Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1580 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 1580
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the continuation and functions of the board of
6	6	directors of the official cotton growers' boll weevil eradication
7	7	foundation and the management of certain cotton in pest management
8	8	zones.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 74.001, Agriculture Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 74.001. PUBLIC NUISANCE. (a) The legislature finds
13	13	that cotton pests are a menace to the cotton industry, and that
14	14	control of those pests is a public necessity. Any portion of the
15	15	state that is susceptible to infestation by cotton pests must be
16	16	protected from this public nuisance and threat to the continued
17	17	stability of the cotton industry.
18	18	(b) The legislature finds that volunteer and other
19	19	noncommercial cotton is a public nuisance that threatens the cotton
20	20	growers' boll weevil eradication program by serving as a host for
21	21	cotton pests such as boll weevils and pink bollworms. To protect
22	22	the cotton industry of this state, volunteer and other
23	23	noncommercial cotton must be eliminated subject to the provisions
24	24	of this chapter.
25	25	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 74, Agriculture Code, is
26	26	amended by adding Sections 74.0031 and 74.0032 to read as follows:
27	27	Sec. 74.0031. COTTON STALK DESTRUCTION. (a) The
28	28	department shall submit the recommendations of each administrative
29	29	committee that governs a pest management zone under Section 74.003
30	30	to the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation. On review of the
31	31	administrative committee recommendations, the foundation shall
32	32	submit to the department an estimate of the amount by which the
33	33	implementation of each recommendation would increase the cost of
34	34	administering the boll weevil eradication program.
35	35	(b) The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation shall:
36	36	(1) conduct a study of the effects of incomplete
37	37	cotton stalk destruction and volunteer cotton control on boll
38	38	weevil eradication activities; and
39	39	(2) submit annual recommendations to the department
40	40	and the board of the foundation for a cotton stalk destruction
41	41	deadline for each pest management zone.
42	42	(c) The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation may
43	43	consult with its technical advisory committee in fulfilling its
44	44	duties under Subsection (b).
45	45	(d) The department shall set a cotton stalk destruction
46	46	deadline for each pest management zone, with consideration given to
47	47	the recommendations of the foundation and the applicable
48	48	administrative committee submitted under Subsection (b).
49	49	Sec. 74.0032. HOSTABLE COTTON FEE. (a) The department
50	50	shall establish and collect a hostable cotton fee for fields in
51	51	which hostable cotton stalks, hostable volunteer cotton, or other
52	52	hostable noncommercial cotton remains past the stalk destruction
53	53	deadline set for the applicable pest management zone under Section
54	54	74.0031. A fee under this section shall be expressed in terms of
55	55	dollars per acre, per week in which the stalks, volunteer cotton, or
56	56	other noncommercial cotton remains in the field. The department
57	57	shall establish a procedure to notify a cotton grower that a fee is
58	58	due the department under this section.
59	59	(b) If adverse weather conditions or other good cause
60	60	exists, the administrative committee that governs the applicable
61	61	pest management zone may request that the department grant an
62	62	extension of the cotton stalk destruction deadline for any
63	63	specified part of the pest management zone or for the entire pest
64	64	management zone. A request under this subsection must be made not
65	65	later than 10 business days before the applicable cotton stalk
66	66	destruction deadline. A field is not subject to a hostable cotton
67	67	fee if the department grants an extension of the deadline. The
68	68	Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation shall submit to the
69	69	department an estimate of the amount by which an extension under
70	70	this subsection will increase the cost of administering the boll
71	71	weevil eradication program.
72	72	(c) If the applicable administrative committee does not
73	73	request an extension, or if the department denies a request for an
74	74	extension of the cotton stalk destruction deadline for a specified
75	75	part of a pest management zone, a cotton grower may apply for an
76	76	individual extension of the deadline. A request under this
77	77	subsection must be made not later than 10 business days before the
78	78	applicable pest management zone's stalk destruction deadline.
