Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
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.
2-23 (a) The commission shall:
2-24 (1) license aquaculture facilities;
2-25 (2) develop an application process for an aquaculture
3-1 license;
3-2 (b) the commission may:
3-3 (1) set fees for an aquaculture license;
3-4 (2) reserve the authority to deny an aquaculture
3-5 license.
3-6 Sec. 134.003. Program Administrator; Staff. (a) The
3-7 department shall designate a person to administer the department's
3-8 aquaculture program.
3-9 (b) The department or the department's program administrator
3-10 may employ the necessary staff to carry out the functions and
3-11 duties of the department under this chapter.
3-12 Sec. 134.0035. LICENSING ADMINISTRATOR; STAFF. (a) The
3-13 commission shall designate a person to administer the commission's
3-14 aquaculture licensing program.
3-15 (b) The commission or the commission's program administrator
3-16 may employ the necessary staff to carry out the functions and
3-17 duties of the commission under this chapter.
3-18 Sec. 134.004. Contracts. The department and the commission
3-19 may contract with state, federal, or private entities for
3-20 assistance in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
3-21 Sec. 134.005. Rules. (a) The department, the commission,
3-22 and the Parks and Wildlife Commission may [shall] adopt rules to
3-23 carry out their respective duties under this chapter [the
3-24 aquaculture program].
3-25 (b) The commission may adopt rules to control any disease or
4-1 agent of transmission for any disease that affects, or has
4-2 potential to affect, cultured species, or native wild aquatic
4-3 species.
4-4 (c) The commission may establish, by rule, record keeping
4-5 requirements for aquaculture facilities.
4-6 (d) The rules may not conflict with rules issued as
4-7 otherwise provided by [under Section 134.020 of] this code.
4-8 Sec. 134.006. Aquaculture Fund. (a) The aquaculture fund
4-9 is established in the state treasury.
4-10 (b) The commission [department] shall deposit to the credit
4-11 of the fund the fees received from licenses issued under this
4-12 chapter.
4-13 (c) The aquaculture fund may be used only to administer this
4-14 chapter.
4-15 SECTION 2. Sections 134.011, 134.012, 134.014, 134.015, and
4-16 134.016, Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-17 Sec. 134.011. Aquaculture License Required. A person may
4-18 not operate [an] a Texas aquaculture facility without first having
4-19 acquired from the commission [department] an aquaculture license.
4-20 Sec. 134.012. Fish Farm Vehicle License Required.
4-21 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, a person
4-22 [vehicle used to transport] transporting cultured species [fish]
4-23 from a private facility [fish farm] for sale must have [from the
4-24 vehicle is required to] a fish farm vehicle license.
4-25 (b) A fish farm vehicle license is not required for a
5-1 vehicle owned and operated by the holder of an aquaculture license.
5-2 Sec. 134.014. License Fees. The commission [department]
5-3 shall issue an aquaculture license or a fish farm vehicle license
5-4 on the payment of a fee, as provided by commission [department]
5-5 rule.
5-6 Sec. 134.015. Form, Duration, and Renewal of License.
5-7 (a) An aquaculture license must be on a numbered form provided by
5-8 the commission [department].
5-9 (b) A license is valid for two years after the date of
5-10 issuance. The commission [department] shall renew a license on
5-11 submission by the licensee of a completed application and a renewal
5-12 fee, as provided by commission [department] rule, unless the
5-13 commission [department] determines that the licensee has violated
5-14 this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter.
5-15 (c) The commission [department] may suspend an aquaculture
5-16 license if it is determined that the licensee has violated this
5-17 chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter.
5-18 Sec. 134.016. Records. The holder of an aquaculture license
5-19 shall maintain a record of the shipment [sales] of [cultured]
5-20 aquatic species raised in an aquaculture facility as prescribed by
5-21 Chapters 47 and 66, Parks and Wildlife Code, and rules adopted by
5-22 the Parks and Wildlife Commission under authority of the Parks and
5-23 Wildlife Code[, regulated by a bag, possession, or size limit for a
5-24 period of time of not less than one year. The record is open for
5-25 inspection by designated employees of the department during normal
6-1 business hours].
