74R10381 MWV-F
By Patterson H.B. No. 2892
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2892:
By Rabuck C.S.H.B. No. 2892
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the boll weevil eradication program.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 74.102, Agriculture Code, is amended by
1-5 amending Subdivisions (5), (9), and (14) to read as follows:
1-6 (5) "Cotton grower" means an individual who<:>
1-7 <(A)> grows cotton<;> and
1-8 <(B)> receives <direct> income on or after June
1-9 1, 1992, from the sale of cotton. The term includes an individual
1-10 who as owner, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper is entitled to
1-11 share in the cotton grown and available for marketing from a farm
1-12 or to share in the proceeds from the sale of the cotton from the
1-13 farm, under 7 C.F.R. Part 1413.
1-14 (9) "High Plains Boll Weevil Suppression Program Area"
1-15 includes Bailey, Borden, Briscoe, Castro, Cochran, Crosby, Dawson,
1-16 Deaf Smith, Dickens, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Howard,
1-17 Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Midland, Motley, Parmer, Swisher,
1-18 Terry, and Yoakum counties. The High Plains Boll Weevil
1-19 Suppression Program Area may also include other counties or parts
1-20 of counties if areas are added to the High Plains Boll Weevil
1-21 Suppression Area as provided under this subchapter.
1-22 (14) "St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Boll Weevil Control
1-23 Zone" may include, subject to change as provided under this
2-1 subchapter, all or part of <includes> Glasscock, Reagan, Upton,
2-2 <and> south Midland, or other counties.
2-3 SECTION 2. Section 74.107(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
2-4 to read as follows:
2-5 (a) The High Plains Boll Weevil Suppression Program Area and
2-6 the St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Boll Weevil Control Zone are
2-7 separate zones for the purposes of boll weevil eradication;
2-8 however, an area in the St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Boll Weevil
2-9 Control Zone may be assigned to another zone as provided by this
2-10 subchapter <and may not be combined with another area in an
2-11 eradication zone under this subchapter>.
2-12 SECTION 3. Section 74.108, Agriculture Code, is amended to
2-13 read as follows:
2-14 Sec. 74.108. Board Powers. (a) The board may:
2-15 (1) conduct board elections;
2-16 (2) conduct eradication zone referenda;
2-17 (3) conduct assessment referenda under Section 74.113
2-18 of this code;
2-19 (4) conduct programs consistent with the declaration
2-20 of policy stated in Section 74.101 of this code;
2-21 (5) accept, as necessary to implement this chapter,
2-22 gifts, and grants;
2-23 (6) borrow money as necessary to execute this chapter;
2-24 (7) take other action and exercise other authority as
2-25 necessary to execute any act authorized by this subchapter or the
3-1 Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq.,
3-2 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); and
3-3 (8) <(5)> form an advisory committee composed of
3-4 individuals from this state, other states, or other countries and
3-5 change membership on the committee, as necessary. Any advisory
3-6 committee created under this subdivision for the purpose of
3-7 establishing treatment methods shall include among its members
3-8 persons with knowledge of the effects of different treatments on
3-9 the health of agricultural workers, the local population, and the
3-10 ecosystem, including but not limited to the effects of a particular
3-11 method of treatment on beneficial organisms and wildlife, the
3-12 potential for secondary infestations from nontarget pests, and the
3-13 potential for pest resistance to particular methods of treatment.
3-14 (b) The board may add an area to an eradication zone if:
3-15 (1) cotton production begins in the area;
3-16 (2) the area is adjacent to an eradication zone or is
3-17 in an area with biological characteristics similar to the
3-18 eradication zone; and
3-19 (3) the addition is approved in a referendum held in
3-20 the area.
3-21 (c) The board may initiate the boll weevil eradication
3-22 program in an area added to an eradication zone and may assess
3-23 cotton growers in the area added to the eradication zone to ensure
3-24 the integrity and success of the eradication program. The board
3-25 shall provide notice of intent to initiate eradication and collect
4-1 assessments through informational meetings in the affected area not
4-2 later than 60 days before the date recognized by the board as the
4-3 average planting date for the area.
4-4 (d) The board may not reduce the area of the High Plains
4-5 Boll Weevil Suppression Program Area.
4-6 SECTION 4. Section 74.109, Agriculture Code, is amended to
4-7 read as follows:
4-8 Sec. 74.109. Board Duties. (a) The board shall make
4-9 available for inspection at an annual independent audit all books,
4-10 records of account, and minutes of proceedings maintained by the
4-11 foundation.
