By: Brown S.B. No. 1124
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the regulation of aquaculture.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 134, Agriculture Code, is
1-4 amended to read as follows:
1-5 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1-6 Sec. 134.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-7 (1) "Cultured species" means aquatic [plants or]
1-8 animals raised under conditions where at least a portion of their
1-9 life cycle is controlled by an aquaculturist.
1-10 (2) "Exotic species" means a nonindigenous plant or
1-11 animal not normally found in the public waters of this state.
1-12 (3) "Aquaculturist" or "fish farmer" means any person
1-13 licensed under this chapter to engage in aquaculture or fish
1-14 farming.
1-15 (4) "Aquaculture" or "fish farming" means the business
1-16 of producing or [and] selling cultured species raised in private
1-17 facilities. Aquaculture or fish farming is an agricultural
1-18 activity.
1-19 (5) "Private facility" means a pond, tank, cage, or
1-20 other structure capable of holding cultured species in confinement
1-21 wholly within or on private land or water or within or on permitted
1-22 public land or water.
1-23 (6) "Owner" means an aquaculturist owning or operating
2-1 a facility licensed by the commission [department].
2-2 (7) "Commission" means the Texas Animal Health
2-3 Commission.
2-4 Sec. 134.002. AQUACULTURE PROGRAM. The department shall
2-5 [establish an aquaculture program that]:
2-6 (1) promote [develops and conducts a plan for
2-7 promoting] aquaculture products;
2-8 (2) provide [licenses and regulates aquaculture
2-9 operations;]
2-10 [(3) provides] technical assistance, including
2-11 demonstrations, to aquaculturists;
2-12 (3) provide [(4) provides] coordinated support
2-13 through colleges and universities and other governmental entities;
2-14 (4) solicit [(5) solicits] financial support from the
2-15 federal government for the aquaculture industry;
2-16 (5) develop [(6) develops] and expand [expands] the
2-17 aquaculture industry to:
2-18 (A) stimulate the state's economy; and
2-19 (B) offer alternative crop opportunities; and
2-20 (6) perform [(7) performs] other functions and
2-21 activities as required by law.
2-22 Sec. 134.0025. LICENSING. The commission shall establish an
2-23 application process for an aquaculture license and license
2-24 aquaculture facilities.
2-25 Sec. 134.003. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR; STAFF. (a) The
3-1 department shall designate a person to administer the department's
3-2 aquaculture program.
3-3 (b) The department or the department's program administrator
3-4 may employ the necessary staff to carry out the functions and
3-5 duties of the department under this chapter.
3-6 Sec. 134.0035. LICENSING ADMINISTRATOR; STAFF. (a) The
3-7 commission shall designate a person to administer the commission's
3-8 aquaculture licensing program.
3-9 (b) The commission or the commission's program administrator
3-10 may employ the necessary staff to carry out the functions and
3-11 duties of the commission under this chapter.
3-12 Sec. 134.004. CONTRACTS. The department and the commission
3-13 may contract with state, federal, or private entities for
3-14 assistance in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
3-15 Sec. 134.005. RULES. (a) The department, the commission,
3-16 and the Parks and Wildlife Department may [shall] adopt rules to
3-17 carry out their respective duties under this chapter [the
3-18 aquaculture program].
3-19 (b) The commission may adopt rules to control a disease or
3-20 agent of disease transmission that affects, or has the potential to
3-21 affect, cultured species or other aquatic species.
3-22 (c) The commission by rule may establish recordkeeping
3-23 requirements for an aquaculture facility.
3-24 (d) The rules may not conflict with rules issued as
3-25 otherwise provided by [under Section 134.020 of] this code.
4-1 Sec. 134.006. AQUACULTURE FUND. (a) The aquaculture fund
4-2 is established in the state treasury.
4-3 (b) The commission [department] shall deposit to the credit
4-4 of the fund the fees received from licenses issued under this
4-5 chapter.
