BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 722 By: Turner, Bob (Sponsor) Agriculture 4-22-95 Senate Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Currently, food producers in Texas are vulnerable to the careless or malicious use of false or misleading information and the subsequent market effect. The short amount of time available to harvest and market perishable agricultural and aquacultural food products makes the vulnerability of these products especially acute. PURPOSE As proposed, H.B. 722 creates liability for the false disparagement of perishable food products. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, by adding Chapter 96, as follows: CHAPTER 96. FALSE DISPARAGEMENT OF PERISHABLE FOOD PRODUCTS Sec. 96.001. DEFINITION. Defines "perishable food product." Sec. 96.002. LIABILITY. (a) Makes a person liable under Subsection (b) if the person disseminates information about a perishable food product to the public, the person knows that the information is false, and the information states or implies that the food product is not safe for consumption. (b) Provides that a person who is liable under Subsection (a) is liable to the producer of the perishable product for damages and appropriate relief arising from the person's dissemination of the information. Sec. 96.003. PROOF. Requires the trier of fact, in determining if information is false, to consider whether the information was based on reasonable or reliable scientific inquiry, facts, or data. Sec. 96.004. CERTAIN MARKETING OR LABELING EXCLUDED. Declares that a person is not liable under this chapter for marketing or labeling any agricultural product in a manner that indicates that the product was grown or produced by using or not using a chemical or drug, was organically grown, or was grown without the use of any synthetic additive. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1995. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.