4-12 (b) Not later than the 45th day after the last day of the
4-13 fiscal year, the board shall submit to the commissioner a report
4-14 itemizing all income and expenditures and describing all activities
4-15 of the foundation during the fiscal year.
4-16 (c) The foundation shall provide fidelity <surety> bonds in
4-17 amounts determined by the board <commissioner> for employees or
4-18 agents who handle funds for the foundation.
4-19 (d) <The foundation shall collect, receive, hold in trust,
4-20 and disburse all assessments and other funds collected under this
4-21 subchapter as trust funds of the foundation.> The foundation and
4-22 the board are <is a> state agencies <agency> for the following
4-23 purposes only:
4-24 (1) exemption from taxation including exemption from
4-25 sales and use taxes, vehicle registration fees, and taxes under
5-1 Chapter 152, Tax Code; and
5-2 (2) indemnification <only and for no other purpose>.
5-3 (e) Funds collected by the foundation are not state funds
5-4 and are not required to be deposited in the state treasury. The
5-5 foundation shall deposit all money collected under this subchapter
5-6 in a bank or other depository approved by the board.
5-7 (f) The foundation is a governmental unit under Section
5-8 101.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and is entitled to
5-9 governmental immunity. A tort claim against the foundation must be
5-10 made under Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
5-11 (g) <(e)> The board shall collect data on the type and
5-12 quantity of pesticides used in accordance with this subchapter.
5-13 (h) <(f)> All revenue collected under this subchapter shall
5-14 be used solely to finance programs approved by the commissioner as
5-15 consistent with this subchapter and applicable provisions of the
5-16 constitution.
5-17 SECTION 5. Section 74.110(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
5-18 to read as follows:
5-19 (a) Except for instances of gross negligence, individual
5-20 criminal actions, or acts of dishonesty, the foundation, the
5-21 foundation's members, directors, officers, and employees are not
5-22 individually liable to a cotton grower or other person for:
5-23 (1) errors in judgment;
5-24 (2) mistakes; or
5-25 (3) other acts or omissions.
6-1 SECTION 6. Section 74.113(f), Agriculture Code, is amended
6-2 to read as follows:
6-3 (f) An assessment levied on cotton growers in an eradication
6-4 zone may be applied only to:
6-5 (1) eradication in that zone;
6-6 (2) the foundation's operating costs, including
6-7 payments on debt incurred for a foundation activity, except that
6-8 the funds of one zone may not be used to pay another zone's bank
6-9 loans; and
6-10 (3) the conducting of other programs consistent with
6-11 the declaration of policy stated in Section 74.101 of this code.
6-12 SECTION 7. Section 74.114, Agriculture Code, is amended by
6-13 amending Subsections (f) and (i) and adding Subsection (j) to read
6-14 as follows:
6-15 (f) Ballots in a referendum or board election shall <may> be
6-16 mailed directly to a central location, to be initially determined
6-17 by the commissioner and later determined by the board. A cotton
6-18 grower eligible to vote in a referendum or board election who has
6-19 not received a ballot from the foundation or another source shall
6-20 be offered the option of requesting a ballot by mail or obtaining a
6-21 ballot <voting in person> at the office of the county agent of the
6-22 Texas Agricultural Extension Service or a government office
6-23 distributing ballots in a <the> county in the proposed or
6-24 established zone in which the referendum or board election is
6-25 conducted <in which the cotton grower resides. A county agent
7-1 shall hold ballots received under this section in trust and shall
7-2 count the ballots and report the results to the commissioner and
7-3 the foundation>.
7-4 (i) A public hearing regarding the proposed eradication
7-5 program <plan>, including information regarding regulations to be
7-6 promulgated by the foundation and the commissioner, shall be held
7-7 by the foundation in each of several locations within each boll
7-8 weevil eradication zone. The area posted for each hearing shall
7-9 include no more than six contiguous counties that have cotton
7-10 production at the time of the hearing.
7-11 (j) Individual voter information, including an individual's
7-12 vote in a referendum or board election conducted under this
7-13 section, is confidential and is not subject to disclosure under
7-14 Chapter 552, Government Code.