4-6 (c) The aquaculture fund may be used only to administer this
4-7 chapter.
4-8 SECTION 2. Sections 134.011, 134.012, 134.014, 134.015, and
4-9 134.016, Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-10 Sec. 134.011. AQUACULTURE LICENSE REQUIRED. A person may
4-11 not operate an aquaculture facility without first having acquired
4-12 from the commission [department] an aquaculture license.
4-13 Sec. 134.012. FISH FARM VEHICLE LICENSE REQUIRED.
4-14 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) [of this section], a
4-15 vehicle used to transport cultured species [fish] from a private
4-16 facility [fish farm] for sale [from the vehicle] is required to
4-17 have a fish farm vehicle license.
4-18 (b) A fish farm vehicle license is not required for a
4-19 vehicle owned and operated by the holder of an aquaculture license.
4-20 Sec. 134.014. LICENSE FEES. The commission [department]
4-21 shall issue an aquaculture license or a fish farm vehicle license
4-22 on the payment of a fee, as provided by commission [department]
4-23 rule.
4-24 Sec. 134.015. FORM, DURATION, AND RENEWAL OF LICENSE.
4-25 (a) An aquaculture license must be on a numbered form provided by
5-1 the commission [department].
5-2 (b) A license is valid for two years after the date of
5-3 issuance. The commission [department] shall renew a license on
5-4 submission by the licensee of a completed application and a renewal
5-5 fee, as provided by commission [department] rule, unless the
5-6 commission [department] determines that the licensee has violated
5-7 this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter.
5-8 (c) The commission [department] may suspend an aquaculture
5-9 license if it is determined that the licensee has violated this
5-10 chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter.
5-11 Sec. 134.016. RECORDS. The holder of an aquaculture license
5-12 shall maintain a record of the shipment [sales] of aquatic
5-13 [cultured] species raised in an aquaculture facility as provided by
5-14 Chapters 47 and 66, Parks and Wildlife Code, and rules adopted by
5-15 the Parks and Wildlife Department[, regulated by a bag, possession,
5-16 or size limit for a period of time of not less than one year. The
5-17 record is open for inspection by designated employees of the
5-18 department during normal business hours].
5-19 SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 134.023, Agriculture
5-20 Code, is amended to read as follows:
5-21 (b) A person who violates Section [134.019 or] 134.020 [of
5-22 this code] commits an offense that is a Class B misdemeanor.
5-23 SECTION 4. Chapter 134, Agriculture Code, is amended by
5-24 adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
6-1 SUBCHAPTER C. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION
6-2 Sec. 134.031. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT. (a) The Texas
6-3 Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the Parks and Wildlife
6-4 Department, and the commission shall enter into a memorandum of
6-5 agreement for the regulation of matters related to aquaculture.
6-6 (b) The memorandum of agreement must require that:
6-7 (1) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
6-8 Commission, after receiving an application for a discharge permit
6-9 from an aquaculture facility, shall provide a copy of the
6-10 application to the Parks and Wildlife Department and the
6-11 commission;
6-12 (2) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
6-13 Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the commission
6-14 shall each appoint one member of a three-member application review
6-15 committee to review the aquaculture discharge permit application to
6-16 ensure that the proposed discharge will not adversely affect a bay,
6-17 an estuary, or other waters of this state;
6-18 (3) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
6-19 Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the commission
6-20 shall:
6-21 (A) expeditiously enforce all aquaculture
6-22 regulations under the authority of each; and
6-23 (B) coordinate their regulatory enforcement
6-24 efforts with regard to aquaculture-related activities;
6-25 (4) after discovering evidence of an occurrence of
7-1 disease in an aquaculture facility, the owner of the aquaculture
7-2 facility shall immediately notify the commission, and the
7-3 commission shall immediately:
7-4 (A) notify the Parks and Wildlife Department and
7-5 the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission; and
7-6 (B) advise the Parks and Wildlife Department and
7-7 the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission regarding the
7-8 appropriate action to be taken by each agency;
7-9 (5) after receiving a notice from the commission under
7-10 Subdivision (4), the executive director of the Texas Natural
7-11 Resource Conservation Commission shall immediately order a halt to
7-12 all wastewater discharges emanating from the reporting aquaculture
7-13 facility or require the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
7-14 Commission to take other appropriate action;
7-15 (6) the commission, after receiving an application for
7-16 an aquaculture license under Subchapter A, shall provide the Parks
7-17 and Wildlife Department a copy of the application for review by the
7-18 department regarding possible adverse environmental consequences
7-19 resulting from the approval of the application; and
7-20 (7) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
7-21 Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the commission
7-22 shall conduct a study regarding wastewater discharges from
7-23 aquaculture facilities that:
7-24 (A) generates scientific information regarding
7-25 waste discharge permitting, with particular attention to the study
8-1 of the environmental impact of suspended solids;
8-2 (B) establishes standards for waste discharge
8-3 permitting;
8-4 (C) contains a plan for the aquaculture industry
8-5 to contribute financing, including grants, for conducting the study
8-6 and publishing the report required by this subdivision; and
8-7 (D) serves as the basis of a joint report to be
8-8 made available to the public.
8-9 (c) Representatives of the aquaculture industry, educational
8-10 institutions, and interested governmental agencies are entitled to
8-11 contribute to the study required by Subsection (b)(7).
8-12 (d) The report required by Subsection (b)(7) shall be made
8-13 available to the public before December 31, 1998. This subsection
8-14 expires December 31, 1998.
8-15 SECTION 5. Subsections (b) and (f), Section 66.020, Parks
8-16 and Wildlife Code, are amended to read as follows:
8-17 (b) This section applies to the possession, transportation,
8-18 sale, or purchase of any fish described by Subsection (a) of this
8-19 section without regard to where the fish was taken, caught, or
8-20 raised, but does not apply to:
8-21 (1) the transportation or possession of fish taken,
8-22 caught, or raised outside this state and transported by common
8-23 carrier without being unloaded from outside this state to a point
8-24 of delivery outside this state;
8-25 (2) fish raised by being continuously fed a prepared
9-1 feed and sold by a licensed Texas fish farmer [if marked and
9-2 identified as required under Chapter 134, Agriculture Code]; or
9-3 (3) the lawful importation by the holder of a Texas
9-4 finfish import license into this state from another state or
9-5 foreign country of farm-raised red drum, bass of the genus
9-6 Micropterus, crappie, flathead catfish, striped bass, white bass,
9-7 or a hybrid of any of those fish that have been continuously fed a
9-8 prepared feed as a primary food source or lawfully taken, caught,
9-9 or raised blue marlin, jewfish, longbill spearfish, muskellunge,
9-10 northern pike, sailfish, sauger, snook, spotted sea trout, tarpon,
9-11 walleye, white marlin, yellow bass, or a hybrid of any of those
9-12 fish, if the fish are transported or sold when not alive and are
9-13 tagged, invoiced, packaged, and labeled under regulations of the
9-14 commission and if the license holder complies with any requirements
9-15 the commission may establish by proclamation that the fish enter
9-16 the stream of commerce for sale in this state in a condition
9-17 allowing ready identification of the species, including a
9-18 requirement that the fish come into the state with the head and
9-19 tail intact and tagged and a requirement that an invoice accompany
9-20 all imported fish regulated by this section through each sales
9-21 transaction, including transactions at the place of the final sale
9-22 to the consumer.