6-2 SECTION 3. Chapter 134, Agriculture Code, is amended by
6-3 adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
6-4 SUBCHAPTER C. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION
6-5 Sec. 134.031. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT. (a) The Texas
6-6 Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the Parks and Wildlife
6-7 Department, and the commission shall enter into a memorandum of
6-8 agreement for the regulation of matters related to aquaculture.
6-9 (b) The memorandum of agreement must require that:
6-10 (1) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
6-11 Commission, after receiving an application for a discharge permit
6-12 from an aquaculture facility, shall provide a copy of the
6-13 application to the Parks and Wildlife Department and the
6-14 commission;
6-15 (2) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
6-16 Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the commission
6-17 shall each appoint one member of a three-member application review
6-18 committee to review the aquaculture discharge permit application to
6-19 ensure that the proposed discharge will not adversely affect bays,
6-20 estuaries, or other waters of this state;
6-21 (3) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
6-22 Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the commission
6-23 shall:
6-24 (A) expeditiously enforce all aquaculture
6-25 regulations under the authority of each; and
7-1 (B) coordinate their regulatory
7-2 enforcement efforts with regard to aquaculture-related activities;
7-3 (4) upon discovery of observable mortality, or other
7-4 evidence of disease, in an aquaculture facility, the facility owner
7-5 shall immediately notify the commission, and the commission shall
7-6 immediately notify the Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas
7-7 Natural Resource Conservation Commission;
7-8 (5) after receiving a notice from the commission under
7-9 Subdivision (5), the executive director of the Texas Natural
7-10 Resource Conservation Commission shall immediately order a halt to
7-11 all wastewater discharges emanating from the reporting aquaculture
7-12 facility, or take other appropriate action; and
7-13 (6) the commission, after receiving an application for
7-14 an aquaculture license, as provided under Subchapter A, shall
7-15 provide a copy of the application to the Parks and Wildlife
7-16 Department. The Parks and Wildlife Department shall assess the
7-17 possible adverse environmental impacts of the proposed aquaculture
7-18 facility, and advise the commission; and
7-19 (7) the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
7-20 Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the commission
7-21 shall conduct a study regarding wastewater discharges from
7-22 aquaculture facilities that:
7-23 (A) generates scientific information regarding
7-24 waste discharge permitting, with particular attention to the
7-25 environmental impact of suspended solids;
8-1 (B) establishes standards for waste discharge
8-2 permitting;
8-3 (C) contains a plan for the aquaculture industry
8-4 to pay for conducting the study and publishing the report required
8-5 by this subdivision; and
8-6 (D) serves as the basis of a joint report to be
8-7 made available to the public.
8-8 (c) Representatives of the aquaculture industry, educational
8-9 institutions, and interested governmental agencies are entitled to
8-10 participate in the study required by Subsection(b)(7).
8-11 (d) The report required by Subsection(b)(7) shall be made
8-12 available to the public before December 31, 1998. This subsection
8-13 expires December 31, 1998.
8-14 SECTION 4. Sections 66.020(b) and (f), Parks and Wildlife
8-15 Code, are amended to read as follows:
8-16 (b) This section applies to the possession, transportation,
8-17 sale, or purchase of any fish described by Subsection (a) of this
8-18 section without regard to where the fish was taken, caught, or
8-19 raised, but does not apply to:
8-20 (1) the transportation or possession of fish taken,
8-21 caught, or raised outside this state and transported by common
8-22 carrier without being unloaded from outside this state to a point
8-23 of delivery outside this state;
8-24 (2) fish raised by being continuously fed a prepared
8-25 feed and sold by a licensed Texas fish farmer [if marked and
9-1 identified as required under Chapter 134, Agriculture Code]; or
9-2 (3) the lawful importation by the holder of a Texas
9-3 finfish import license into this state from another state or
9-4 foreign country of farm-raised red drum, bass of the genus
9-5 Micropterus, crappie, flathead catfish, striped bass, white bass,
9-6 or a hybrid of any of those fish that have been continuously fed a
9-7 prepared feed as a primary food source or lawfully taken, caught,
9-8 or raised blue marlin, jewfish, longbill spearfish, muskellunge,
9-9 northern pike, sailfish, sauger, snook, spotted sea trout, tarpon,
9-10 walleye, white marlin, yellow bass, or a hybrid of any of those
9-11 fish, if the fish are transported or sold when not alive and are
9-12 tagged, invoiced, packaged, and labeled under regulations of the
9-13 commission and if the license holder complies with any requirements
9-14 the commission may establish by proclamation that the fish enter
9-15 the stream of commerce for sale in this state in a condition
9-16 allowing ready identification of the species, including a
9-17 requirement that the fish come into the state with the head and
9-18 tail intact and tagged and a requirement that an invoice accompany
9-19 all imported fish regulated by this section through each sales
9-20 transaction, including transactions at the place of the final sale
9-21 to the consumer.
9-22 (f) The commission by proclamation may require fish imported
9-23 under this section, fish raised and sold by a fish farmer licensed
9-24 by this state, or fish shipped by a fish farmer licensed by this
9-25 state to be tagged, packaged, and labeled and to be accompanied by
10-1 an invoice. The commission may provide a prenumbered invoice to a
10-2 person importing any of the fish described by Subsection (a) of
10-3 this section into this state from another state or foreign country
10-4 and may charge a fee for the invoice in an amount determined by the
10-5 commission that is reasonable to defray the administrative costs
10-6 incurred under this subsection. The invoice shall be used to
10-7 report shipments of any of the fish described by Subsection (a) of
10-8 this section. A person who receives invoices under this subsection
10-9 must account to the department for all invoices received as
10-10 required by rules adopted by the commission. A person commits an
10-11 offense if the person fails or refuses to account for an invoice as
10-12 required by commission rules.
10-13 SECTION 5. Sections 134.013 and 134.019, Agriculture Code,
10-14 are repealed.
10-15 SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 1, Parks and Wildlife Code,
10-16 is repealed.
10-17 SECTION 7. (a) The Texas Animal Health Commission, the
10-18 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, and the Parks and
10-19 Wildlife Department shall enter into a memorandum of agreement to
10-20 conduct a joint study.
10-21 (b) The memorandum of agreement must:
10-22 (1) require that the joint study be completed and a
10-23 report made public before January 1, 1999;
10-24 (2) require that the joint study focus on the
10-25 occurrence of disease in discarded seafood and seafood processing
11-1 plant waste and the possibility of transmission of disease to
11-2 aquaculture facilities, or to native wild aquatic species, as a
11-3 result of direct or indirect exposure to infected waste; and
11-4 (3) provide a strategy for the Texas Animal Health
11-5 Commission to ensure that a seafood processing plant disposes of
11-6 its waste in a manner that will minimize the transmission of
11-7 disease from the seafood processing plant to an aquaculture
11-8 facility, or to native wild aquatic species.
11-9 (c) The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the
11-10 Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Animal Health
11-11 Commission shall enter into the memorandum of agreement required by
11-12 this section as soon as practicable on or after the effective date
11-13 of this Act.
11-14 SECTION 8. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
11-15 (b) The aquaculture executive committee is abolished
11-16 September 1, 1998.
11-17 SECTION 9. (a) The Department of Agriculture, the Parks and
11-18 Wildlife Department, and the Texas Animal Health Commission shall
11-19 coordinate any necessary transfer of files, personnel, equipment,
11-20 or related materials as soon as practicable on or after the
11-21 effective date of this Act.
11-22 (b) A rule adopted by the Department of Agriculture with
11-23 regard to aquaculture licensing or regulation in effect immediately
11-24 before September 1, 1997, becomes a rule of the Texas Animal Health
11-25 Commission and remains in effect until amended or repealed by the
12-1 commission or the department, as applicable.
12-2 (c) The validity of any action taken before September 1,
12-3 1997, by the Department of Agriculture with regard to an
12-4 aquaculture license or fish farm vehicle license is not affected by
12-5 this Act. To the extent an action of the department continues to
12-6 have any effect on or after September 1, 1997, the action is
12-7 considered to be an action of the Texas Animal Health Commission.
12-8 (d) The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the
12-9 Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Animal Health
12-10 Commission shall, as soon as practicable on or after the effective
12-11 date of this Act, enter into the memorandum of agreement required
12-12 by Section 134.031, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
12-13 (e) The aquaculture executive committee and the application
12-14 review committee shall coordinate any necessary transfer of files,
12-15 personnel, equipment, or related material as soon as practicable on
12-16 or after the effective date of this Act.
12-17 SECTION 10. The importance of this legislation and the
12-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
12-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
12-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
12-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.