86R16921 SLB-F
By: Hunter, Lucio III, Phelan, Cyrier, H.B. No. 1300
Morrison, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to cultivated oyster mariculture; authorizing fees;
requiring a permit; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.032(b), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall deposit to the credit of the game,
fish, and water safety account all revenue, less allowable costs,
from the following sources:
(1) all types of fishing licenses and stamps and
shrimping licenses;
(2) all types of hunting licenses and stamps;
(3) trapping licenses and other licenses relating to
the taking, propagation, and sale of fur-bearing animals or their
pelts;
(4) sale of marl, sand, gravel, shell, and mudshell;
(5) oyster bed rentals and permits;
(6) federal funds received for fish and wildlife
research, management, development and conservation, resource
protection, and law enforcement, unless the funds are received for
the specific purposes of Subchapter F, Chapter 77;
(7) sale of property, less advertising costs,
purchased from this account or a special fund or account that is now
part of this account;
(8) fines and penalties collected for violations of a
law pertaining to the protection and conservation of wild birds,
wild fowl, wild animals, fish, shrimp, oysters, game birds and
animals, fur-bearing animals, alligators, and any other wildlife
resources of this state;
(9) sale of rough fish by the department;
(10) fees for importation permits;
(11) fees from supplying fish for or placing fish in
water located on private property;
(12) sale of seized pelts;
(13) sale or lease of grazing rights to and the
products from game preserves, sanctuaries, and management areas;
(14) contracts for the removal of fur-bearing animals
and reptiles from wildlife management areas;
(15) vessel registration fees;
(16) vessel manufacturer or dealer licensing fees;
(17) fines or penalties imposed by a court for
violation of water safety laws contained in Chapter 31 of this code;
(18) alligator hunter's or alligator buyer's licenses;
(19) sale of alligators or any part of an alligator by
the department;
(20) fees and revenue collected under Section
11.027(b) or (c) of this code that are associated with the
conservation of fish and wildlife;
(21) fees related to cultivated oyster mariculture
[any other source provided by law]; [and]
(22) vessel and outboard motor titling fees; and
(23) any other source provided by law.
SECTION 2. Section 11.033(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) To the extent allowed by federal law, money in the game,
fish, and water safety account may be used for the following
purposes:
(1) enforcement of fish, shrimp, and oyster laws, game
laws, and laws pertaining to sand, shell, and gravel;
(2) dissemination of information pertaining to marine
life, wild animal life, wildlife values, and wildlife management;
(3) scientific investigation and survey of marine life
for the better protection and conservation of marine life;
(4) establishment and maintenance of fish hatcheries,
fish sanctuaries, tidal water fish passes, wildlife management
areas, and public hunting grounds;
(5) propagation and distribution of marine life, game
animals, and wild birds;
(6) protection of wild birds, fish, and game;
(7) purchase, repair, and operation of boats and
dredges;
(8) research, management, and protection of the fish
and wildlife resources of this state, including alligators and
fur-bearing animals;
(9) salaries of employees and other expenses necessary
to carry out the duties of the department under laws relating to
fish, shrimp, oysters, game, water safety, and sand, shell, and
gravel;
(10) expansion and development of additional
opportunities of hunting and fishing in state-owned land and water;
(11) removing rough fish from public water;
(12) administration and enforcement of the water
safety laws as set out in Chapter 31;
(13) purchasing all necessary forms and supplies,
including reimbursement of the department for any material produced
by its existing facilities or work performed by other divisions of
the department;
(14) purchase, construction, and maintenance of boat
ramps on or near public waters as provided in Chapter 31;
(15) resource protection activities; [and]
(16) the cleanup of illegal or abandoned cultivated
oyster mariculture equipment and related debris in public water;
and
(17) any other use provided by law.
SECTION 3. Section 47.0091, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 47.0091. PURCHASE OF AQUATIC PRODUCTS BY WHOLESALE
FISH DEALERS. No wholesale fish dealer may purchase for resale or
receive for sale, barter, exchange, or any other commercial purpose
any aquatic product from any person or entity in this state unless
he purchases the product from the holder of:
(1) a general commercial fisherman's license;
(2) a commercial oyster fisherman's license;
(3) a commercial oyster boat license;
(4) a wholesale fish dealer's license;
(5) a fish farmer's license;
(6) a commercial shrimp boat license;
(7) a commercial oyster boat captain's license;
(8) a commercial shrimp boat captain's license;
(9) a commercial crab fisherman's license;
(10) a commercial finfish fisherman's license; [or]
(11) a commercial gulf shrimp unloading license; or
(12) a cultivated oyster mariculture permit.
