2009S0577-1 03/05/09
By: Hegar S.B. No. 1871
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the management of volunteer and other noncommercial
cotton in pest management zones and the official cotton growers'
boll weevil eradication program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 74.001, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 74.001. PUBLIC NUISANCE. (a) The legislature finds
that cotton pests are a menace to the cotton industry, and that
control of those pests is a public necessity. Any portion of the
state that is susceptible to infestation by cotton pests must be
protected from this public nuisance and threat to the continued
stability of the cotton industry.
(b) The legislature finds that volunteer and other
noncommercial cotton is a public nuisance that threatens the cotton
growers' boll weevil eradication program by serving as a host for
cotton pests such as boll weevils and pink bollworms. To protect
the cotton industry of this state, volunteer and other
noncommercial cotton must be eliminated subject to the provisions
of this chapter.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 74, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Sections 74.0031 and 74.0042 to read as follows:
Sec. 74.0031. COTTON STALK DESTRUCTION. (a) The
department shall submit the recommendations of each administrative
committee for each pest management zone under Section 74.003 to the
Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc. On review of the
administrative committee recommendations, the foundation shall
submit to the department an estimate of the amount by which the
implementation of each recommendation would increase the cost of
administering the boll weevil eradication program.
(b) The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc.:
(1) shall conduct a study of the effects of incomplete
cotton stalk destruction and volunteer cotton control on boll
weevil eradication activities;
(2) shall submit recommendations to the department and
the foundation's board of directors for a cotton stalk destruction
deadline for each pest management zone not later than November 1,
2009; and
(3) may consult with its technical advisory committee
in formulating the study and recommendations called for by this
subsection.
(c) The department shall set a cotton stalk destruction
deadline for each pest management zone based on the foundation's
recommendations under Subsection (b).
Sec. 74.0042. HOSTABLE COTTON FEE. (a) The department
shall establish and collect a hostable cotton fee for fields in
which cotton stalks, volunteer cotton, or other noncommercial
cotton remains past the stalk destruction deadline for the
applicable pest management zone. A fee under this section shall be
expressed in terms of dollars per acre per week and shall apply for
each week that the stalks, volunteer cotton, or other noncommercial
cotton remains in the field.
(b) If adverse weather affects an area within 10 days of the
date of harvest, the administrative committee for the applicable
pest management zone may request that the department grant a
blanket extension of the cotton stalk destruction deadline for all
fields located in the pest management zone. A request under this
subsection must be made not later than the 14th day before the
applicable cotton stalk destruction deadline. A field is not
subject to a hostable cotton fee if the department grants a blanket
extension of the deadline. The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation, Inc., shall submit to the department an estimate of the
amount by which an extension under this subsection will increase
the cost of administering the boll weevil eradication program.
(c) If the department denies a request for a blanket
extension of the cotton stalk destruction deadline for the fields
in a pest management zone, a cotton grower may apply for an
individual extension of the deadline. A request under this
subsection must be made not later than the fourth business day
before the applicable pest management zone's stalk destruction
deadline. The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc.,
shall submit to the department an estimate of the amount by which
any extension of a stalk destruction deadline that is granted under
this subsection will increase the cost of administering the boll
weevil eradication program.
(d) Any cotton or cotton stalks that remain in a field after
the cotton stalk destruction deadline has passed that are covered
by an individual extension are subject to one-half the hostable
cotton fee established under Subsection (a) for the duration of the
individual extension.
(e) Any cotton or cotton stalks that remain in a field after
the cotton stalk destruction deadline or any extension of the stalk
destruction deadline has passed are subject to the hostable cotton
fee established under Subsection (a). Any cotton or cotton stalks
that remain in a field for more than 30 days after the stalk
destruction deadline or any extension of the deadline are subject
to twice the hostable cotton fee established under Subsection (a).
(f) Hostable cotton fees collected by the department shall
be sent to the comptroller and deposited in an account established
for the treatment of cotton until the cotton is rendered
nonhostable and for other expenses incident to boll weevil
eradication. The department may contract with the Texas Boll
Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc., or its successor entity for
treatment, control, or monitoring activities funded from the
account.
(g) If a hostable cotton fee that is due is not paid on or
before the 45th day after the date the department gives notice to a
cotton grower that the fee is due, the department may destroy any
cotton or cotton stalks that remain in the field, as provided by
Section 74.004.
(h) The department shall adopt rules to administer this
section.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 74.118, Agriculture
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner may adopt reasonable rules regarding
areas where cotton may not be planted in an eradication zone if
there is reason to believe that planting will jeopardize the
success of the program by making treatment impracticable or present
a hazard to public health or safety.
SECTION 4. Section 74.119, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 74.119. AUTHORITY FOR DESTRUCTION OR TREATMENT OF
COTTON IN ERADICATION ZONES; COMPENSATION PAYABLE. (a) The
department shall [may] destroy or treat volunteer or other
noncommercial cotton and establish procedures for the purchase and
destruction of commercial cotton in eradication zones [if the
department determines the action is necessary to carry out the
purposes of this subchapter]. The department is not liable to the
owner or lessee for the destruction of or injury to any cotton that
was planted in an eradication zone after publication of notice as
provided by this subchapter. The foundation is liable for the
destruction of cotton if the cotton was planted in an eradication
zone before publication of the notice.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2010, the department shall
adopt rules providing for the regulation and control of volunteer
and other noncommercial cotton in pest management zones. At a
minimum, the rules must:
(1) provide a cotton grower with a period of not less
than five or more than 15 days in which the grower is required to
destroy volunteer or other noncommercial cotton on receipt of a
notice from the department; or
(2) allow the department or a person designated by the
department to monitor and treat volunteer or other noncommercial
cotton for boll weevil infestation if the cotton grower does not
destroy the cotton in compliance with the notice from the
department.
(c) If a cotton grower does not destroy volunteer or other
noncommercial cotton as provided by Subsection (b)(1), the grower
shall be liable to the department for a volunteer cotton fee to be
set by the department. The fee shall in no event be less than the
eradication assessment that would have been owed if the entire
field in question were planted in cotton. Volunteer cotton fees
shall be deposited in the hostable cotton fee account established
under Section 74.0042, and the fee proceeds may be expended for like
purposes.
SECTION 5. 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.