7-15 SECTION 8. Section 74.115, Agriculture Code, is amended by
7-16 amending Subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:
7-17 (b) A cotton grower who fails to pay all assessments and
7-18 penalties before the 10th <31st> day after receiving notice of the
7-19 delinquency shall destroy any cotton growing on the grower's
7-20 acreage that is subject to the assessment. Cotton plants that are
7-21 not destroyed are a public nuisance, and, on recommendation of the
7-22 foundation, the department shall follow the procedures for
7-23 destruction of host plants provided by Subchapter A of this
7-24 chapter, including procedures for reimbursement by the grower of
7-25 costs required for destruction. The department may apply to a
8-1 district court with jurisdiction in the county in which the public
8-2 nuisance is located to have the nuisance condemned and destroyed.
8-3 Injunctive relief available to the department under this subchapter
8-4 is in addition to any other legal remedy available to the
8-5 department. The department is not required to file a bond in a
8-6 proceeding under this subsection.
8-7 (c) In addition to any other remedies for the collection of
8-8 assessments and penalties, the department may place and perfect a
8-9 lien on cotton produced and harvested that year <before the
8-10 destruction of other cotton grown> from the acreage that is subject
8-11 to the assessment that is due and unpaid. A buyer of cotton takes
8-12 free of the lien if the buyer has not received written or actual
8-13 notice of the lien from the department or if the buyer has paid for
8-14 the cotton by a check on which the department is named as a joint
8-15 payee. In an action to enforce the lien, the burden is on the
8-16 department to prove that the buyer of cotton received written or
8-17 actual notice of the lien. A buyer of cotton other than a person
8-18 buying cotton from the cotton grower takes free of the lien.
8-19 SECTION 9. Section 74.116(b), Agriculture Code, is amended
8-20 to read as follows:
8-21 (b) A cotton grower may not qualify for an exemption under
8-22 this section for a year in which the amount computed by subtracting
8-23 the assessments and penalties due under this subchapter from the
8-24 cotton grower's net income subject to federal income taxation in
8-25 the previous year is greater than $15,000.
9-1 SECTION 10. Section 74.120(c), Agriculture Code, is amended
9-2 to read as follows:
9-3 (c) The foundation and the department may adopt other
9-4 reasonable rules <it considers> necessary to carry out the purposes
9-5 of this subchapter and Subchapter A of this chapter. All rules
9-6 issued under this subchapter must be adopted and published in
9-7 accordance with state requirements. Rules adopted by the
9-8 foundation under this section shall be consistent with rules
9-9 adopted by the commissioner under this subchapter.
9-10 SECTION 11. Section 74.125, Agriculture Code, is amended to
9-11 read as follows:
9-12 Sec. 74.125. Organic Producers. (a) The board, in
9-13 cooperation with the commissioner, shall develop rules and
9-14 procedures to:
9-15 (1) protect the eligibility of organic producers to be
9-16 certified by the commissioner;
9-17 (2) ensure that organic and transitional certification
9-18 by the commissioner continue to meet national certification
9-19 standards in order for organic cotton to maintain international
9-20 marketability; and
9-21 (3) in all events maintain the effectiveness of the
9-22 boll weevil eradication program administered under this subchapter.
9-23 (b) The board may not treat or require treatment of organic
9-24 cotton fields with chemicals that are not approved for use on
9-25 certified organic cotton. Plow-up may be required as an
10-1 alternative to chemicals. In the rules adopted under Subsection
10-2 (a), the board may provide indemnity for the organic producers for
10-3 reasonable losses that result from a prohibition of production of
10-4 organic cotton or from any requirement of destruction of organic
10-5 cotton. If time is reasonably available for the production of an
10-6 economically feasible alternative crop, the board may require
10-7 mitigation of losses with the production of an alternative crop.
10-8 SECTION 12. Section 74.126(c), Agriculture Code, is amended
10-9 to read as follows:
10-10 (c) If the commissioner or the foundation determines that a
10-11 violation of this subchapter or a rule adopted under this
10-12 subchapter has occurred, the commissioner or the foundation may
10-13 request that the attorney general or the county or district
10-14 attorney of the county in which the alleged violation occurred or
10-15 is occurring file suit for civil, injunctive, and/or other
10-16 appropriate relief.
10-17 SECTION 13. Section 74.127, Agriculture Code, is amended by
10-18 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
10-19 (c) If the foundation is abolished or the program
10-20 discontinued for any reason, assessments approved, levied, or
10-21 otherwise collectible on the date of abolishment remain valid as
10-22 necessary to pay the financial obligations of the foundation.
10-23 SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
10-24 SECTION 15. The importance of this legislation and the
10-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
11-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
11-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
11-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.