SECTION 4. Subtitle D, Title 5, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 75 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 75. CULTIVATED OYSTER MARICULTURE
Sec. 75.0101. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Broodstock oyster" means an oyster collected for
the purpose of growing cultivated oysters.
(2) "Cultivated oyster" means an oyster grown at any
point in the life cycle of the oyster in or on an artificial
structure suspended in the water or resting on the bottom.
(3) "Cultivated oyster mariculture" means the process
of growing cultivated oysters.
(4) "Natural oyster bed" has the meaning assigned by
Section 76.001.
(5) "Oyster" means the Eastern oyster and the
subspecies of the Eastern oyster.
Sec. 75.0102. APPLICABILITY; CONFLICT OF LAWS. (a) A
structure used to grow oysters that is part of a cultivated oyster
mariculture operation is not a natural oyster bed or a private
oyster bed and is not subject to location requirements under
Subchapter A, Chapter 76.
(b) The licensing and permitting requirements of
Subchapters B, C, and F, Chapter 76, do not apply to activity
carried out under a cultivated oyster mariculture permit issued
under this chapter.
(c) A regulation adopted under Section 76.301 does not apply
to an activity carried out under a cultivated oyster mariculture
permit issued under this chapter.
(d) A rule or proclamation issued under this section
prevails to the extent of conflict over a rule or proclamation
issued under:
(1) Chapter 61; or
(2) Chapter 76.
(e) Section 2001.0045, Government Code, does not apply to
rules adopted under this chapter.
Sec. 75.0103. CULTIVATED OYSTER MARICULTURE PROGRAM. (a)
The commission shall adopt rules to establish a program governing
cultivated oyster mariculture.
(b) Rules adopted under the program may establish
requirements for:
(1) the location and size of a cultivated oyster
mariculture operation;
(2) the taking, possession, transport, movement, and
sale of cultivated oysters;
(3) the taking, possession, transport, and movement of
broodstock oysters;
(4) marking structures for the cultivation of oysters
in a cultivated oyster mariculture operation;
(5) fees and conditions for use of public resources,
including broodstock oysters and public water; and
(6) any other matter necessary to implement and
administer this chapter.
(c) The department shall coordinate with the Department of
Agriculture, the Department of State Health Services, the General
Land Office, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in
the adoption of rules under this section.
Sec. 75.0104. CULTIVATED OYSTER MARICULTURE PERMIT
REQUIRED. (a) No person may engage in cultivated oyster
mariculture without first having acquired a cultivated oyster
mariculture permit.
(b) The commission shall adopt rules to implement this
section. Rules adopted under this section may establish
requirements for:
(1) permit applications and application fees;
(2) criteria for the approval, transfer, revocation,
and suspension of permits; and
(3) procedures for hearings related to a permit.
Sec. 75.0105. DEPOSIT AND USE OF FEES; CULTIVATED OYSTER
MARICULTURE CLEANUP SUBACCOUNT. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (c), fees collected under this chapter shall be
deposited to the credit of the game, fish, and water safety account.
(b) The cultivated oyster mariculture cleanup subaccount is
a subaccount in the game, fish, and water safety account. The
subaccount consists of money deposited to the subaccount under this
section.
(c) The department shall set aside 20 percent of the fees
collected under this chapter. That money shall be deposited to the
credit of the cultivated oyster mariculture cleanup subaccount in
the game, fish, and water safety account and may be used only for
the cleanup of illegal or abandoned cultivated oyster mariculture
equipment and related debris in public water.
Sec. 75.0106. PROHIBITED ACTIONS. (a) No person may sell
or barter, or offer to sell or barter, a cultivated oyster, except
as authorized by this chapter.
(b) No person may place a cultivated oyster in a natural
oyster bed or private oyster bed.
(c) In this subsection, "coastal public land" has the
meaning assigned by Section 33.004, Natural Resources Code.
Regardless of whether a person holds a permit under this chapter, no
person may place a structure related to cultivated oyster
mariculture on coastal public land unless the person first obtains
a lease or easement under Chapter 33 or 51, Natural Resources Code.
Sec. 75.0107. PENALTIES. (a) For purposes of this section,
"final conviction" includes a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to
or the imposition of deferred adjudication or deferred disposition
for an offense.
(b) A person who violates Section 75.0104(a) or 75.0106 or a
rule adopted under this chapter commits an offense that is a Class B
Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.
(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under Section 33.112, Natural Resources
Code, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, Section
33.112, Natural Resources Code, or both.
SECTION 5. Not later than August 31, 2020, the Parks and
Wildlife Commission shall adopt rules to implement Chapter 75,
Parks and Wildlife Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.