1-1 By: Sims, Lucio S.B. No. 1196
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 1995; March 16, 1995, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
1-4 April 18, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 18, 1995,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1196 By: Lucio
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the boll weevil eradication program.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Subdivisions (5), (9), and (14), Section 74.102,
1-13 Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-14 (5) "Cotton grower" means an individual who<:>
1-15 <(A)> grows cotton<;> and
1-16 <(B)> receives <direct> income on or after June
1-17 1, 1992, from the sale of cotton. The term includes an individual
1-18 who as owner, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper is entitled to
1-19 share in the cotton grown and available for marketing from a farm
1-20 or to share in the proceeds from the sale of the cotton from the
1-21 farm, under 7 C.F.R. Part 1413.
1-22 (9) "High Plains Boll Weevil Suppression Program Area"
1-23 may include, subject to change as provided under this subchapter,
1-24 all or part of <includes> Bailey, Borden, Briscoe, Castro, Cochran,
1-25 Crosby, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale,
1-26 Hockley, Howard, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Midland, Motley,
1-27 Parmer, Swisher, Terry, <and> Yoakum, or other counties.
1-28 (14) "St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Boll Weevil Control
1-29 Zone" may include, subject to change as provided under this
1-30 subchapter, all or part of <includes> Glasscock, Reagan, Upton,
1-31 <and> south Midland, or other counties.
1-32 SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 74.107, Agriculture Code,
1-33 is amended to read as follows:
1-34 (a) The High Plains Boll Weevil Suppression Program Area and
1-35 the St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Boll Weevil Control Zone are
1-36 separate zones for the purposes of boll weevil eradication;
1-37 however, an area in either zone may be assigned to another zone as
1-38 provided by <and may not be combined with another area in an
1-39 eradication zone under> this subchapter.
1-40 SECTION 3. Section 74.108, Agriculture Code, is amended to
1-41 read as follows:
1-42 Sec. 74.108. Board Powers. (a) The board may:
1-43 (1) conduct board elections;
1-44 (2) conduct eradication zone referenda;
1-45 (3) conduct assessment referenda under Section 74.113
1-46 of this code;
1-47 (4) conduct programs consistent with the declaration
1-48 of policy stated in Section 74.101 of this code;
1-49 (5) accept, as necessary to implement this chapter,
1-50 gifts and grants;
1-51 (6) borrow money as necessary to execute this chapter;
1-52 (7) take other action and exercise other authority as
1-53 necessary to execute any act authorized by this subchapter or the
1-54 Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq.,
1-55 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); and
1-56 (8) <(5)> form an advisory committee composed of
1-57 individuals from this state, other states, or other countries and
1-58 change membership on the committee, as necessary. Any advisory
1-59 committee created under this subdivision for the purpose of
1-60 establishing treatment methods shall include among its members
1-61 persons with knowledge of the effects of different treatments on
1-62 the health of agricultural workers, the local population, and the
1-63 ecosystem, including but not limited to the effects of a particular
1-64 method of treatment on beneficial organisms and wildlife, the
1-65 potential for secondary infestations from nontarget pests, and the
1-66 potential for pest resistance to particular methods of treatment.
1-67 (b) The board may add an area to an eradication zone if:
1-68 (1) cotton production begins in the area;
2-1 (2) the area is adjacent to an eradication zone or is
2-2 in an area with biological characteristics similar to the
2-3 eradication zone; and
2-4 (3) the addition is approved in a referendum held in
2-5 the area.
2-6 (c) The board may initiate the boll weevil eradication
2-7 program in an area added to an eradication zone and may assess
2-8 cotton growers in the area added to the eradication zone to ensure
2-9 the integrity and success of the eradication program. The board
2-10 shall provide notice of intent to initiate eradication and collect
2-11 assessments through informational meetings in the affected area not
2-12 later than 60 days before the date recognized by the board as the
2-13 average planting date for the area.
2-14 SECTION 4. Section 74.109, Agriculture Code, is amended to
2-15 read as follows:
2-16 Sec. 74.109. Board Duties. (a) The board shall make
2-17 available for inspection at an annual independent audit all books,
2-18 records of account, and minutes of proceedings maintained by the
2-19 foundation.
2-20 (b) Not later than the 45th day after the last day of the
2-21 fiscal year, the board shall submit to the commissioner a report
2-22 itemizing all income and expenditures and describing all activities
2-23 of the foundation during the fiscal year.
