73R4829 CAS-F
          By Krusee, et al.                                     H.B. No. 1378
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to certain exemptions from the Texas Structural Pest
    1-3  Control Act.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 11, Texas Structural Pest Control Act
    1-6  (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
    1-7  as follows:
    1-8        Sec. 11.  Exceptions.  Except for Section 4H(d) of this Act,
    1-9  the provisions of this Act shall not apply to nor shall the
   1-10  following persons be deemed to be engaging in the business of
   1-11  structural pest control:
   1-12              (1)  a person who performs pest control work upon
   1-13  property which he owns, leases, or rents as his dwelling;
   1-14              (2)  a person who performs pest control work on growing
   1-15  plants, trees, shrubs, grass, or other horticultural plants if the
   1-16  person:
   1-17                    (A)  holds a Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, or Class
   1-18  4 registration certificate from the Department of Agriculture under
   1-19  Section 71.043, Agriculture Code; and
   1-20                    (B)  holds a certified commercial or
   1-21  noncommercial applicator's license from the Department of
   1-22  Agriculture that covers that pest control work;
   1-23              (3)  a person or his employee who is engaged in the
   1-24  business of agriculture or aerial application or custom application
    2-1  of pesticides to agricultural lands; <and>
    2-2              (4)  a person who uses pest control chemicals that are
    2-3  for household use and are available for purchase in retail food
    2-4  stores, such as aerosol bombs and spray cans, if the insecticide is
    2-5  used in accordance with board rules or guidelines and is:
    2-6                    (A)  used by the owner or his employee or agent
    2-7  in space occupied by the building owner in a residential building,
    2-8  office building, retail building, or industrial building; or
    2-9                    (B)  used in a place that is vacant, unused, and
   2-10  unoccupied; and
   2-11              (5)  a person acting as a beekeeper, as defined by
   2-12  Section 131.001, Agriculture Code, if the person:
   2-13                    (A)  is registered with the chief apiary
   2-14  inspector as provided by Section 131.045, Agriculture Code; and
   2-15                    (B)  does not use either pesticides or electronic
   2-16  devices other than conventional bee smokers or other equipment, as
   2-17  defined by Section 131.001, Agriculture Code.
   2-18        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-19  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-20  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-21  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-22  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   2-23  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   2-24  passage, and it is so enacted.
   2-25                       COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
   2-26        Amend H.B. 1378 on page 2 as follows:
   2-27        On line 14 delete the word "and" after the ";".
    3-1        On line 17 change the period after the word "Code" to a
    3-2  semicolon, add the word "and", and add a new Subsection (C) to read
    3-3  as follows:  "collects, removes or destroys honey bees."
    3-4                                                                 Gray