83R9247 AED-D

By: M. Gonzalez of El Paso H.B. No. 1826

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to authorizing the Department of Agriculture to create a database of nonpaying buyers of agricultural products; authorizing a fee.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding Section 12.049 to read as follows:

Sec. 12.049. NONPAYING BUYER DATABASE. (a) In this section, "agricultural product" means an agricultural, horticultural, viticultural, or vegetable product, bees, honey, fish or other seafood, planting seed, livestock, a livestock product, a forestry product, poultry, or a poultry product, either in its natural or processed state, that has been produced, processed, or otherwise had value added to it in this state.

(b) A seller of an agricultural product may submit to the department the name of a person engaged in the business of buying agricultural products who failed to make a payment to the seller for the agricultural product if a court in a suit for nonpayment has entered a judgment holding the person liable for the outstanding payment.

(c) The department may:

(1) maintain on its Internet website an electronically searchable database of named defendants found liable in suits for nonpayment for agricultural products;

(2) set a fee for including a name or suit in the database in an amount reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of maintaining the database; and

(3) add a person's name or a suit to the database after:

(A) the department verifies that a court in a suit for the outstanding payment has entered a judgment holding the person who is the subject of a submission under Subsection (b) liable for the outstanding payment; and

(B) the seller who made the submission under Subsection (b) pays the fee.

(d) A person whose name appears in the database as a nonpaying buyer may request a hearing under Section 12.032 to determine whether the department is required to remove the person's name or a suit from the database. The hearing shall be held by an administrative law judge of the State Office of Administrative Hearings. After the hearing, the department shall remove a person's name or a suit from the database if the administrative law judge determines that:

(1) the judgment in the suit holding the defendant liable for nonpayment has been vacated, overturned on appeal, or satisfied; or

(2) extenuating circumstances justify removing the person's name from the list.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.