By:  Armbrister                                        S.B. No. 609
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the authority of cities, towns, and other political
    1-2  subdivisions of the state to regulate pesticides and pesticide use.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 76.101, Agriculture Code, is amended by
    1-5  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
    1-6        (d)(1)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, no
    1-7  city, town, county, or other political subdivision of this state
    1-8  shall adopt any ordinance, rule, or regulation regarding pesticide
    1-9  sale or use.
   1-10              (2)  Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
   1-11  limit the authority of a city, town, or county to zone for the sale
   1-12  or storage of such products, to provide or designate sites for the
   1-13  disposal of such products, to route hazardous materials, or to
   1-14  regulate discharge to sanitary sewer systems.
   1-15              (3)  This subsection shall not prevent a city, town,
   1-16  county, or any political subdivision from complying with any
   1-17  federal or state law or regulation.  This section shall not prevent
   1-18  a city, town, county, or any political subdivision from attaining
   1-19  or maintaining compliance with federal or state environmental
   1-20  standards including Texas water quality standards.  A city, town,
   1-21  county, or other political subdivision may take any action
   1-22  otherwise prohibited by this subsection in order to comply with any
   1-23  federal requirements, to avoid any federal or state penalties or
    2-1  fines, or to attain or maintain federal or state environmental
    2-2  standards including Texas water quality standards.
    2-3        SECTION 2.  The Texas Structural Pest Control Act (Article
    2-4  135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Section
    2-5  11C to read as follows:
    2-6        Sec. 11C.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided by this section,
    2-7  no city, town, county, or other political subdivision of this state
    2-8  shall adopt any ordinance, rule, or regulation regarding pesticide
    2-9  sale or use.
   2-10        (b)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
   2-11  authority of a city, town, or county to zone for the sale or
   2-12  storage of such products, to provide or designate sites for
   2-13  disposal of such products, to route hazardous materials, or to
   2-14  regulate discharge to sanitary sewer systems.
   2-15        (c)  This section shall not prevent a city, town, county, or
   2-16  any political subdivision from complying with any federal or state
   2-17  law or regulation.  This section shall not prevent a city, town,
   2-18  county, or any political subdivision from attaining or maintaining
   2-19  compliance with federal or state environmental standards including
   2-20  Texas water quality standards.  A city, town, county, or other
   2-21  political subdivision may take any action otherwise prohibited by
   2-22  this subsection in order to comply with any federal requirements,
   2-23  to avoid any federal or state penalties or fines, or to attain or
   2-24  maintain federal or state environmental standards including Texas
   2-25  water quality standards.
    3-1        (d)  Nothing in this section may be construed to affect
    3-2  Chapter 75, Agriculture Code.
    3-3        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
    3-4  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    3-5  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    3-6  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-7  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
    3-8  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
    3-9  passage, and it is so enacted.