9-23 (f) The commission by proclamation may require fish imported
9-24 under this section, fish raised and sold by a fish farmer licensed
9-25 by this state, or fish shipped by a fish farmer licensed by this
10-1 state to be tagged, packaged, and labeled and to be accompanied by
10-2 an invoice. The commission may provide a prenumbered invoice to a
10-3 person importing any of the fish described by Subsection (a) of
10-4 this section into this state from another state or foreign country
10-5 and may charge a fee for the invoice in an amount determined by the
10-6 commission that is reasonable to defray the administrative costs
10-7 incurred under this subsection. The invoice shall be used to
10-8 report shipments of any of the fish described by Subsection (a) of
10-9 this section. A person who receives invoices under this subsection
10-10 must account to the department for all invoices received as
10-11 required by rules adopted by the commission. A person commits an
10-12 offense if the person fails or refuses to account for an invoice as
10-13 required by commission rules.
10-14 SECTION 6. Sections 134.013 and 134.019, Agriculture Code,
10-15 are repealed.
10-16 SECTION 7. Effective September 1, 1998, Subchapter D,
10-17 Chapter 1, Parks and Wildlife Code, is repealed. The aquaculture
10-18 executive committee is abolished on that date.
10-19 SECTION 8. (a) The Texas Animal Health Commission, the
10-20 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, and the Parks and
10-21 Wildlife Department shall enter into a memorandum of agreement to
10-22 conduct a joint study.
10-23 (b) The memorandum of agreement must:
10-24 (1) require that the joint study be completed and a
10-25 report made public before August 31, 1999;
11-1 (2) require that the joint study focus on the
11-2 occurrence of disease in discarded seafood and seafood processing
11-3 plant waste and the possibility of transmission of disease to
11-4 aquaculture facilities or to cultured species or other aquatic
11-5 species as a result of direct or indirect exposure to infected
11-6 waste;
11-7 (3) provide a strategy for the Texas Animal Health
11-8 Commission to ensure that a seafood processing plant disposes of
11-9 its waste in a manner that will minimize the transmission of
11-10 disease from the seafood processing plant to an aquaculture
11-11 facility or to cultured species or other aquatic species;
11-12 (4) include a plan for the seafood processing industry
11-13 to contribute financing, including grants, for conducting the joint
11-14 study; and
11-15 (5) provide that representatives of the aquaculture
11-16 industry, representatives of the seafood processing industry,
11-17 educational institutions, and interested governmental agencies may
11-18 contribute to the joint study.
11-19 (c) The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the
11-20 Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Animal Health
11-21 Commission shall enter into the memorandum of agreement required by
11-22 this section as soon as practicable on or after the effective date
11-23 of this Act.
11-24 SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
11-25 SECTION 10. (a) The Department of Agriculture, the Parks
12-1 and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Animal Health Commission
12-2 shall coordinate any necessary transfer of files, personnel,
12-3 equipment, or related materials as soon as practicable on or after
12-4 the effective date of this Act.
12-5 (b) A rule adopted by the Department of Agriculture with
12-6 regard to aquaculture licensing or regulation in effect immediately
12-7 before September 1, 1997, becomes a rule of the Texas Animal Health
12-8 Commission and the Parks and Wildlife Department and remains in
12-9 effect until amended or repealed by the commission or the
12-10 department, as applicable.
12-11 (c) The validity of any action taken before September 1,
12-12 1997, by the Department of Agriculture with regard to an
12-13 aquaculture license or fish farm vehicle license is not affected by
12-14 this Act. To the extent an action of the department continues to
12-15 have any effect on or after September 1, 1997, the action is
12-16 considered to be an action of the Texas Animal Health Commission.
12-17 (d) The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the
12-18 Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Animal Health
12-19 Commission shall, as soon as practicable on or after the effective
12-20 date of this Act, enter into the memorandum of agreement required
12-21 by Section 134.031, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
12-22 (e) The aquaculture executive committee and the application
12-23 review committee shall coordinate any necessary transfer of files,
12-24 personnel, equipment, or related material not later than August 31,
12-25 1998.
13-1 SECTION 11. The importance of this legislation and the
13-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
13-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
13-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
13-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.