By Hirschi                                      H.B. No. 1759

      75R6157 SKB-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the pesticide use and application program.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 361.475(j), Health and Safety Code, is

 1-5     amended to read as follows:

 1-6           (j)  The revenues obtained from the waste tire recycling fees

 1-7     shall be deposited to the credit of the waste tire recycling fund

 1-8     and may be used only to pay for those activities and costs

 1-9     identified in Subsection (d) or (e), except that the legislature

1-10     may appropriate $50,000 from the fund to the Texas Department of

1-11     Health to be used only to administer its duties relating to the

1-12     pesticide use and application program under Subchapter E, Chapter

1-13     76, Agriculture Code.

1-14           SECTION 2.  Section 76.106(c), Agriculture Code, is amended

1-15     to read as follows:

1-16           (c)  Each regulatory agency may charge a testing fee, as

1-17     fixed by the governing body of or the head of the regulatory

1-18     agency, for testing in each license use category.

1-19           SECTION 3.  Sections 76.109(b) and (d), Agriculture Code, are

1-20     amended to read as follows:

1-21           (b)  A person shall apply for an original or renewal

1-22     noncommercial applicator license on forms prescribed by the

1-23     regulatory agency.  The [A nongovernmental] applicant shall include

1-24     with the application an annual license fee, as fixed by the

 2-1     governing body of or the head of the regulatory agency.  The

 2-2     governing body of or the head of the regulatory agency may set

 2-3     other fees as necessary to defray the costs of administering a

 2-4     pesticide applicator  certification program. [A regulatory agency

 2-5     may not charge a governmental entity applicant a license fee.]

 2-6           (d)  An individual to whom a noncommercial applicator license

 2-7     is issued is authorized to use and supervise the use of

 2-8     [restricted-use and state-limited-use] pesticides in the license

 2-9     use categories and subcategories in which the individual is

2-10     licensed.

2-11           SECTION 4.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-12           (b)  Sections 2 and 3 of this Act apply only to an original

2-13     or renewal application for a pesticide applicator's license that is

2-14     filed on or after September 1, 1997.  An original or renewal

2-15     license application that is filed before September 1, 1997, is

2-16     governed by the law as it existed immediately before September 1,

2-17     1997, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

2-18           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.