BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 798 |
By: González, Mary |
Agriculture & Livestock |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties note that the West Texas desert area is a prime target for the theft of desert plants due to current trends in home landscaping such as xeriscaping, which is a water conserving landscaping method. The parties report that thieves take desert plants in large numbers from public or private land without permission and sell the plants for profit throughout Texas and other states such as Arizona and California. The parties further note that the Chihuahuan Desert is one of the most biologically rich deserts in the world and contend that such theft presents a serious threat to the desert's delicate ecosystem. C.S.H.B. 798 seeks to address this issue by providing for a study of methods to prevent desert plant theft.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 798 amends the Agriculture Code to require the commissioner of agriculture, not later than December 1, 2015, to appoint a task force to study methods to prevent the theft of desert plants from private property, including the following genera of plants: Agave, Ariocarpus, Echinocactus, Echinocereus, Ferocactus, Fouquieria, Mammillaria, and Yucca. The bill requires the task force to study the sale and transportation of desert plants and methods to prevent the theft of desert plants from private property. The bill authorizes the task force to study the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing registration requirements for persons who sell or transport desert plants; requiring persons who sell or transport desert plants to enter into a compliance agreement with a state agency and to document the origin of the plants; authorizing a state agency to issue stop-sale orders regarding or to seize desert plants that do not comply with legal requirements; imposing civil, criminal, or administrative penalties for persons who steal desert plants and for persons who fail to comply with legal requirements governing the sale or transportation of desert plants; and taking any other action to regulate the sale or transportation of desert plants and prevent the theft of desert plants, as determined by the task force. The bill requires the task force, not later than December 1, 2016, to submit to the house committees on agriculture and livestock and appropriations a report that includes recommendations for legislation to regulate the sale or transportation of desert plants and prevent the theft of desert plants from private property. The bill's provisions expire December 31, 2016.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 798 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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