The Attorney General’s office on October 3 published opinion KP-0115 to answer the question under what circumstances Texas courts afford deference to agency interpretations of statues. The AG opinion explained that courts consider a formal agency rule to have more weight than an agency bulletin. The opinion also noted courts typically only consider agency interpretation in absence of clear legislative intent and, in general, legislative intent will supersede agency intent.
The opinion also defined the guidelines courts have established for deferring to agency interpretation; courts will generally defer more to long-standing interpretations and evaluate interpretations based on canons of statutory construction.
For more details on the opinion: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/51paxton/op/2016/kp0115.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=