By: Estes S.B. No. 1141
(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2003; March 17, 2003, read
first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
April 22, 2003, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; April 22, 2003,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1141 By: Estes
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to agriculture and the powers and duties of the Department
of Agriculture.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.034, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.034. REFUND OR WAIVER OF FEES. The department by
rule may provide for:
(1) the full or partial refund of a fee collected by
the department;
(2) the waiver of a licensing, registration, or
certification fee collected by the department, including any
related late fee; and
(3) the waiver of an inspection fee.
SECTION 2. Section 14.041, Agriculture Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read
as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (c) and
(d), an applicant for a license must file or have on file with the
department a certificate of insurance evidencing that:
(1) the applicant has an effective policy of insurance
issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in this
state or, with the approval of the department, by an eligible
surplus lines insurer that meets the requirements of Article
1.14-2, Insurance Code, and rules adopted by the commissioner under
that article; and
(2) the policy insures, in the name of the applicant,
all depositor grain that is or may be in the public grain warehouse
for its full market value against loss by or due to water or other
fluid resulting from an insured peril, excluding flood and other
rising waters resulting from natural causes, malicious mischief,
vandalism, [theft, intentional waste or destruction,] smoke, fire,
internal explosion, lightning, hail, windstorm, hurricane, or
tornado.
(b) If water or other fluid resulting from an insured peril,
excluding flood and other rising waters resulting from natural
causes, malicious mischief, vandalism, [theft, intentional waste
or destruction,] smoke, fire, internal explosion, lightning, hail,
windstorm, hurricane, or tornado destroys or damages grain in a
public grain warehouse, the warehouse operator shall, on demand by
the depositor and presentation of a receipt or other evidence of
ownership, make settlement with the depositor of the grain. The
amount of the settlement shall be the average price paid for grain
of the same grade and quality on the date of the loss at the location
of the warehouse, minus the warehouse operator's charges and
advances. If a settlement is not made before the 31st day following
the date of demand, the depositor is entitled to seek recovery from
the insurance company.
(d) An applicant for a license shall insure depositor grain
for its full market value against loss by or due to fire or
windstorm if the grain is in temporary or emergency storage. The
certificate required under Subsection (a) must evidence that the
applicant has an effective policy of insurance under this
subsection before the applicant may store depositor grain in
temporary or emergency storage.
SECTION 3. Section 18.071, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 18.071. AGRICULTURAL CERTIFICATION. The department
may establish [voluntary] certification programs under this
subchapter relating to the protection, sale, advertising,
marketing, or related production processes in this state.
SECTION 4. Subsections (a) and (c), Section 71.051,
Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by department rule, a [A]
person may not ship a nursery product or florist item into this
state without first obtaining [filing with the department] a
certificate of inspection issued by the proper authority of the
state from which the shipment originates.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by department rule, each
[Each] car, box, bale, or package of a nursery product or florist
item shipped into this state shall bear a tag printed with a copy of
the certificate of inspection from the originating state.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 103.005, Agriculture
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person who deals with a license holder under Chapter
101 in the purchasing, handling, selling, and accounting for sales
of perishable commodities [vegetables or citrus fruit] and who is
aggrieved by an action of the license holder as a result of a
violation of terms or conditions of a contract made by the license
holder for the sale of Texas-grown produce may initiate a claim
against the fund by filing with the department:
(1) a sworn complaint against the license holder; and
(2) a filing fee, as provided by department rule.
SECTION 6. Section 71.051, Agriculture Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an item shipped into this state that
enters the state on or after September 1, 2003.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
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