79R8318 BDH-F
By: Kolkhorst H.B. No. 2927
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring the licensing of resellers of certified seed;
imposing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 62.001, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows:
(4) "Reseller" means a person who purchases certified
seed in bulk for the purpose of reselling fractional amounts of the
seed in bulk.
SECTION 2. Chapter 62, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Section 62.0051 to read as follows:
Sec. 62.0051. LICENSING OF RESELLERS OF CERTIFIED SEED. (a)
A person who wants to resell certified seed in bulk must apply to
the board for licensing as a reseller. To be licensed as a
reseller, a person must satisfy the board that:
(1) the person is of good character and has a
reputation for honesty; and
(2) the person's facilities meet board requirements
for maintaining certified seed.
(b) To ensure the maintenance of genetic purity and identity
in certified seed, the board may:
(1) adopt rules governing the handling of certified
seed by resellers; and
(2) conduct inspections of reseller facilities.
(c) A license to resell certified seed is not transferable
and expires each year on the anniversary of the date of issuance.
(d) A person licensed as a reseller is eligible to purchase
certified seed in bulk for the purpose of reselling fractional
amounts of the seed in bulk.
(e) An application for licensing as a reseller must be
accompanied by a fee, as provided by department rule. Fees
collected under this subsection must be used for the enforcement of
this chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 62.010(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The department shall revoke, modify, or suspend the
registration or license of a registered plant breeder or licensed
producer of Foundation, Registered, or Certified seed or plants,
place on probation a person whose registration or license has been
suspended, or reprimand a registrant or licensee if the person
makes exaggerated claims for products, fails to observe any rule
governing the maintenance and production of a certified class of
seed or plants that the person [he or she] is registered or licensed
to produce or maintain, or violates another requirement of this
chapter or a rule adopted by the board or the department under this
chapter. The department shall revoke, modify, or suspend the
license of a reseller, place on probation a person whose license to
resell has been suspended, or reprimand a licensee if the person
fails to observe any rule governing the handling or selling of
certified seed or violates another requirement of this chapter or a
rule adopted by the board or the department under this chapter.
SECTION 4. Section 62.011(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) sells or offers for sale in this state seed or
plants with labeling or packaging accompanying the seed or plants
using the terms "from officially inspected fields," "state
inspected," "approved seed," "approved plants," "approved sods,"
"approved trees," "inspected fields," "foundation seed,"
"certified plants," or terms having the same meaning, unless the
seed or plants have been certified as Foundation, Registered, or
Certified seed or plants;
(2) acts as a reseller or [represents himself or
herself to be] a registered plant breeder or licensed producer of
Foundation, Registered, or Certified seed or plants unless the
person [he or she] has been registered or licensed under this
chapter;
(3) sells or offers for sale in this state Foundation,
Registered, or Certified seed or plants that are not in compliance
with this chapter or with the rules adopted under this chapter;
(4) sells or offers for sale seed or plants
represented to be certified in explicit oral or written statements
or by misleading oral or written statements if the seed or plants
have not been certified or have not been certified as being of the
class of which they are represented;
(5) violates Section 62.007(c) of this code; or
(6) violates Section 62.009(c), (d), or (e) of this
code.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than October 1, 2005, the State
Seed and Plant Board shall accept applications for a reseller
license under Section 62.0051, Agriculture Code, as added by this
Act.
(b) Section 62.011(a), Agriculture Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after January 1,
2006. An offense committed before that date is governed by the law
in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
subsection, an offense was committed before January 1, 2006, if any
element of the offense was committed before that date.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.