Senate Bill 23 51, filed by Senator Alvarado, would add statutory language giving the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) express discretion to require concrete batch plants holding standard air permits to comply with the most recent version of the standard permit when they request extensions to their construction deadlines.

Current practice: under existing TCEQ rules, a standard permit holder that requests additional time to begin construction may be required to update plans to comply with changes adopted since the original permit was issued. Senator Alvarado said the bill "formally adds a statute to the statute, a process already allowed under the agency's existing rules," giving clarity on that discretion after a 2024 TCEQ update to standard air permits changed setback distances, emissions output and dust-control measures.

Committee substitute: Senator Alvarado sent up a committee substitute that fixes a drafting error by removing language that would have required a plant to request an extension before the bill applied, and the substitute also carves out temporary plants from the bill’s coverage.

Public testimony: no members of the public registered to testify on SB 23 51 at this hearing.

Outcome: the committee adopted the committee substitute without objection and voted to report the bill favorably to the full Senate; the sponsor asked colleagues to be shown as supporting the committee substitute by unanimous consent. The committee left further scheduling and amendment work to staff and the sponsor.