BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4214

By: Homer

Culture, Recreation & Tourism

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, there is no license or permit required for persons performing taxidermy work in Texas.  Many taxidermists work out of their homes, making it difficult for game wardens to locate those businesses in order to check compliance with state and federal regulations. 

C.S.H.B. 4214 prohibits a person from engaging in the business of taxidermy unless the person has a taxidermy permit issued by the Parks and Wildlife Department.  The bill also establishes recordkeeping requirements and the privileges and duties of permit holders.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Parks and Wildlife Commission in SECTION 3 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4214 amends the Parks and Wildlife Code to prohibit a person, including a tanner, from engaging in the business of taxidermy unless the person has a taxidermy permit issued by the Parks and Wildlife Department.  The bill requires a taxidermist to prominently display the taxidermy permit in the place where that individual performs taxidermy.  The bill establishes that such a permit is not required for a taxidermist employee if the taxidermist supervises the employee's work, or for a tanner performing work for a taxidermist.  The bill provides that these provisions take effect June 1, 2010.

C.S.H.B. 4214 requires the department to issue a taxidermy permit to a person who submits a completed application as prescribed by the department, subject to conditions set by the Parks and Wildlife Commission.  The bill establishes that a taxidermy permit is valid from September 1 or another date set by the commission, through August 31 of the next year or another date set by the commission. The bill establishes that the fee for a taxidermy permit is $50, or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is greater.  The bill requires fees collected to be deposited to the credit of the game, fish, and water safety account.

C.S.H.B. 4214 requires a permit holder to maintain an accurate book or electronic record containing the date a specimen is received by the permit holder; for each specimen, the specimen type; the name, address, and hunting or fishing license number of each person who killed or caught a specimen received by the permit holder; and the name and address of the person who delivered the specimen to the permit holder, if that person is not the person who killed or caught the specimen.  The bill requires a taxidermist employee or tanner, if a portion of the specimen is given to such person to perform work for the permit holder, to maintain a record of the taxidermy permit number of the supervising permit holder and a work order number for the specimen.  The bill requires each taxidermy record book or electronic record to be kept on the premises of the business and authorizes the records to be inspected by an authorized employee of the department during business hours or at any other reasonable time.  The bill requires the permit holder to maintain the required records until the first anniversary of the date of the last entry in the record book or electronic record.  The bill establishes that a record book maintained under provisions relating to the records of game in a cold storage or processing facility meets the recordkeeping requirements of the bill.

C.S.H.B. 4214 authorizes a taxidermist to sell a specimen if the owner of a lawfully taken specimen that has been mounted or tanned has not claimed the specimen on or before the 60th day after the date of receipt of notification by registered or certified mail that the taxidermy or tanning is complete.  The bill requires the permit holder to maintain records as required above for the sale of an unclaimed specimen.  The bill authorizes any person to sell, offer for sale, purchase, offer to purchase, or possess after purchase the following inedible parts of a specimen lawfully taken or possessed: an inedible part, including the feathers, bones, or feet, of a game bird other than a migratory game bird; the hair, hide, antlers, bones, horns, skull, hooves, or sinew, as applicable, of a deer, pronghorn antelope, desert bighorn sheep, collared peccary or javelina, red squirrel, or gray squirrel; or the feathers of a migratory game bird in accordance with federal law.  The bill prohibits a permit holder from selling an unclaimed specimen of a migratory game bird or bird that is not a game bird.  The bill exempts the sale of an unclaimed specimen or certain inedible parts of a specimen lawfully taken or possessed from provisions regarding the sale or purchase of certain game.

C.S.H.B. 4214 makes a violation of any of the bill's provisions or of a rule adopted under those provisions a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor offense.  The bill makes it a Class B Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor offense if it is shown at the trial of the defendant for a violation of the bill's provisions or the rules adopted under them that the defendant has been convicted two or more times before the trial date of a violation of the bill's provisions or a rule adopted under them, other than a violation of the recordkeeping requirements.  The bill provides that these penalty provisions take effect June 1, 2010.

