1-1     By:  Ogden, Wentworth                                  S.B. No. 706
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 25, 1999; March 1, 1999, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Finance; March 25, 1999,
 1-4     reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0;
 1-5     March 25, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to providing disaster relief to agriculture; providing
 1-9     penalties.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Title 8, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
1-12     Chapter 255 to read as follows:
1-13                       CHAPTER 255.  DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM
1-14           Sec. 255.001.  DEFINITIONS.  For the purposes of this
1-15     chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
1-16                 (1)  "Agriculture" means:
1-17                       (A)  the cultivation of the soil to produce
1-18     crops;
1-19                       (B)  horticulture, floriculture, or viticulture;
1-20                       (C)  forestry; or
1-21                       (D)  the raising or keeping of livestock or
1-22     poultry.
1-23                 (2)  "Commissioner" means the commissioner of
1-24     agriculture.
1-25                 (3)  "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.
1-26           Sec. 255.002.  FINDINGS.  The legislature finds that:
1-27                 (1)  agriculture is a vital component of a diversified
1-28     state economy;
1-29                 (2)  agriculture is more directly and substantially
1-30     affected by adverse weather conditions than other industries; and
1-31                 (3)  limited availability of federal crop subsidies and
1-32     adverse weather conditions present a significant risk to the
1-33     economic vitality of agricultural enterprises.
1-34           Sec. 255.003.  PURPOSES.  The purposes of this chapter are
1-35     to:
1-36                 (1)  promote economic development by ensuring a
1-37     diversified economy;
1-38                 (2)  foster the growth of agriculture in this state;
1-39                 (3)  encourage agricultural producers to return to
1-40     production following a year of economic losses; and
1-41                 (4)  avert the substantial risk of a public calamity
1-42     that will likely result if agricultural industries do not receive
1-43     the benefit of state assistance.
1-44           Sec. 255.004.  AGRICULTURAL DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM.  The
1-45     department shall adopt rules and administer an agricultural
1-46     disaster relief program to be implemented by order of the governor
1-47     in a county which has been declared a federal disaster area.
1-48           Sec. 255.005.  IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM.  (a)  This chapter
1-49     is implemented only by order of the governor and is subject to
1-50     specific appropriation by the legislature.
1-51           (b)  The legislature may appropriate funds to provide
1-52     assistance for one or more of the agricultural sciences as
1-53     described by Section 255.001(1).
1-54           (c)  Any unexpended funds appropriated for the purposes of
1-55     this chapter are subject to Section 403.095, Government Code;
1-56           Sec. 255.006.  DISASTER RELIEF REIMBURSEMENT.  (a)  Subject
1-57     to Section 255.005, a person eligible for reimbursement under this
1-58     chapter may apply for reimbursement of a portion of the person's
1-59     feed, seed, seedling, and fertilizer costs incurred in the year
1-60     following a federal disaster declaration on the land described by
1-61     Section 255.007.
1-62           (b)  The maximum reimbursement allowed to a person under this
1-63     chapter is the least of:
1-64                 (1)  30 percent of the costs described by Subsection
 2-1     (a);
 2-2                 (2)  $15,000; or
 2-3                 (3)  two times the amount of property taxes paid on the
 2-4     land described by Section 255.007 for the year during which the
 2-5     disaster occurred.
 2-6           Sec. 255.007.  ELIGIBILITY FOR REIMBURSEMENT.  A person
 2-7     engaged in agriculture as a commercial endeavor who has suffered
 2-8     uninsurable economic loss as a result of a disaster and has not
 2-9     received federal relief funds to address that loss is eligible to
2-10     receive reimbursement under this chapter on land that:
2-11                 (1)  the person owned or leased for agricultural
2-12     purposes;
2-13                 (2)  was appraised in the year in which the disaster
2-14     occurred for property tax purposes under Subchapter C or D, Chapter
2-15     23, Tax Code; and
2-16                 (3)  is located in a county that has been declared a
2-17     disaster area by the federal government.
2-18           Sec. 255.008.  APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  The department
2-19     shall make application forms for reimbursement available through
2-20     the county offices of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
2-21           (b)  An applicant must submit with the application:
2-22                 (1)  receipts for the expenditures eligible for
2-23     reimbursement under Section 255.006(a);
2-24                 (2)  property tax records for the land on which the
2-25     economic loss occurred or, if the person is a tenant, documentation
2-26     from the landowner indicating that the land was appraised in the
2-27     year in which the disaster occurred as provided by Section
2-28     255.007(2) and the amount of property taxes paid for that year; and
2-29                 (3)  other information required by the department to
2-30     assist the department in determining the applicant's eligibility
2-31     for reimbursement.
2-32           Sec. 255.009.  APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.  (a)  To the greatest
2-33     extent possible, the department shall institute an application
2-34     period not to exceed 90 days.
2-35           (b)  The department has sole authority to approve
2-36     applications under this chapter.
2-37           (c)  If the department approves an application, the
2-38     department shall pay the person the appropriate amount of
2-39     reimbursement under Section 255.006.
2-40           (d)  If insufficient funds are available to pay in full all
2-41     claims for reimbursement approved in any year, the department shall
2-42     pay the claims on a pro rata basis.
2-43           Sec. 255.010.  FRAUD.  (a)  A person commits the offense of
2-44     fraud if the person intentionally or knowingly makes a false
2-45     statement or supplies false information or directs another person
2-46     to make a false statement or supply false information in an
2-47     application, receipt, or record required under this chapter.
2-48           (b)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
2-49           Sec. 255.011.  ADMINISTRATION.  The department shall
2-50     administer this chapter and may adopt rules for that purpose,
2-51     including rules for the verification of eligibility for
2-52     reimbursement and rules for application for reimbursement.  The
2-53     department may contract with a state or federal agency to assist
2-54     the department in administering this chapter.
2-55           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-56           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-57     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-58     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-59     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-60     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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