By Turner of Coleman                                  H.B. No. 2494
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the disparagement of agricultural and aquacultural food
    1-3  products and creating a cause of action.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  The Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code is
    1-6  amended by adding a new Chapter 85 to read as follows:
    1-7          CHAPTER 85.  DISPARAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
    1-8        Sec. 85.01.  Legislative Findings.
    1-9        The legislature hereby finds, determines, and declares that
   1-10  the production of agricultural and aquacultural food products
   1-11  constitutes an important and significant portion of the state
   1-12  economy and that it is beneficial to the citizens of this state to
   1-13  protect the vitality of the agricultural and aquacultural economy
   1-14  by providing a cause of action for producers of perishable
   1-15  agricultural and aquacultural food products to recover damages for
   1-16  the disparagement of any perishable agricultural or aquacultural
   1-17  food product.
   1-18        Sec. 85.02.  Definitions.
   1-19        In this chapter:
   1-20        (1)  "Disparagement" means dissemination to the public in any
   1-21  manner of any information that the disseminator knows or should
   1-22  have known to be false and which states or implies that a
   1-23  perishable agricultural or aquacultural food product is not safe
    2-1  for consumption by the public.  Such information is presumed to be
    2-2  false when not based upon reasonable and reliable scientific
    2-3  inquiry, facts, or data.
    2-4        (2)  "Perishable agricultural or aquacultural food product"
    2-5  means any food product of agriculture or aquaculture which is sold
    2-6  or distributed in a form that will perish or decay beyond
    2-7  marketability within a period of time.
    2-8        Sec. 85.03.  Cause of Action; Recovery of Damages
    2-9        (a)  Any producer of perishable agricultural or aquacultural
   2-10  food products who suffers damage as a result of another person's
   2-11  disparagement of any such perishable agricultural or aquacultural
   2-12  food product has a cause of action for damages and any other
   2-13  appropriate relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.
   2-14        (b)  The disparagement of a perishable agricultural or
   2-15  aquacultural food product with intent to harm the producer or that
   2-16  product shall result in the disseminator of the disparaging
   2-17  information being liable to the producer for treble damages.
   2-18        Sec. 85.04.  Limitations of Action.
   2-19        Any civil action for damages for disparagement of perishable
   2-20  agricultural or aquacultural food products shall be commenced
   2-21  within three years after the cause of action accrues.
   2-22        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-23  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-24  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-25  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-1  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.