will maintain a list of acceptable
physical media on its website.
(1) All
non-native figures, illustrations or objects must be filed as referenced
attachments. No non-native figures, illustrations, or objects shall be imbedded
in the text of the document. Non-native figures means tables, graphs, charts,
spreadsheets, illustrations, drawings and other objects which are not
electronically integrated into the text portions of a document.
(2) Each document that has five or more
headings and/or subheadings shall have a table of contents that lists the major
sections of the document, the page number(s) for each major section and the
name of the electronic file that contains each major section of the document.
Discovery responses are exempt from this paragraph.
(3) Any information submitted under claim of
confidentiality shall not be submitted in electronic format.
(i) File format standards.
(1) Electronic filings shall be made in
accordance with the current list of preferred file formats available in Central
Records and on the commission's World Wide Web site.
(2) Electronic filings shall be made using
the native file format used to create and edit the file, unless the native file
format is not on the current list of preferred file formats maintained by the
commission referenced in paragraph (1) of this subsection. Microsoft Excel
spreadsheets shall have active links and formulas that were used to create and
manipulate the data in the spreadsheet. An application that fails to include
the native file filings is materially deficient.
(3) Electronic filings that are submitted in
a format other than that required by paragraph (1) of this subsection will not
be accepted until after successful conversion of the file to a commission
standard.
(j) Electronic
reports. The commission may allow reports to be submitted on the commission's
website.
(1) If a report is submitted on the
commission's website under this subsection, it is exempt from §
22.71(b) of this
title and therefore does not have to be filed with the commission's filing
clerk.
(2) The commission will
maintain a list of reports that may be submitted on the commission's website
under this subsection. This list will be available on the commission's
website.
(3) A report submitted
under this subsection shall be formatted and submitted in accordance with the
standards and procedures applicable to that report, as listed on the
commission's website.
(k) Map filing standards.
(1) If a hard copy of a map is filed in
response to a requirement contained in chapter 24 of this title, it shall be
filed in its original size. It shall not be reduced or enlarged.
(2) If digital mapping data is filed, it
shall be filed using an industry standard file format acceptable to the
commission containing feature class subcomponents of a geodatabase and capable
of being manipulated by commission mapping staff. The commission will maintain
a list of acceptable formats on its website.
(3) Digital mapping data shall be filed
electronically in conformance with subsection (h) of this section and shall be
submitted on a physical medium capable of holding digital data and acceptable
to the commission. The commission will maintain a list of acceptable media on
its website. The physical medium described in this paragraph shall contain
digital mapping data that conforms with the requirements of paragraph (2) of
this subsection and graphic versions of any hard copy maps filed under
paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(4) Copies of physical maps and physical
media containing digital mapping data shall be filed in conformance with §
22.71(c) of this
title.
Notes
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