1-1     By:  Hirschi, Gray (Senate Sponsor - Brown)           H.B. No. 1759

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 15, 1997;

 1-3     May 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural

 1-4     Resources; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the pesticide use and application program.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 76.106(c), Agriculture Code, is amended

1-11     to read as follows:

1-12           (c)  Each regulatory agency may charge a testing fee, as

1-13     fixed by the governing body of or the head of the regulatory

1-14     agency, for testing in each license use category.

1-15           SECTION 2.  Section 76.109, Agriculture Code, is amended by

1-16     amending Subsections (b) and (d) and by adding Subsection (g) to

1-17     read as follows:

1-18           (b)  A person shall apply for an original or renewal

1-19     noncommercial applicator license on forms prescribed by the

1-20     regulatory agency.  The [A nongovernmental] applicant shall include

1-21     with the application an annual license fee, as fixed by the

1-22     governing body of or the head of the regulatory agency.  The

1-23     governing body of or the head of the regulatory agency may set

1-24     other fees as necessary to defray the costs of administering a

1-25     pesticide applicator  certification program. [A regulatory agency

1-26     may not charge a governmental entity applicant a license fee.]

1-27           (d)  An individual to whom a noncommercial applicator license

1-28     is issued by the department is authorized to use and supervise the

1-29     use of restricted-use and state-limited-use pesticides in the

1-30     license use categories and subcategories in which the individual is

1-31     licensed.

1-32           (g)  An individual to whom a noncommercial applicator license

1-33     is issued by the Texas Department of Health is authorized to use

1-34     and supervise the use of general-use, restricted-use, and

1-35     state-limited-use pesticides in the license use categories and

1-36     subcategories in which the individual is licensed.

1-37           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

1-38     applies only to an original or renewal application for a pesticide

1-39     applicator's license that is filed on or after September 1, 1997.

1-40     An original or renewal license application that is filed before

1-41     September 1, 1997, is governed by the law as it existed immediately

1-42     before September 1, 1997, and that law is continued in effect for

1-43     that purpose.

1-44           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-45     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-46     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-47     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-48     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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