By Madden H.B. No. 1423
76R2513 PAM-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the abolition of the office of inspector of hides and
1-3 animals in each county in the state.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 146, Agriculture Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 146.0501 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 146.0501. ABOLITION OF OFFICE OF INSPECTOR OF HIDES AND
1-8 ANIMALS. (a) The office of inspector of hides and animals is
1-9 abolished.
1-10 (b) Any records in the custody of the inspector of hides and
1-11 animals are transferred to the county clerk.
1-12 (c) The commissioners court of a county may employ or
1-13 contract with a qualified person to perform any of the functions
1-14 that are assigned by law to the inspector of hides and animals.
1-15 (d) A reference in law to the inspector of hides and animals
1-16 is considered to be a reference to the person whom the
1-17 commissioners court employs or with whom the commissioners court
1-18 contracts under Subsection (c).
1-19 SECTION 2. Sections 146.058(c) and (e), Agriculture Code,
1-20 are amended to read as follows:
1-21 (c) A county [An inspector] may authenticate bills of sale
1-22 and may give a signed and sealed certificate of acknowledgment of
1-23 each bill of sale authenticated. The county [An inspector] may
1-24 collect a fee of 50 cents for each acknowledgment issued.
2-1 (e) The county [inspector] shall keep current certified
2-2 copies of the county's recorded marks and brands. If cattle or
2-3 other stock are sold, that fact shall be noted on the record
2-4 opposite or near the record of each animal's mark or brand, giving
2-5 the name of the vendor and vendee and the date of sale.
2-6 SECTION 3. Section 146.059, Agriculture Code, is amended to
2-7 read as follows:
2-8 Sec. 146.059. LIST OF PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO HANDLE ANIMALS.
2-9 A person who has marks and brands recorded with the county clerk
2-10 may authorize others to gather, drive, or otherwise handle the
2-11 person's animals by filing with the county [inspector] a list of
2-12 the marks and brands to which a list of the persons authorized to
2-13 handle the animals is attached. The lists must be certified by the
2-14 county clerk.
2-15 SECTION 4. Section 146.066(b), Agriculture Code, is amended
2-16 to read as follows:
2-17 (b) A person driving or shipping animals from Texas to
2-18 Mexico shall have the animals inspected by the [inspector of the]
2-19 county in which the point of shipment or place at which they are to
2-20 be driven across the Rio Grande is located. The inspection must
2-21 occur before the animals are shipped from this state or pass across
2-22 the river.
2-23 SECTION 5. Section 148.044(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
2-24 to read as follows:
2-25 (a) Not later than 20th day after the day of slaughter, a
2-26 slaughterer shall have the hide and ears of any cattle slaughtered
2-27 inspected by [the inspector of hides and animals or by] a
3-1 magistrate of the county or by another person designated by the
3-2 county.
3-3 SECTION 6. Section 87.012, Local Government Code, is amended
3-4 to read as follows:
3-5 Sec. 87.012. OFFICERS SUBJECT TO REMOVAL. The district
3-6 judge may, under this subchapter, remove from office:
3-7 (1) a district attorney;
3-8 (2) a county attorney;
3-9 (3) a county judge;
3-10 (4) a county commissioner;
3-11 (5) a county clerk;
3-12 (6) a district clerk;
3-13 (7) a district and county clerk;
3-14 (8) a county treasurer;
3-15 (9) a sheriff;
3-16 (10) a county surveyor;
3-17 (11) a county tax assessor-collector;
3-18 (12) a constable;
3-19 (13) [an inspector of hides and animals;]
3-20 [(14)] a justice of the peace; and
3-21 (14) [(15)] a county officer, not otherwise named by
3-22 this section, whose office is created under the constitution or
3-23 other law of this state.
3-24 SECTION 7. Section 87.041(a), Local Government Code, is
3-25 amended to read as follows:
3-26 (a) The commissioners court of a county may fill a vacancy
3-27 in the office of:
4-1 (1) county judge;
4-2 (2) county clerk;
4-3 (3) district and county clerk;
4-4 (4) sheriff;
4-5 (5) county attorney;
4-6 (6) county treasurer;
4-7 (7) county surveyor;
4-8 (8) [inspector of hides and animals;]
4-9 [(9)] county tax assessor-collector;
4-10 (9) [(10)] justice of the peace; or
4-11 (10) [(11)] constable.
