HBA-NLM S.B. 1901 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1901 By: Bivins Agriculture & Livestock 5/19/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, certain cows that have gone astray are imposing a financial burden on certain county sheriffs. For example, in order to dispose of an impounded cow, a sheriff must spend funds to place an advertisement and subsequently attempt to sell the animal at auction. S.B. 1901 regulates the disposition or sale of impounded estrays by a county. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends the heading for Section 142.013, Agriculture Code, to read as follows: Sec. 142.013. DISPOSITION OR SALE OF IMPOUNDED ESTRAYS. SECTION 2. Amends Section 142.013, Agriculture Code, by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e), as follows: (a) Provides an exception under Subsection (e) to the provisions of this subsection requiring a sheriff to cause an estray to be sold at a sheriff's sale or public auction. Provides that title to the estray is considered vested in the sheriff or the sheriff's designee for purposes of Subsection (e). (e) Authorizes a sheriff, if the sheriff determines that the sale of an estray under this section is unlikely to generate sufficient proceeds to cover the expense of the sale, to donate the estray to a nonprofit organization, or retain the estray and use it for county purposes, instead of selling the estray. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.