| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to a grant program to reduce wait times for agricultural |
|
|
inspections of vehicles at ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico |
|
|
border. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Section 12.050 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 12.050. BORDER AGRICULTURAL INSPECTION GRANT PROGRAM. |
|
|
(a) Using money appropriated for this purpose, the department may |
|
|
make a grant to a nonprofit organization for the purpose of |
|
|
promoting the agricultural processing industry in this state by |
|
|
reducing wait times for agricultural inspections of vehicles at |
|
|
ports of entry along the border with the United Mexican States. |
|
|
(b) The department shall request proposals for the award of |
|
|
a grant under this section. The department shall evaluate the |
|
|
proposals and award a grant based on the proposed program's |
|
|
quantifiable effectiveness and the potentially positive impact on |
|
|
the agricultural processing industry in this state. |
|
|
(c) A grant awarded under this section must be made to an |
|
|
organization that has demonstrated experience working with border |
|
|
inspection authorities to reduce border crossing wait times. |
|
|
(d) A grant recipient may use grant money received under |
|
|
this section only to pay for activities directly related to the |
|
|
purpose of the grant program as described by Subsection (a). A grant |
|
|
recipient may use grant money to reimburse a federal governmental |
|
|
agency that, at the request of the grant recipient, provides |
|
|
additional border agricultural inspectors or pays overtime to |
|
|
border agricultural inspectors at ports of entry along the border |
|
|
with the United Mexican States. |
|
|
(e) The department shall establish procedures to administer |
|
|
the grant program, including a procedure for the submission of a |
|
|
proposal and a procedure to be used by the department to evaluate a |
|
|
proposal. |
|
|
(f) The department shall enter into a contract that includes |
|
|
performance requirements with each grant recipient. The department |
|
|
shall monitor and enforce the terms of the contract. The contract |
|
|
must authorize the department to recoup grant money from a grant |
|
|
recipient for failure of the grant recipient to comply with the |
|
|
terms of the contract. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |