The commission must answer advisory opinion requests on time, and certain license-related people may ask for those opinions and rely on them if their conduct matches the opinion and request facts.
Sec. 2001.059. ADVISORY OPINIONS. (a) An officer, bingo chairperson, or authorized representative of a license holder or an attorney, accountant, or bookkeeper employed or retained by a license holder may request from the commission an advisory opinion regarding compliance with this chapter and the rules of the commission. (b) The commission shall respond to a request under Subsection (a) not later than the later of the second commission meeting or the 60th day after the date a request is received, unless the commission determines that the request does not contain sufficient facts to provide an answer on which the requestor may rely. In that event, the commission shall request additional information from the requestor not later than the 10th day after the date the request is received. If the commission requests additional information, the commission shall respond to the request not later than the later of the second commission meeting or the 60th day after the date additional information is received pursuant to the request for additional information. (c) A person who requests an advisory opinion under Subsection (a) may act in reliance on the opinion in the conduct of any activity under any license issued under this chapter if the conduct is substantially consistent with the opinion and the facts stated in the request. (d) An advisory opinion issued under this section is not a rule under Subchapter B, Chapter 2001, Government Code, and the rulemaking requirements of that subchapter do not apply to a request for an advisory opinion or any advisory opinion issued by the commission. (e) Nothing in this section precludes the commission from requesting an attorney general opinion under Section 402.042, Government Code. In the event the commission requests an attorney general opinion on a matter that is the subject of an advisory opinion request under this section, the deadlines established under Subsection (b) are tolled until 30 days following the issuance of the attorney general opinion. (f) The commission may delegate all or part of the authority and procedures for issuing advisory opinions under this section to an employee of the department. (g) The commission may refuse to issue an advisory opinion under this section on a matter that the commission knows to be in active litigation. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1114, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 636 (H.B. 1474), Sec. 2, eff. October 1, 2009. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1160 (S.B. 3070), Sec. 68, eff. June 20, 2025. SUBCHAPTER C. LICENSE TO CONDUCT BINGO