79	79	(d) The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation shall
80	80	submit to the department an estimate of the amount by which any
81	81	extension of a stalk destruction deadline that is granted under
82	82	Subsection (c) will increase the cost of administering the boll
83	83	weevil eradication program.
84	84	(e) Any hostable cotton or hostable cotton stalks that
85	85	remain in a field after the cotton stalk destruction deadline or any
86	86	extension of the stalk destruction deadline has passed are subject
87	87	to the hostable cotton fee established under Subsection (a). Any
88	88	hostable cotton or hostable cotton stalks that remain in a field for
89	89	more than 30 days after the stalk destruction deadline or any
90	90	extension of the deadline are subject to 150 percent of the hostable
91	91	cotton fee established under Subsection (a).
92	92	(f) A hostable cotton fee shall be sent to the comptroller
93	93	and may be appropriated only for the purpose of treating hostable
94	94	cotton or for other expenses related to boll weevil eradication.
95	95	The department may contract with the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication
96	96	Foundation or its successor entity for the treatment, control, or
97	97	monitoring activities funded from the account.
98	98	(g) Unless the fee is paid on or before the 45th day after
99	99	the date the department gives notice to a cotton grower that a
100	100	hostable cotton fee is due, the department may destroy any cotton or
101	101	cotton stalks that remain in the field, as provided by Section
102	102	74.004.
103	103	(h) The department shall adopt rules to administer this
104	104	section.
105	105	SECTION 3. Section 74.102(5), Agriculture Code, is amended
106	106	to read as follows:
107	107	(5) "Cotton grower" means a person who grows cotton
108	108	intended to be commercial [and receives income from the sale of]
109	109	cotton. The term includes an individual who as owner, landlord,
110	110	tenant, or sharecropper is entitled to share in the cotton grown and
111	111	available for marketing from a farm or to share in the proceeds from
112	112	the sale of the cotton from the farm or from an indemnity or other
113	113	payment received from or related to the planting, growing, or
114	114	failure of the cotton.
115	115	SECTION 4. Section 74.113, Agriculture Code, is amended by
116	116	amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (l) to read as
117	117	follows:
118	118	(f) An assessment levied on cotton growers in an eradication
119	119	zone may be applied only to:
120	120	(1) eradication [in that zone];
121	121	(2) the foundation's operating costs, including
122	122	payments on debt incurred for a foundation activity[, except that
123	123	the funds of one zone may not be used to pay another zone's bank
124	124	loans or debts]; and
125	125	(3) the conducting of other programs consistent with
126	126	the declaration of policy stated in Section 74.101.
127	127	(l) With the approval of the board and the commissioner, the
128	128	foundation may transfer the proceeds from the collection of
129	129	assessments in one eradication zone to another eradication zone.
130	130	The board shall consult with affected cotton grower steering
131	131	committees before recommending that the commissioner approve the
132	132	transfer of proceeds under this subsection. The transferred
133	133	proceeds may be applied only as provided by Subsection (f).
134	134	SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Agriculture Code, is
135	135	amended by adding Section 74.1135 to read as follows:
136	136	Sec. 74.1135. ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF ASSESSMENTS. (a) The
137	137	commissioner may adopt rules that provide for an alternative
138	138	method, manner, and mechanism by which assessments are imposed and
139	139	collected under this subchapter. The commissioner may adopt the
140	140	rules only after receiving a recommendation from the board. The
141	141	board shall consult with cotton grower steering committees and the
142	142	technical advisory committee in formulating a recommendation to the
143	143	commissioner under this subsection. The commissioner may accept,
144	144	reject, or modify a board recommendation. The rules apply
145	145	notwithstanding Section 74.113. The rules must require any person
146	146	collecting an assessment to forward the assessment to the
147	147	foundation.
148	148	(b) The maximum amount of an assessment under this section
149	149	may not exceed the maximum amount of an assessment approved in an
150	150	assessment referendum under this subchapter.