2-24 (c) The foundation shall provide fidelity <surety> bonds in
2-25 amounts determined by the board <commissioner> for employees or
2-26 agents who handle funds for the foundation.
2-27 (d) <The foundation shall collect, receive, hold in trust,
2-28 and disburse all assessments and other funds collected under this
2-29 subchapter as trust funds of the foundation.> The foundation and
2-30 the board are <is a> state agencies <agency> for the following
2-31 purposes only:
2-32 (1) exemption from taxation including exemption from
2-33 sales and use taxes, vehicle registration fees, and taxes under
2-34 Chapter 152, Tax Code; and
2-35 (2) indemnification <only and for no other purpose>.
2-36 (e) Funds collected by the foundation are not state funds
2-37 and are not required to be deposited in the state treasury. The
2-38 foundation shall deposit all money collected under this subchapter
2-39 in a bank or other depository approved by the board.
2-40 (f) The foundation is a governmental unit under Section
2-41 101.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and is entitled to
2-42 governmental immunity. A tort claim against the foundation must be
2-43 made under Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
2-44 (g) <(e)> The board shall collect data on the type and
2-45 quantity of pesticides used in accordance with this subchapter.
2-46 (h) <(f)> All revenue collected under this subchapter shall
2-47 be used solely to finance programs approved by the commissioner as
2-48 consistent with this subchapter and applicable provisions of the
2-49 constitution.
2-50 SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 74.110, Agriculture Code,
2-51 is amended to read as follows:
2-52 (a) Except for instances of gross negligence, individual
2-53 criminal actions, or acts of dishonesty, the foundation, the
2-54 foundation's members, directors, officers, and employees are not
2-55 individually liable to a cotton grower or other person for:
2-56 (1) errors in judgment;
2-57 (2) mistakes; or
2-58 (3) other acts or omissions.
2-59 SECTION 6. Subsection (f), Section 74.113, Agriculture Code,
2-60 is amended to read as follows:
2-61 (f) An assessment levied on cotton growers in an eradication
2-62 zone may be applied only to:
2-63 (1) eradication in that zone;
2-64 (2) the foundation's operating costs, including
2-65 payments on debt incurred for a foundation activity; and
2-66 (3) the conducting of other programs consistent with
2-67 the declaration of policy stated in Section 74.101 of this code.
2-68 SECTION 7. Section 74.114, Agriculture Code, is amended by
2-69 amending Subsections (f) and (i) and by adding Subsection (j) to
2-70 read as follows:
3-1 (f) Ballots in a referendum or board election shall <may> be
3-2 mailed directly to a central location, to be initially determined
3-3 by the commissioner and later determined by the board. A cotton
3-4 grower eligible to vote in a referendum or board election who has
3-5 not received a ballot from the foundation or another source shall
3-6 be offered the option of requesting a ballot by mail or obtaining a
3-7 ballot <voting in person> at the office of the county agent of the
3-8 Texas Agricultural Extension Service or a government office
3-9 distributing ballots in a <the> county in the proposed or
3-10 established zone in which the referendum or board election is
3-11 conducted <which the cotton grower resides. A county agent shall
3-12 hold ballots received under this section in trust and shall count
3-13 the ballots and report the results to the commissioner and the
3-14 foundation>.
3-15 (i) A public hearing regarding the proposed eradication
3-16 program <plan>, including information regarding regulations to be
3-17 promulgated by the foundation and the commissioner, shall be held
3-18 by the foundation in each of several locations within each boll
3-19 weevil eradication zone. The area posted for each hearing shall
3-20 include no more than six contiguous counties that have cotton
3-21 production at the time of the hearing.
3-22 (j) Individual voter information, including an individual's
3-23 vote in a referendum or board election conducted under this
3-24 section, is confidential and is not subject to disclosure under the
3-25 open records law, Chapter 552, Government Code.
3-26 SECTION 8. Subsections (b) and (c), Section 74.115,
3-27 Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
3-28 (b) A cotton grower who fails to pay all assessments and
3-29 penalties before the 10th <31st> day after receiving notice of the
3-30 delinquency shall destroy any cotton growing on the grower's
3-31 acreage that is subject to the assessment. Cotton plants that are
3-32 not destroyed are a public nuisance, and, on recommendation of the
3-33 foundation, the department shall follow the procedures for
3-34 destruction of host plants provided by Subchapter A of this
3-35 chapter, including procedures for reimbursement by the grower of
3-36 costs required for destruction. The department may apply to a
3-37 district court with jurisdiction in the county in which the public
3-38 nuisance is located to have the nuisance condemned and destroyed.
3-39 Injunctive relief available to the department under this subchapter
3-40 is in addition to any other legal remedy available to the
3-41 department. The department is not required to file a bond in a
3-42 proceeding under this subsection.
3-43 (c) In addition to any other remedies for the collection of
3-44 assessments and penalties, the department may place and perfect a
3-45 lien on cotton produced and harvested that year <before the
3-46 destruction of other cotton grown> from the acreage that is subject
3-47 to the assessment that is due and unpaid. A buyer of cotton takes
3-48 free of the lien if the buyer has not received written or actual
3-49 notice of the lien from the department or if the buyer has paid for
3-50 the cotton by a check on which the department is named as a joint
3-51 payee. In an action to enforce the lien, the burden is on the
3-52 department to prove that the buyer of cotton received written or
3-53 actual notice of the lien. A buyer of cotton other than a person
3-54 buying cotton from the cotton grower takes free of the lien.
3-55 SECTION 9. Subsection (b), Section 74.116, Agriculture Code,
3-56 is amended to read as follows:
3-57 (b) A cotton grower may not qualify for an exemption under
3-58 this section for a year in which the amount computed by subtracting
3-59 the assessments and penalties due under this subchapter from the
3-60 cotton grower's net income subject to federal income taxation in
3-61 the previous year is greater than $15,000.
3-62 SECTION 10. Subsection (c), Section 74.120, Agriculture
3-63 Code, is amended to read as follows:
3-64 (c) The foundation and the department may adopt other
3-65 reasonable rules <it considers> necessary to carry out the purposes
3-66 of this subchapter and Subchapter A of this chapter. All rules
3-67 issued under this subchapter must be adopted and published in
3-68 accordance with state requirements. Rules adopted by the
3-69 foundation under this section shall be consistent with rules
3-70 adopted by the commissioner under this subchapter.
4-1 SECTION 11. Section 74.125, Agriculture Code, is amended to
4-2 read as follows:
4-3 Sec. 74.125. Organic Producers. (a) The board, in
4-4 cooperation with the commissioner, shall develop rules and
4-5 procedures to:
4-6 (1) protect the eligibility of organic producers to be
4-7 certified by the commissioner;
4-8 (2) ensure that organic and transitional certification
4-9 by the commissioner continue to meet national certification
4-10 standards in order for organic cotton to maintain international
4-11 marketability; and
4-12 (3) in all events maintain the effectiveness of the
4-13 boll weevil eradication program administered under this subchapter.
4-14 (b) The board may not treat or require treatment of organic
4-15 cotton fields with chemicals that are not approved for use on
4-16 certified organic cotton. Plow-up may be required as an
4-17 alternative to chemicals. In the rules adopted under Subsection
4-18 (a), the board may provide indemnity for the organic producers for
4-19 reasonable losses that result from a prohibition of production of
4-20 organic cotton or from any requirement of destruction of organic
4-21 cotton. If time is reasonably available for the production of an
4-22 economically feasible alternative crop, the board may require
4-23 mitigation of losses with the production of an alternative crop.
4-24 SECTION 12. Subsection (c), Section 74.126, Agriculture
4-25 Code, is amended to read as follows:
4-26 (c) If the commissioner or the foundation determines that a
4-27 violation of this subchapter or a rule adopted under this
4-28 subchapter has occurred, the commissioner or the foundation may
4-29 request that the attorney general or the county or district
4-30 attorney of the county in which the alleged violation occurred or
4-31 is occurring file suit for civil, injunctive, and/or other
4-32 appropriate relief.
4-33 SECTION 13. Section 74.127, Agriculture Code, is amended by
4-34 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
4-35 (c) If the foundation is abolished or the program
4-36 discontinued for any reason, assessments approved, levied, or
4-37 otherwise collectible on the date of abolishment remain valid as
4-38 necessary to pay the financial obligations of the foundation.
4-39 SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
4-40 SECTION 15. The importance of this legislation and the
4-41 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-42 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-43 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-44 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
4-45 * * * * *