76R15917 E By Ogden S.B. No. 705 Substitute the following for S.B. No. 705: By Swinford C.S.S.B. No. 705 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to providing aid, support, and assistance to agriculture; 1-3 establishing the agricultural technology program. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. (a) SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the 1-6 Farm and Ranch Recovery Act. 1-7 (b) FINDINGS. The legislature finds that: 1-8 (1) agriculture is a vital component of a diversified 1-9 state economy; 1-10 (2) agriculture is more directly and substantially 1-11 affected by adverse weather conditions than other industries; 1-12 (3) limited availability of federal crop subsidies and 1-13 adverse weather conditions present a significant risk to the 1-14 economic vitality of agricultural enterprises; and 1-15 (4) a comprehensive state agricultural policy that 1-16 addresses changes in federal policy and recurrent adverse weather 1-17 conditions will promote the growth of agriculture in this state and 1-18 will avert a public calamity. 1-19 (c) PURPOSES. The purposes of this Act are to: 1-20 (1) promote economic development by ensuring a 1-21 diversified economy; 1-22 (2) foster the growth of agriculture in this state; 1-23 and 1-24 (3) avert the substantial risk of a public calamity 2-1 that will likely result if agricultural industries do not receive 2-2 the benefit of state planning and assistance. 2-3 SECTION 2. Title 4, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding 2-4 Chapter 60 to read as follows: 2-5 CHAPTER 60. COMMODITY CRISIS COUNCIL AND MANAGER 2-6 Sec. 60.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 2-7 (1) "Agricultural crisis" means an event or condition, 2-8 including adverse weather conditions, water shortage, disruption in 2-9 transportation, low commodity prices, an animal health issue, crop 2-10 disease, or insect infestation, that could disrupt or jeopardize an 2-11 aspect of the agriculture industry. 2-12 (2) "Council" means the Commodity Crisis Council. 2-13 (3) "Manager" means the commodity crisis manager. 2-14 Sec. 60.002. MANAGER; DUTIES. (a) The commissioner may 2-15 designate a person, who may be an employee of the department, to 2-16 serve as manager. The manager is charged with mitigating the 2-17 impact of any agricultural crisis on commodities and agricultural 2-18 production. 2-19 (b) The manager serves as: 2-20 (1) presiding officer of the council; 2-21 (2) the representative of the department on the 2-22 emergency management council established by Executive Order GWB 2-23 95-1b; and 2-24 (3) the representative of the department on the 2-25 drought response and monitoring committee under Section 16.055, 2-26 Water Code. 2-27 (c) The manager shall: 3-1 (1) manage and coordinate department planning and 3-2 response to any agricultural crisis, as identified by the 3-3 commissioner; 3-4 (2) develop a state plan to prepare for recurring 3-5 drought conditions that affect agricultural commodities, including 3-6 specific response actions, long-term solutions to minimize the 3-7 effect of drought conditions, and an assessment of which regions of 3-8 the state and which agricultural products are vulnerable to a 3-9 drought; and 3-10 (3) manage the emergency hay program under Chapter 3-11 254. 3-12 Sec. 60.003. COUNCIL COMPOSITION; DUTIES. (a) The council 3-13 is composed of the manager, the members appointed under Subsection 3-14 (b), and one representative from each of the following agencies 3-15 appointed by the administrative head of that agency: 3-16 (1) the Texas Agricultural Extension Service; 3-17 (2) the State Soil and Water Conservation Board; and 3-18 (3) the Texas Forest Service. 3-19 (b) The commissioner shall appoint not more than five 3-20 representatives of agricultural industries to serve on the council. 3-21 (c) The council shall: 3-22 (1) advise the manager in the development of a state 3-23 plan to address recurring drought conditions; 3-24 (2) prepare and submit an informational report to the 3-25 governor and the legislature for each agricultural crisis, as 3-26 identified by the commissioner, in this state; 3-27 (3) prepare and submit a report to the commissioner to 4-1 recommend projects for the agri-tech program under Chapter 46; 4-2 (4) develop a program through the Texas Agricultural 4-3 Extension Service to educate agricultural producers and the public 4-4 about each agricultural crisis, as identified by the commissioner, 4-5 in this state; and 4-6 (5) meet as necessary to carry out the provisions of 4-7 this section. 4-8 (d) The commissioner's appointees serve without 4-9 compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for actual expenses 4-10 incurred in the performance of official council duties, subject to 4-11 approval of the commissioner. The other council members are 4-12 entitled to be reimbursed for actual expenses by their 4-13 representative agencies. 4-14 (e) The commissioner shall provide the council with staff 4-15 necessary to assist the council in carrying out its duties. 4-16 SECTION 3. Title 3, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding 4-17 Chapter 46 to read as follows: 4-18 CHAPTER 46. AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM 4-19 Sec. 46.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 4-20 (1) "Agricultural crisis" means an event or condition, 4-21 including adverse weather conditions, water shortage, disruption in 4-22 transportation, low commodity prices, an animal health issue, crop 4-23 disease, or insect infestation, that could disrupt or jeopardize an 4-24 aspect of the agriculture industry. 4-25 (2) "Agri-tech program" means the agricultural 4-26 technology program established under this chapter. 4-27 (3) "Applied research" means research directed at 5-1 gaining the knowledge or understanding necessary to meet a specific 5-2 and recognized need, including the discovery of new scientific 5-3 knowledge that has specific objectives relating to products or 5-4 processes. 5-5 (4) "Eligible institution" means an institution of 5-6 higher education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, 5-7 Education Code, that is designated as an eligible institution under 5-8 Section 46.002(e). 5-9 Sec. 46.002. ADMINISTRATION; GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES. (a) 5-10 The department shall develop, maintain, and administer the 5-11 agri-tech program to provide support for eligible institutions to 5-12 conduct research projects on methods to address agricultural crises 5-13 in this state. 5-14 (b) In awarding funds to support projects under this 5-15 chapter, the department shall: 5-16 (1) give priority to applied research projects that 5-17 the commissioner determines to be necessary to address an immediate 5-18 agricultural crisis; and 5-19 (2) consider the recommendations of the Commodity 5-20 Crisis Council for specific projects. 5-21 (c) The department shall award funds to support projects as 5-22 needed to address agricultural crises in this state. 5-23 (d) The department shall develop and maintain guidelines and 5-24 procedures to provide awards under this chapter for specific 5-25 projects at eligible institutions on a competitive, peer-review 5-26 basis. 5-27 (e) The department shall determine whether an institution of 6-1 higher education qualifies as an eligible institution for the 6-2 purposes of this chapter. To be designated as an eligible 6-3 institution, an institution of higher education must demonstrate an 6-4 exceptional capability to attract federal, state, and private 6-5 funding for scientific and technical research and have an 6-6 exceptionally strong research staff and the necessary equipment and 6-7 facilities. 6-8 (f) In considering projects for selection, the commissioner 6-9 shall give special consideration to projects that: 6-10 (1) leverage funds from other sources; and 6-11 (2) propose innovative, collaborative efforts: 6-12 (A) across academic disciplines; 6-13 (B) involving two or more eligible institutions; 6-14 or 6-15 (C) involving eligible institutions, private 6-16 industry, and the federal government. 6-17 (g) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to accomplish 6-18 the purposes of this chapter. 6-19 Sec. 46.003. AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY ACCOUNT. (a) The 6-20 agricultural technology account is an account in the general 6-21 revenue fund. 6-22 (b) The agricultural technology account consists of 6-23 legislative appropriations, gifts and grants received under 6-24 Subsection (c), and other money required by law to be deposited in 6-25 the account. 6-26 (c) The department may solicit and accept gifts in kind and 6-27 grants of money from the federal government, local governments, 7-1 private corporations, or other persons to be used for the purposes 7-2 of this chapter. 7-3 (d) Funds in the agricultural technology account may be used 7-4 only as provided by this chapter. The account is exempt from the 7-5 application of Section 403.095, Government Code. 7-6 (e) Income from money in the account shall be credited to 7-7 the account. 7-8 Sec. 46.004. USE OF FUNDS IN AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY 7-9 ACCOUNT. (a) From funds appropriated for the agri-tech program, 7-10 the comptroller shall issue warrants to each eligible institution 7-11 in the amount certified by the department to the comptroller. 7-12 (b) Funds awarded from the agricultural technology account 7-13 may be expended to support the particular research project for 7-14 which the award is made and may not be expended for the general 7-15 support of research and instruction at the institution conducting 7-16 or sponsoring the project or for the construction or remodeling of 7-17 a facility. 7-18 (c) Funds in the agricultural technology account shall be 7-19 used, when practicable within the purposes of this chapter, to 7-20 match grants provided by the federal government or private industry 7-21 for specific collaborative research projects at eligible 7-22 institutions. 7-23 (d) Supplies, materials, services, and equipment purchased 7-24 with funds obtained under this section are not subject to General 7-25 Services Commission authority. 7-26 Sec. 46.005. PROGRESS REPORTS. An institution receiving 7-27 funds under this chapter shall report on the progress of the funded 8-1 research to the department not later than September 1 of each year. 8-2 Sec. 46.006. MERIT REVIEW. The commissioner shall appoint a 8-3 committee consisting of representatives of the agriculture industry 8-4 and of private enterprise advanced technology research 8-5 organizations to evaluate the agri-tech program's effectiveness. 8-6 The committee shall report its findings to the department not later 8-7 than September 1 of the second year of each biennium. 8-8 SECTION 4. Title 3, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding 8-9 Chapter 47 to read as follows: 8-10 CHAPTER 47. AGRICULTURE RISK MANAGEMENT EDUCATION 8-11 Sec. 47.001. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; PURPOSE. (a) The 8-12 legislature finds that: 8-13 (1) the increasingly global marketplace and the 8-14 increasing flexibility in agriculture production decisions expose 8-15 agricultural producers and agribusinesses to increased income risk; 8-16 (2) managing these increased risks is critical to the 8-17 future economic competitiveness and success of agriculture in this 8-18 state; and 8-19 (3) policymakers, lenders, agribusiness firms, rural 8-20 community leaders, and researchers will benefit from a better 8-21 understanding of how farmers and ranchers adapt to different 8-22 economic, regulatory, and political environments. 8-23 (b) The purposes of this chapter are to: 8-24 (1) increase risk management educational efforts to 8-25 help agricultural producers and agribusinesses to: 8-26 (A) understand risk and its consideration in 8-27 decision making; 9-1 (B) understand the economic impacts on farms or 9-2 ranches of adopting new production or information technologies; 9-3 (C) understand the economic impacts on farms or 9-4 ranches of changing agricultural, regulatory, monetary, and fiscal 9-5 policies; and 9-6 (D) measure the relative risk associated with 9-7 alternative production, marketing, and financial decisions; 9-8 (2) establish a statewide educational program that 9-9 includes a risk management support system and a comprehensive 9-10 educational curriculum; and 9-11 (3) foster the economic competitiveness and success of 9-12 agriculture in this state. 9-13 Sec. 47.002. CREATION OF PROGRAMS. (a) The Texas 9-14 Agricultural Extension Service shall administer a statewide 9-15 financial and risk management assistance support system to help 9-16 farmers and ranchers make long-term strategic planning decisions 9-17 and adjust their operations to new production, marketing, and 9-18 financing situations. The support system may include computer and 9-19 communications technology to provide agricultural producers and 9-20 agribusinesses with information needed for individual long-term 9-21 strategic farm or ranch planning. 9-22 (b) The extension service shall develop and implement a 9-23 statewide comprehensive educational curriculum program to provide 9-24 agricultural producers and agribusinesses with additional 9-25 information about risk management and potential tools and options 9-26 to consider in managing risks. The curriculum may include 9-27 instructional materials, instructors, and other resources in areas 10-1 of agricultural, regulatory, monetary, and fiscal interest. 10-2 (c) The extension service may organize and deliver the 10-3 programs with the assistance of interested agricultural groups. 10-4 Sec. 47.003. ELIGIBILITY FOR EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND 10-5 SERVICES. As a condition for educational assistance under this 10-6 chapter, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service shall require 10-7 that a person pay a subscription fee or other charge in exchange 10-8 for educational services and materials. 10-9 SECTION 5. Title 8, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding 10-10 Chapter 254 to read as follows: 10-11 CHAPTER 254. EMERGENCY HAY PROGRAM 10-12 Sec. 254.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "manager" means 10-13 the commodity crisis manager under Chapter 60. 10-14 Sec. 254.002. EMERGENCY HAY PROGRAM. (a) The department 10-15 shall adopt rules and administer a program to provide assistance 10-16 for the transportation of hay for use by agricultural producers 10-17 whose production abilities are hindered during periods of natural 10-18 disaster or other emergencies due to a lack of forage. 10-19 (b) The manager shall oversee the program. 10-20 Sec. 254.003. EMERGENCY HAY ACCOUNT. (a) The emergency hay 10-21 account is an account in the general revenue fund. 10-22 (b) The emergency hay account consists of legislative 10-23 appropriations and other money required by law to be deposited in 10-24 the account. 10-25 (c) The department may solicit and accept gifts in kind and 10-26 grants of money from the federal government, local governments, 10-27 private corporations, or other persons to be used for the purposes 11-1 of this chapter. 11-2 (d) Money in the account may be used only for the purposes 11-3 of this chapter. The account is exempt from the application of 11-4 Section 403.095, Government Code. 11-5 (e) Income from money in the account shall be credited to 11-6 the account. 11-7 Sec. 254.004. DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT. (a) To provide 11-8 assistance under this chapter, the department shall: 11-9 (1) establish a reciprocal system of waivers to help 11-10 facilitate the interstate transportation of hay; 11-11 (2) create a database to identify public and private 11-12 haulers that are willing to donate transportation services; 11-13 (3) develop and promote a hay and grazing hotline 11-14 designed to: 11-15 (A) connect Texas hay buyers with Texas hay 11-16 sellers; 11-17 (B) connect Texas hay buyers with out-of-state 11-18 hay sellers; 11-19 (C) connect Texas livestock producers that have 11-20 their own transportation with out-of-state hay donors; 11-21 (D) connect donated transportation with hay 11-22 donors; and 11-23 (E) connect livestock owners with grazing leases 11-24 in and out of Texas; and 11-25 (4) develop a plan, with periodic updates, to secure 11-26 and manage transportation and local distribution of hay donations. 11-27 (b) The department shall coordinate its efforts with other 12-1 emergency relief programs administered by the governor's division 12-2 of emergency management. 12-3 (c) To the extent practicable, the department shall use the 12-4 resources of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and of 12-5 agricultural commodity associations when developing and 12-6 implementing its plan. 12-7 Sec. 254.005. POWERS OF COMMISSIONER. (a) The commissioner 12-8 may authorize the use of available funds from the emergency hay 12-9 account to facilitate the transportation of hay to producers when 12-10 donated resources have been exhausted. 12-11 (b) The commissioner may: 12-12 (1) negotiate contracts with commercial haulers; and 12-13 (2) certify commercial haulers for use during a 12-14 natural disaster or other emergency. 12-15 Sec. 254.006. ELIGIBILITY FOR PROGRAM. The assistance 12-16 provided under this chapter is available only for agricultural 12-17 producers located within a county that is declared a federal 12-18 disaster area. 12-19 Sec. 254.007. ASSISTANCE FOR DEPARTMENT. (a) The Texas 12-20 Agricultural Extension Service shall enter into a memorandum of 12-21 understanding with the department to assist the department in 12-22 administering the program. 12-23 (b) The assistance provided by the extension service under 12-24 this section may include: 12-25 (1) an assessment of local conditions within a county 12-26 in which agricultural producers are eligible for assistance under 12-27 Section 254.006; 13-1 (2) the selection of hay distribution sites; and 13-2 (3) coordination of volunteer efforts. 13-3 (c) The extension service shall develop guidelines for 13-4 county extension agents to implement this section. 13-5 (d) For purposes of this section, a county extension agent 13-6 may establish an advisory committee of local producers or work with 13-7 an existing committee. 13-8 Sec. 254.008. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM ASSISTANCE. The 13-9 department shall terminate program assistance in a county if: 13-10 (1) the county's federal disaster area designation 13-11 expires; or 13-12 (2) funds in the emergency hay account are depleted. 13-13 SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 661, Government Code, is 13-14 amended by adding Section 661.152 to read as follows: 13-15 Sec. 661.152. LEAVE FOR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS IN CERTAIN 13-16 DISASTERS. (a) This section applies only to a state employee who: 13-17 (1) is trained as a volunteer firefighter; and 13-18 (2) volunteers for duty to prevent or fight fires in 13-19 an area designated as a federal disaster area as the result of 13-20 drought conditions. 13-21 (b) A person to whom this section applies is eligible for a 13-22 leave of absence from work as a state employee without loss of 13-23 compensation or risk of termination for the hours during which the 13-24 employee serves as a volunteer firefighter in a situation described 13-25 by Subsection (a)(2). 13-26 (c) The state agency that employs a person who requests 13-27 leave under this section shall verify the person's eligibility to 14-1 take the leave. 14-2 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 14-3 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the 14-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 14-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 14-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 14-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.