151	151	SECTION 6. Sections 74.118(a) and (b), Agriculture Code,
152	152	are amended to read as follows:
153	153	(a) The commissioner may adopt reasonable rules regarding
154	154	areas where cotton may not be planted in an eradication zone if
155	155	there is reason to believe planting will jeopardize the success of
156	156	the program by making treatment impracticable or present a hazard
157	157	to public health or safety.
158	158	(b) The commissioner may adopt rules relating to
159	159	[prohibiting the planting of] noncommercial cotton located in
160	160	eradication zones and requiring that all growers of commercial
161	161	cotton in an eradication zone participate in a boll weevil or pink
162	162	bollworm eradication program that includes cost sharing as required
163	163	by the rules.
164	164	SECTION 7. Section 74.119, Agriculture Code, is amended to
165	165	read as follows:
166	166	Sec. 74.119. AUTHORITY FOR DESTRUCTION OR TREATMENT OF
167	167	COTTON IN ERADICATION ZONES; COMPENSATION PAYABLE. (a) The
168	168	department shall [may] destroy or treat hostable volunteer or other
169	169	hostable noncommercial cotton and establish procedures for the
170	170	purchase and destruction of commercial cotton in eradication zones
171	171	if the department determines the action is necessary to carry out
172	172	the purposes of this subchapter. The department is not liable to
173	173	the owner or lessee for the destruction of or injury to any cotton
174	174	that was planted in an eradication zone after publication of notice
175	175	as provided by this subchapter. The foundation is liable for the
176	176	destruction of cotton if the cotton was planted in an eradication
177	177	zone before publication of the notice.
178	178	(b) Not later than January 1, 2010, the department shall
179	179	adopt rules providing for the regulation and control of volunteer
180	180	and other noncommercial cotton in pest management zones. At a
181	181	minimum, the rules must:
182	182	(1) provide a grower or landowner with a period of time
183	183	in which the grower or owner is required to destroy hostable
184	184	volunteer or other hostable noncommercial cotton on receipt of a
185	185	notice from the department; and
186	186	(2) allow the department or a person designated by the
187	187	department:
188	188	(A) to monitor and treat hostable volunteer or
189	189	other hostable noncommercial cotton that is located in a crop field
190	190	for boll weevil infestation if the grower or landowner does not
191	191	destroy the cotton in compliance with the notice from the
192	192	department; and
193	193	(B) to destroy hostable volunteer or other
194	194	hostable noncommercial cotton that is not in a crop field, as
195	195	provided by Section 74.004.
196	196	(c) If a grower or landowner does not destroy hostable
197	197	volunteer or other hostable noncommercial cotton as required by
198	198	Subsection (b)(1), the grower or owner shall pay to the department a
199	199	volunteer cotton fee in an amount determined by the department. A
200	200	fee under this subsection:
201	201	(1) may be assessed only on acreage where hostable
202	202	volunteer or other hostable noncommercial cotton is located;
203	203	(2) may not be less than one-half the amount the grower
204	204	or owner would owe if the entire acreage were planted with cotton;
205	205	and
206	206	(3) shall be deposited to the credit of the hostable
207	207	cotton fee account established by Section 74.0032.
208	208	SECTION 8. Section 74.127(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
209	209	to read as follows:
210	210	(a) The board of directors of the official cotton growers'
211	211	boll weevil eradication foundation is subject to Chapter 325,
212	212	Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence
213	213	as provided by that chapter, the board is abolished and this
214	214	subchapter expires September 1, 2021 [2009].
215	215	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
216	216	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
217	217	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
218	218	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
219	219	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
220	220	______________________________ ______________________________
221	221	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
222	222	I certify that H.B. No. 1580 was passed by the House on April
223	223	7, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
224	224	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
225	225	No. 1580 on May 14, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0,
226	226	1 present, not voting.
227	227	______________________________
228	228	Chief Clerk of the House
229	229	I certify that H.B. No. 1580 was passed by the Senate, with
230	230	amendments, on May 7, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
231	231	______________________________
232	232	Secretary of the Senate
233	233	APPROVED: __________________
234	234	Date
235	235	__________________
236	236	Governor