C.S.H.B. 4214 defines "animal," "business," "exotic animal," "game animal," "game bird," "migratory game bird," "specimen," "tanner," "taxidermist," "taxidermist employee," and "taxidermy."  The bill requires the commission, not later than April 1, 2010, to adopt rules and procedures, including any fees or forms related to a taxidermy permit, required to implement the bill's provisions.

C.S.H.B. 4214 repeals Section 62.023, Parks and Wildlife Code, regarding the sale of unclaimed game animals and game birds, effective June 1, 2010.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Except as otherwise provided, September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 4214 adds a provision not in the original to define "business" for the purposes of the bill as a for-profit enterprise.  The substitute adds a provision not in the original requiring taxidermy permit fees to be deposited to the credit of the game, fish, and water safety account.  The substitute removes a provision in the original authorizing the Parks and Wildlife Commission to adopt rules to implement the original's provisions, including rules governing the denial of an application to obtain or renew a taxidermy permit.

C.S.H.B. 4214 removes a provision in the original requiring the records a taxidermy permit holder must maintain to contain the number of specimens received in a lot.  The substitute differs from the original by requiring the records the permit holder must maintain to contain in addition to the specimen type for each specimen the date a specimen is received by the permit holder, rather than the date the lot is received as in the original; the name, address, and hunting or fishing license number of each person who killed or caught a specimen received by the permit holder, rather than the name, address, telephone number, and one of the identification or license numbers specified by the bill of the person who killed or caught the specimen, as in the original; and the name and address of the person who delivered the specimen to the permit holder, if that person is not the person who killed or caught the specimen, rather than the person's name, address, telephone number, and one of the identification or license numbers specified by the bill of the person who delivered the specimen to the permit holder, if that person is not the person who killed or caught the specimen, as in the original.

C.S.H.B. 4214 removes a provision in the original requiring the hunting license tag, wildlife resource document, or permit to remain with the specimen until the specimen is released from the permit holder's possession.  The substitute removes a provision in the original requiring a taxidermist employee or tanner, if a portion of a specimen is given to that individual to perform work for the permit holder, to maintain a record of a bill of sale from a lawful source. The substitute removes a provision in the original requiring a taxidermist or a taxidermy employee or tanner not required to hold a permit, except as provided by commission rule, to maintain the required records until the second anniversary of the date on which a specimen is released from possession by the taxidermist, employee, or tanner.

C.S.H.B. 4214 adds provisions not in the original requiring a business' taxidermy records to be kept on the premises, authorizing inspection of those records by an authorized employee of the Parks and Wildlife Department, requiring a permit holder to maintain the required records until the first anniversary of the date of the last entry in the record, and establishing that a record book maintained under provisions relating to the records of game in a cold storage or processing facility meets the substitute's requirements.  The substitute removes provisions in the original limiting the price of an unclaimed specimen sold by a permit holder, authorizing the sale of an unclaimed game animal skin or hide only to another permit holder, setting forth exemptions to those restrictions, and requiring the origin of any skin or hide sold under these provisions to be documented.  The substitute adds provisions not in the original authorizing any person to sell, offer for sale, purchase, offer to purchase, or possess after purchase certain inedible parts of a specimen lawfully taken or possessed and exempting the sale of certain inedible parts from provisions regarding the sale or purchase of certain game.

C.S.H.B. 4214 removes a provision in the original authorizing a permit holder to possess a specimen lawfully acquired outside Texas only if the specimen is accompanied by a bill of sale and any required permit.  The substitute differs from the original by enhancing the penalty for a defendant shown to have been convicted two or more times, rather than one or more as in the original, of a violation of the bill's provisions or a rule adopted under those provisions and by adding an exception to that enhanced penalty for a violation of the records requirement under the bill's provisions.