BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 880

By: Nelson

Agriculture & Livestock

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note the need to promote the state's wine industry through an advisory committee that better reflects the makeup of the industry. S.B. 880 seeks to address this need.

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.

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.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 880 abolishes the wine industry development and marketing advisory committee and amends the Agriculture Code to instead provide for a wine industry development advisory committee subject to the same statutory provisions as the wine industry development and marketing advisory committee. The bill authorizes the commissioner of agriculture to appoint a person who previously served on the wine industry development and marketing advisory committee to the wine industry development advisory committee. The bill adds as a purpose of the committee assisting and advising the commissioner in determining the best and most productive and efficient expenditures of the wine industry development fund. The bill removes as explicitly specified members of the committee representatives of wholesalers, package stores, and retailers; establishes additional qualifications for the explicitly specified members who are representatives of grape growers, wineries, researchers, and consumers; and provides for representatives of certain educators as an alternative to representatives of researchers. The bill specifies that the committee members who are representatives of consumers and of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission are nonvoting members.

S.B. 880 requires the committee, not later than September 1 of each year, to provide the commissioner with a written report containing a summary of the committee's discussions, conclusions, and recommendations from the fiscal year preceding that date; a proposed schedule and plan of action for the fiscal year beginning on that date designed to implement and further the objectives of the Texas Wine Industry Development Act and the Texas Wine Marketing Assistance Program in the Department of Agriculture; a proposed budget and prioritized spending plan for expenditures of the wine industry development fund; and other information requested by the commissioner or determined by a majority of the committee to be appropriate for inclusion in the report. The bill requires the commissioner, not later than November 1 of each year, to prepare for the current fiscal year the schedule, plan of action, budget, and prioritized spending plan, considering the committee's recommendations and following them to the extent the commissioner considers appropriate.

S.B. 880 removes Pierce's disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter from the diseases and pests the elimination and eradication of which money in the wine industry development fund may be used to provide certain funding. The bill provides an exception to the limited authorized appropriation and use of money in the fund as provided by specified Alcoholic Beverage Code provisions relating to the revenue allocation of certain wine-related revenue.  

S.B. 880 repeals Section 50B.0015, Agriculture Code.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.