Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 766 amends the Health and Safety Code to provide that it is a Class B misdemeanor to interfere with a livestock inspector. The bill authorizes the commissioner of public health to request the attorney general, or the district or county attorney, to institute a civil suit if a person has been or is currently in violation of the rules of the Texas Meat and Poultry Inspection Act. The bill allows the mark of inspection to be withheld, or inspection services to be withdrawn or suspended, if there is an imminent threat to public health or safety or if a person at a processing establishment impedes an inspection.

            The bill also provides that low-volume livestock processing establishments that are exempt from federal inspection must develop a sanitary operation procedures plan. If contaminated livestock can be traced to a low-volume establishment, a civil suit may be brought to suspend the plant's operation until it is sanitized and operating safely.