87R448 BEF-D
 
  By: Powell S.B. No. 1128
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to pollinator health.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 131, Agriculture Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 131.011 and 131.012 to read as follows:
         Sec. 131.011.  POLLINATOR HEALTH EDUCATION. (a)  The Texas
  A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in consultation with the
  department, shall develop educational materials regarding the best
  practices for avoiding adverse effects from pesticides on
  populations of bees and other pollinating insects.  The educational
  materials must include information on measures that pesticide
  applicators may take to protect honeybees and bumblebees.  The
  Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the department shall
  jointly design the requirements to ensure that any pesticide
  applicator applying or supervising the application of a pesticide
  is knowledgeable regarding alternatives to, the appropriateness
  of, and precautions for pesticide use that may be injurious to the
  health of bees and other pollinating insects.
         (b)  The department shall make the educational materials
  described in this section a part of the education required to obtain
  a pesticide applicator license under Chapter 76.
         Sec. 131.012.  TASK FORCE ON POLLINATOR HEALTH. (a)  In this
  section, "task force" means the task force on pollinator health
  established under this section.
         (b)  The task force consists of the following 10 members:
               (1)  one member of the senate, appointed by the
  lieutenant governor after consultation with the speaker of the
  house of representatives, who serves as a nonvoting member of the
  task force;
               (2)  one member of the house of representatives,
  appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives after
  consultation with the lieutenant governor, who is from a different
  political party than the member appointed under Subdivision (1) and
  who serves as a nonvoting member of the task force;
               (3)  one member, appointed by the governor, who is a
  university faculty member specializing in the science of pollinator
  health;
               (4)  one member, appointed by the governor,
  representing an advocacy group for nurseries and greenhouse
  producers;
               (5)  one member, appointed by the governor,
  representing an advocacy group for farmers;
               (6)  one member, appointed by the governor,
  representing an advocacy group dedicated to the protection of
  pollinators and invertebrates;
               (7)  one member, appointed by the governor,
  representing an advocacy group dedicated to environmental
  protection;
               (8)  one member, appointed by the governor,
  representing an advocacy group for retailers;
               (9)  one member, appointed by the governor, who is
  certified as a master gardener by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
  Service and who represents the public; and
               (10)  one member, appointed by the governor, who is a
  beekeeper and who represents the public.
         (c)  The task force shall undertake activities to examine
  issues relevant to pollinator health, including:
               (1)  studying proposed and enacted pesticide
  regulations from other states and countries that are more
  protective of pollinator health than the pesticide regulations of
  the United States Environmental Protection Agency;
               (2)  studying public education and outreach plans
  regarding pollinator health that have been successful in other
  states;
               (3)  evaluating the effectiveness of applicator
  licensing and other legal requirements, and of any state or federal
  incentives, in matters affecting pollinator health;
               (4)  identifying possible funding streams for efforts
  to promote or protect pollinator health;
               (5)  investigating the means used by other states to
  gather data on populations of bees or other pollinating insects;
  and
               (6)  evaluating existing best management practices for
  applying neonicotinoids in a manner that avoids harming pollinating
  insects.
         (d)  The task force may take actions necessary and proper to
  carry out the work of the task force, including scheduling hearings
  and taking testimony on matters related to pollinator health.
         (e)  A majority of the voting members of the task force
  constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.
         (f)  Official action by the task force requires the approval
  of five or more voting members of the task force.
         (g)  The task force shall elect one of its voting members to
  serve as presiding officer.
         (h)  The appropriate appointing officer shall appoint a
  qualified person to fill a vacancy on the task force.
         (i)  The task force shall meet at times and places specified
  by the call of the presiding officer or of a majority of the voting
  members of the task force.
         (j)  The task force may adopt bylaws necessary for the
  operation of the task force.
         (k)  Not later than October 1, 2022, the task force shall
  submit a report, which may include recommendations for legislation,
  to the standing committees of the senate and the house of
  representatives with primary jurisdiction over agriculture. The
  task force may provide progress reports to those committees before
  October 1, 2022.
         (l)  The department shall provide staff support to the task
  force.
         (m)  Members of the task force who are not members of the
  legislature are not entitled to compensation but may be reimbursed
  for actual and necessary travel and other expenses incurred in the
  performance of their official duties in the manner and amounts
  provided for in the General Appropriations Act.
         (n)  Each state agency shall assist the task force in the
  performance of its duties and, to the extent permitted by laws
  relating to confidentiality, shall furnish information and advice
  that the members of the task force consider necessary to perform
  their duties.
         (o)  This section expires December 31, 2022.
         SECTION 2.  Not later than October 1, 2021, the relevant
  appointing authorities shall appoint the members of the task force
  on pollinator health under Section 131.012(b), Agriculture Code, as
  added by this Act.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2021.