4-12 SECTION 8. Section 52.092(e), Election Code, is amended to
4-13 read as follows:
4-14 (e) County offices shall be listed in the following order:
4-15 (1) county judge;
4-16 (2) judge, county court at law;
4-17 (3) judge, county criminal court;
4-18 (4) judge, county probate court;
4-19 (5) county attorney;
4-20 (6) district clerk;
4-21 (7) district and county clerk;
4-22 (8) county clerk;
4-23 (9) sheriff;
4-24 (10) sheriff and tax assessor-collector;
4-25 (11) county tax assessor-collector;
4-26 (12) county treasurer;
4-27 (13) county school trustee (county with population of
5-1 two million or more);
5-2 (14) county surveyor[;]
5-3 [(15) inspector of hides and animals].
5-4 SECTION 9. Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended to
5-5 read as follows:
5-6 (a) The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
5-7 general primary election is as follows:
5-8 (1) United States senator ..................... $4,000
5-9 (2) office elected statewide, except United
5-10 States senator ........................... 3,000
5-11 (3) United States representative ............... 2,500
5-12 (4) state senator .............................. 1,000
5-13 (5) state representative ......................... 600
5-14 (6) member, State Board of Education ............. 250
5-15 (7) chief justice or justice, court of appeals,
5-16 other than a justice specified by
5-17 Subdivision (8) .......................... 1,500
5-18 (8) chief justice or justice of a court of
5-19 appeals that serves a court of
5-20 appeals district in which a county
5-21 with a population of more than
5-22 850,000 is wholly or partly situated ......2,000
5-23 (9) district judge or judge specified by Section
5-24 52.092(d) for which this schedule does
5-25 not otherwise prescribe a fee ............ 1,200
5-26 (10) district or criminal district judge of a
5-27 court in a judicial district wholly
6-1 contained in a county with a
6-2 population of more than 850,000 ......... 2,000
6-3 (11) judge, statutory county court, other than a
6-4 judge specified by Subdivision (12) ..... 1,200
6-5 (12) judge of a statutory county court in a
6-6 county with a population of more than
6-7 850,000 ................................. 2,000
6-8 (13) district attorney, criminal district
6-9 attorney, or county attorney performing
6-10 the duties of a district attorney ....... 1,000
6-11 (14) county commissioner or judge, constitutional
6-12 county court:
6-13 (A) county with a population of 200,000
6-14 or more .......................... 1,000
6-15 (B) county with a population of under
6-16 200,000 ............................ 600
6-17 (15) justice of the peace or constable:
6-18 (A) county with a population of 200,000
6-19 or more ............................ 800
6-20 (B) county with a population of under
6-21 200,000 ............................ 300
6-22 (16) county surveyor[, inspector of hides and]
6-23 [animals,] or public weigher ................ 50
6-24 (17) office of the county government for which
6-25 this schedule does not otherwise
6-26 prescribe a fee............................ 600
6-27 SECTION 10. Sections 146.051, 146.053, 146.054, 146.055,
7-1 146.056, 146.057, 146.060, 146.061, 146.062, 146.063, 146.064,
7-2 146.065, 146.067, 146.068, 146.069, 146.070, 146.071, 146.072,
7-3 146.073, 146.074, 146.075, 146.076, 146.077, and 146.080,
7-4 Agriculture Code, are repealed.
7-5 SECTION 11. (a) This Act takes effect January 1, 2000.
7-6 (b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a term
7-7 of office, an unexpired term of office, or a vacancy in the office
7-8 of inspector of hides and animals that begins on or after the
7-9 effective date of this Act. A term of office, an unexpired term of
7-10 office, or a vacancy in the office of inspector of hides and
7-11 animals that began before the effective date of this Act is
7-12 governed by the law in effect when the term, unexpired term, or
7-13 vacancy in the office began, and the former law is continued in
7-14 effect for that purpose.
7-15 SECTION 12. The importance of this legislation and the
7-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.