Texas Administrative Code › Title 37 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY › Chapter 34 - NEGOTIATION AND MEDIATION OF CERTAIN CONTRACT DISPUTES › Subchapter B - NEGOTIATION OF CONTRACT DISPUTES › Section 34.24 - Timetable

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Following receipt of a contractor's
				  notice of claim, the director's designated representative shall review the
				  contractor's claim(s) and the department's counterclaim(s), if any, and
				  initiate negotiations with the contractor to attempt to resolve the claim(s)
				  and counterclaim(s).
(b) Subject to
				  subsection (c) of this section, the parties shall begin negotiations by the
				  deadline provided in §
										2260.052(a)
				  of the Texas Government Code. The statutory deadline depends on the date of the
				  contract upon which the claim, as well as any counterclaim, is based.
(c) The department may delay negotiations
				  until after the 180th day after the date of the event giving rise to the claim
				  of breach of contract by delivering written notice to the contractor that the
				  commencement of negotiations will be delayed and providing written notice to
				  the contractor of the date that the department anticipates it will be prepared
				  to begin negotiation. However, this subsection only applies to claims, as well
				  as any counterclaims, involving a breach of a contract entered into by the
				  department before September 1, 2005.
(d) The parties may conduct negotiations
				  according to an agreed schedule as long as they begin negotiations no later
				  than the deadlines set forth in subsections (b) or (c) of this section,
				  whichever is applicable.
(e)
				  Subject to subsection (f) of this section, the parties shall complete the
				  negotiations that are required by this chapter as a prerequisite to a
				  contractor's request for contested case hearing no later than 270 days after
				  the department receives the contractor's notice of claim.
(f) The parties may agree in writing to
				  extend the time for negotiations on or before the 270th day after the
				  department receives the contractor's notice of claim. The agreement shall be
				  signed by representatives of the parties with authority to bind each respective
				  party and shall provide for the extension of the statutory negotiation period
				  until a date certain. The parties may enter into a series of written extension
				  agreements that comply with the requirements of this section.
(g) The contractor may request a contested
				  case hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) pursuant
				  to §
										34.29
				  of this title (relating to Request for Contested Case Hearing) after the 270th
				  day after the department receives the contractor's notice of claim, or the
				  expiration of any extension agreed to under subsection (f) of this
				  section.
(h) The parties may agree
				  to mediate the dispute at any time before the deadline provided in §
										2260.056(a)
				  of the Texas Government Code and before the expiration of any extension agreed
				  to by the parties pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. The statutory
				  deadline depends on the date of the contract upon which the claim, as well as
				  any counterclaim, is based. The mediation shall be governed by Subchapter C of
				  this chapter.
(i) Nothing in this
				  section is intended to prevent the parties from agreeing to commence
				  negotiations earlier than the deadlines established in subsections (b) and (c)
				  of this section, or from continuing or resuming negotiations after the
				  contractor requests a contested case hearing before SOAH.