81R7829 BEF-F
By: Hegar S.B. No. 1004
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the board of
directors of the official cotton growers' boll weevil eradication
foundation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 74.113, Agriculture Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (l) to read as
follows:
(f) An assessment levied on cotton growers in an eradication
zone may be applied only to:
(1) eradication [in that zone];
(2) the foundation's operating costs, including
payments on debt incurred for a foundation activity[, except that
the funds of one zone may not be used to pay another zone's bank
loans or debts]; and
(3) the conducting of other programs consistent with
the declaration of policy stated in Section 74.101.
(l) With the approval of the board and the commissioner, the
foundation may transfer the proceeds from the collection of
assessments in one eradication zone to another eradication zone.
The transferred proceeds may be applied only as provided by
Subsection (f).
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Section 74.1135 to read as follows:
Sec. 74.1135. ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF ASSESSMENTS. (a) The
commissioner may adopt rules that provide for an alternative
method, manner, and mechanism by which assessments are imposed and
collected under this subchapter. The commissioner may adopt the
rules only after receiving a recommendation from the board. The
board shall consult with cotton grower steering committees and the
technical advisory committee in formulating a recommendation to the
commissioner under this subsection. The commissioner may accept,
reject, or modify a board recommendation. The rules apply
notwithstanding Section 74.113. The rules must require any person
collecting an assessment to forward the assessment to the
foundation.
(b) The maximum amount of an assessment under this section
may not exceed the maximum amount of an assessment approved in an
assessment referendum under this subchapter.
SECTION 3. Section 74.127(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The board of directors of the official cotton growers'
boll weevil eradication foundation is subject to Chapter 325,
Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence
as provided by that chapter, the board is abolished and this
subchapter expires September 1, 2021 [2009].
SECTION 4. 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, 2009.