1-1 By: Brown S.B. No. 733
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 23, 1995; February 27, 1995,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
1-4 March 15, 1995, reported favorably, as amended, by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 15, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Brown
1-7 Amend S.B. No. 733 (Introduced version page 2, line 10; Committee
1-8 printing page , line ) by inserting after the word "raised"
1-9 and before the word "and" the following:
1-10 by being continuously fed a prepared feed
1-11 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-12 AN ACT
1-13 relating to regulating the taking, purchase, and sale of certain
1-14 fish.
1-15 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-16 SECTION 1. Section 66.001, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
1-17 amended to read as follows:
1-18 Sec. 66.001. DEFINITIONS <SALT AND FRESH WATER DEFINED>. In
1-19 this chapter:
1-20 (1) "Fresh water" means all lakes, lagoons, rivers,
1-21 and streams to their mouths, but does not include coastal or tidal
1-22 water.
1-23 (2) "Prepared feed" means a pelleted ration 20 percent
1-24 or more of which consists of plant protein or grain by-products.
1-25 (3) "Salt water" means all coastal or tidal water.
1-26 SECTION 2. Subsections (a), (b), and (d), Section 66.020,
1-27 Parks and Wildlife Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-28 (a) It is unlawful for any person to buy or offer to buy,
1-29 sell or offer to sell, possess for the purpose of sale, transport
1-30 or ship for the purpose of sale, barter, or exchange bass of the
1-31 genus Micropterus, blue marlin, <cobia,> crappie, flathead catfish,
1-32 jewfish, <king mackerel,> longbill spearfish, muskellunge, northern
1-33 pike, red drum, sailfish, sauger, snook, <Spanish mackerel,>
1-34 spotted sea trout, striped bass, tarpon, <wahoo,> walleye, white
1-35 bass, white marlin, yellow bass, or hybrids of any of those fish.
1-36 (b) This section applies to the possession, transportation,
1-37 sale, or purchase of any fish described by Subsection (a) of this
1-38 section without regard to where the fish was taken, caught, or
1-39 raised, but does not apply to:
1-40 (1) the transportation or possession of fish taken,
1-41 caught, or raised outside this state and transported by common
1-42 carrier without being unloaded from outside this state to a point
1-43 of delivery outside this state;
1-44 (2) fish raised and sold by a licensed Texas fish
1-45 farmer if <in a private pond in this state and> marked and
1-46 identified as required under Chapter 134, Agriculture Code; or
1-47 (3) the lawful importation by the holder of a Texas
1-48 finfish import license into this state from another state or
1-49 foreign country of farm-raised <lawfully raised> red drum, bass of
1-50 the genus Micropterus, crappie, flathead catfish, striped bass,
1-51 white bass, or a hybrid of any of those fish that have been
1-52 continuously fed a prepared feed as a primary food source or
1-53 lawfully taken, caught, or raised <bass of the genus Micropterus,>
1-54 blue marlin, <cobia, crappie, flathead catfish,> jewfish, <king
1-55 mackerel,> longbill spearfish, muskellunge, northern pike,
1-56 sailfish, sauger, snook <Spanish mackerel>, spotted sea trout,
1-57 <striped bass,> tarpon, <wahoo,> walleye, <white bass,> white
1-58 marlin, yellow bass, or a hybrid of any of those fish, if the fish
1-59 are transported or sold when not alive and are tagged, invoiced,
1-60 packaged, and labeled under regulations of the commission and if
1-61 the license holder complies with any requirements the commission
1-62 may establish by proclamation that the fish enter the stream of
1-63 commerce for sale in this state in a condition allowing ready
1-64 identification of the species, including a requirement that the
1-65 fish come into the state with the head and tail intact and tagged
1-66 and a requirement that an invoice accompany all imported fish
1-67 regulated by this section through each sales transaction, including
1-68 transactions at the place of the final sale to the consumer.
2-1 (d) It is unlawful for any person to receive directly from
2-2 another state or foreign country, import, transport, or sell bass
2-3 of the genus Micropterus, blue marlin, <cobia,> crappie, flathead
2-4 catfish, jewfish, <king mackerel,> longbill spearfish, muskellunge,
2-5 northern pike, red drum, sailfish, sauger, snook, <Spanish
2-6 mackerel,> spotted sea trout, striped bass, tarpon, <wahoo,>
2-7 walleye, white bass, white marlin, yellow bass, or a hybrid of any
2-8 of those fish unless the person holds a Texas finfish import
2-9 license issued by the department.
2-10 SECTION 3. Section 79.002, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
2-11 amended to read as follows:
2-12 Sec. 79.002. Authority. The <New regulatory authority by
2-13 the department may occur only if federal regulation in state waters
2-14 is proposed and under no other circumstances. When necessary to
2-15 retain jurisdiction of resources in the state, and only then, the>
2-16 department may follow procedures outlined in Section 12.027 or
2-17 Chapter 61 of this code in promulgating rules for harvest of any
2-18 and all species of marine life subject to the Fishery Conservation
2-19 and Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C.A. Section 1801 et seq.). The
2-20 commission may delegate to the director the duties,
2-21 responsibilities, and authority provided by this chapter for taking
2-22 immediate action as necessary to modify state coastal fisheries
2-23 regulations in order to provide for consistency with federal
2-24 regulations in the exclusive economic zone.
2-25 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
2-26 SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
2-27 to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
2-28 An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
2-29 covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
2-30 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
2-31 purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
2-32 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-33 before that date.
2-34 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
2-35 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-36 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-37 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-38 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-39 * * * * *