| 1 | 1 | | 85R26278 TSR-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Farrar H.B. No. 2600 |
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| 3 | 3 | | Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2600: |
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| 4 | 4 | | By: González of El Paso C.S.H.B. No. 2600 |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the establishment of the Bee Pollinator Goals Task |
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| 10 | 10 | | Force to develop and report on statewide pollinator goals. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 131, Agriculture Code, is |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended by adding Section 131.011 to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 131.011. BEE POLLINATOR GOALS TASK FORCE. (a) The Bee |
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| 15 | 15 | | Pollinator Goals Task Force is established to develop statewide bee |
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| 16 | 16 | | pollinator goals and metrics and report on the state's progress |
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| 17 | 17 | | toward those goals and metrics on a biennial basis. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (b) The task force consists of members appointed by the |
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| 19 | 19 | | governor who have relevant experience in agriculture, |
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| 20 | 20 | | conservation, education, or local government from the following |
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| 21 | 21 | | state agencies: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (1) the department; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) the Texas Animal Health Commission; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (3) the Texas Education Agency; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (4) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (5) the Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (6) the Office of the Texas State Chemist; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (7) the Department of State Health Services; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (8) the General Land Office; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (9) the Parks and Wildlife Department; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (10) the Railroad Commission of Texas; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (11) Texas A&M AgriLife Research; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (12) the Texas Apiary Inspection Service. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (c) The governor shall designate a member who represents the |
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| 35 | 35 | | department to be the chair of the task force. Members serve at the |
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| 36 | 36 | | pleasure of the governor. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (d) State agencies with members on the task force shall |
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| 38 | 38 | | provide administrative support for the task force. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (e) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, |
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| 40 | 40 | | the task force shall submit a report to the members of the |
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| 41 | 41 | | legislature on the factors contributing to the decline of the bee |
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| 42 | 42 | | population in this state, including habitat loss, pesticides, |
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| 43 | 43 | | diseases, and parasites, and recommend feasible initiatives that, |
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| 44 | 44 | | when implemented, will stop the spread of bee-related diseases, |
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| 45 | 45 | | sustain this state's bee population, and contribute toward reaching |
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| 46 | 46 | | the goals and metrics developed by the task force. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (f) The report under Subsection (e) must include: |
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| 48 | 48 | | (1) recommendations for: |
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| 49 | 49 | | (A) the research needs of this state in the field |
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| 50 | 50 | | of bee pollination; |
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| 51 | 51 | | (B) the establishment of statewide pollination |
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| 52 | 52 | | policies; and |
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| 53 | 53 | | (C) state funding to reduce the significant loss |
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| 54 | 54 | | of bee pollinators in this state to help achieve statewide |
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| 55 | 55 | | pollinator goals; and |
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| 56 | 56 | | (2) information on: |
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| 57 | 57 | | (A) interagency collaboration on pollinator |
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| 58 | 58 | | protection efforts and methods to improve coordination of the |
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| 59 | 59 | | policies and programs of member state agencies to maximize the |
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| 60 | 60 | | benefits from those efforts; |
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| 61 | 61 | | (B) ways to raise public awareness of pollinator |
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| 62 | 62 | | issues; and |
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| 63 | 63 | | (C) the effectiveness of state agency pollinator |
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| 64 | 64 | | programs, reports, and recommendations. |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
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| 66 | 66 | | of this Act, the governor shall make the appointments to the Bee |
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| 67 | 67 | | Pollinator Goals Task Force as described by Section 131.011, |
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| 68 | 68 | | Agriculture Code, as added by this Act. |
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| 69 | 69 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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