Currently, the expiration date for certain Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) licenses is set in statute. For example, according to current law, a vegetable seed license expires on August 31 of every year, regardless of when the license was issued. In addition, license fees are required to be prorated when not issued for an entire year. Prorated fees are difficult to calculate and create confusion for both customers and the TDA. Furthermore, statutorily set expiration dates create a workflow that is not evenly distributed throughout the year, resulting in the need to hire temporary workers during peak periods to ensure timely processing.

HB 901 provides for all TDA licenses to be effective for one year from the date issued or renewed. This change will provide a better turnaround time to customers, create less confusion about license fees and reduce, if not eliminate, the need for temporary workers during peak periods.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

HB 901 amends the Agriculture Code by changing the expiration dates on certain licenses provided by the Texas Department of Agriculture to a designated anniversary of the day they were issued, instead of having their expiration dates set as a hard date in statute.

EFFECTIVE DATE

This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.