S.B. No. 2379
AN ACT
relating to responsibility and criminal penalties for certain
violations committed by commercial oyster boat crews.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 76.001, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 76.001. DEFINITIONS [NATURAL OYSTER BED]. In this
chapter:
(1) "Barrel of oysters" means three boxes of oysters
in the shell or two gallons of shucked oysters without shells. The
dimensions of a box are 10 inches by 20 inches by 13-1/2 inches. In
filling a box for measurement, the oysters may not be piled more
than 2-1/2 inches above the height of the box at the center.
(2) "Natural [(a) A natural] oyster bed" means an
area where [exists when] at least five barrels of oysters are found
within 2,500 square feet of any position on a reef or bed.
(3) "Open season" means a period during which it is
lawful to take oysters.
[(b) In this section, a barrel of oysters is equal to three
boxes of oysters in the shell. The dimensions of a box are 10 inches
by 20 inches by 13-1/2 inches. In filling a box for measurement,
the oysters may not be piled more than 2-1/2 inches above the height
of the box at the center. Two gallons of shucked oysters without
shells equals one barrel of oysters in the shell.]
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 76.116, Parks and
Wildlife Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) There is no open season for taking oysters from areas
closed by the [Texas] Department of State Health Services.
SECTION 3. Section 76.118, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), and (e) and adding
Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(b) A person who violates Section 76.101, 76.107, or
76.109[, or 76.116 of this code] or a regulation of the commission
issued under one of those sections commits an offense that is a
Class B Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.
(c) A person who violates Section 76.116, or at the same
time violates Sections [Section] 76.109 and [either Section]
76.116, [or Section 76.205 of this code] commits an offense that is
a Class A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.
(e) If it is shown at the trial of a defendant for a
violation of Section 76.101, 76.107, or 76.109[, or 76.116 of this
code] that the defendant has been convicted once within five years
before the trial date of a violation of Section 76.101, 76.107, or
76.109, [or 76.116 of this code,] the defendant is guilty of a Class
A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.
(e-1) If it is shown at the trial of a defendant for a
violation of Section 76.116 that the defendant has been convicted
once within five years before the trial date of a violation of
Section 76.116, the defendant is guilty of a Parks and Wildlife Code
state jail felony.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 76.119, Parks and
Wildlife Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) If a vessel licensed as a commercial oyster boat is
involved in a violation of this chapter, the captain of the vessel
licensed as a commercial oyster boat is primarily responsible for
the violation. A member of the crew of a vessel licensed as a
commercial oyster boat is not guilty of a violation unless the
member of the crew committed the violation against the captain's
orders, except for a violation of Section 76.109 or 76.116 [of this
subchapter], in which case each person on the vessel is responsible
for the violation.
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2379 passed the Senate on
April 24, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2379 passed the House on
May 15, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, one
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor