BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 1825 |
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By: González, Mary |
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Agriculture & Livestock |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties report that the illegal harvesting of cacti and other succulents is seriously damaging the delicate Chihuahuan Desert, which reaches into West Texas, and that desert plants from the West Texas desert area have been taken from public and private land without permission and sold for profit throughout the United States. The parties contend that, as this trade continues to grow, the illegal harvesting of desert plants will increase, requiring immediate action to avoid permanent damage to the West Texas desert area. C.S.H.B. 1825 seeks to address this problem by proposing new law relating to the sale or transportation of certain desert plants.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Department of Agriculture in SECTIONS 1 and 3 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1825 amends the Agriculture Code to prohibit a person from selling, offering for sale to a commercial purchaser, or transporting for transfer out of Texas a desert plant, as defined by the bill, unless the person complies with certain bill provisions relating to a registration and compliance agreement and to documentation provided under a compliance agreement and Department of Agriculture (TDA) rules on providing documentation of the source of the desert plant, or unless the person owns the property from which the desert plant was harvested and provides with the plant a shipping order or other document showing the source of the plant or of a group of plants that includes the plant. The bill requires a person who grows desert plants on or harvests desert plants from property owned by another person for sale to register with the TDA and enter into a compliance agreement with the TDA that requires the person to provide an applicable manifest or other form of documentation during a sale or transfer. The bill requires the TDA by rule to establish minimum standards for compliance agreements and the manifests or other forms of documentation to be provided in accordance with compliance agreements. The bill requires a manifest or other form of documentation to show the source of the desert plants and verify compliance with the compliance agreement conditions. The bill requires the TDA to adopt rules, including procedures for inspection or other mechanisms, to ensure that a manifest or other form of documentation provided under a compliance agreement does not misrepresent the source of a desert plant. The bill requires a person to include with an application for registration written documentation that the owner of the property from which the desert plants are to be harvested grants the person the authority to harvest the plants from the property. The bill authorizes the TDA to charge a registration and compliance agreement fee to offset the costs of administering the bill's provisions.
C.S.H.B. 1825 requires a person who sells or offers for sale a desert plant and has entered into a compliance agreement, in accordance with TDA rules, to provide a manifest or other form of documentation of the source of the desert plant to a commercial purchaser, a person who sells or offers for sale the desert plant to a commercial purchaser, or a person who transports the desert plant for transfer out of Texas. The bill requires the manifest or other form of documentation to accompany the desert plant when the plant is sold or offered for sale or transported for transfer out of Texas.
C.S.H.B. 1825 authorizes the TDA, in enforcing the bill's provisions, to issue and enforce a written or printed order to stop the sale of a desert plant or a shipment of desert plants that is not accompanied by a required manifest or other form of documentation and prohibits a person from selling a desert plant or shipment until proper documentation is provided if an order is issued. The bill authorizes the TDA, in enforcing the bill's provisions, with or without process to seize a desert plant or a shipment of desert plants that is not accompanied by a required manifest or other form of documentation and is intended for transfer out of Texas. The bill requires the TDA to return seized desert plants to the owner of the land from which they were harvested or, if the TDA is not able to identify such an owner, to deliver them to the Parks and Wildlife Department.
C.S.H.B. 1825 makes it an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 180 days, or both the fine and imprisonment to advertise, sell, or offer for sale to a commercial purchaser a desert plant or a shipment of desert plants that is not accompanied by a required manifest or other form of documentation. The bill authorizes the TDA to assess an administrative penalty of $500 for a violation of the bill's provisions or a rule or order adopted by the TDA under those provisions but specifies that such authorization does not authorize the TDA to assess an administrative penalty against a person who owns the property from which a desert plant was harvested and provides with the plant a shipping order or other document showing the source of the plant or of a group of plants that includes the plant.
C.S.H.B. 1825 requires the TDA to adopt rules to administer the bill's provisions not later than December 1, 2013. The bill applies only to a desert plant that is sold, offered for sale, or transported on or after January 1, 2014.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1825 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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