Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2670 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R13941 BEF-F
2	2	By: Guillen H.B. No. 2670
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the regulation of beekeeping; authorizing fees.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 131.001, Agriculture Code, is amended by
10	10	amending Subdivisions (3), (5), and (6) and adding Subdivision
11	11	(12-a) to read as follows:
12	12	(3) "Beekeeper" means a person who owns, leases,
13	13	possesses, controls, or manages one or more colonies of bees for any
14	14	[pollination or the production of honey, beeswax, or other
15	15	by-products, either for] personal or commercial purpose [use].
16	16	(5) "Colony" means a distinguishable localized
17	17	population of bees in which one or more life stages may be present
18	18	[the hive and its equipment and appurtenances including bees, comb,
19	19	honey, pollen, and brood].
20	20	(6) "Director" means the director of [the] Texas A&M
21	21	AgriLife Research [Agricultural Experiment Station].
22	22	(12-a) "Package bees" means live bees in cages without
23	23	combs or honey used in forming a new colony.
24	24	SECTION 2. Section 131.041, Agriculture Code, is amended to
25	25	read as follows:
26	26	Sec. 131.041. PERMIT FOR INTERSTATE MOVEMENT
27	27	[IMPORTATION]. (a) A person may not ship or cause to be shipped
28	28	bees or equipment into or out of this state unless the person has a
29	29	permit issued by the chief apiary inspector authorizing the
30	30	shipment.
31	31	(b) A permit issued under this section applies to all
32	32	shipments made by the beekeeper and expires on August 31 following
33	33	the date the permit is issued. The term of a permit may not exceed
34	34	one year.
35	35	(c) A person may apply for a permit under this section by
36	36	filing an application with the inspector. A person may apply for a
37	37	permit at any time, but a person must apply for a permit before the
38	38	10th day preceding the date of a [the] shipment if the person does
39	39	not hold a permit on the 10th day preceding the date of the
40	40	shipment. An application for a permit must include all information
41	41	required by the chief apiary inspector.
42	42	(d) A shipment originating outside this state requires:
43	43	(1) [a complete description of the shipment;
44	44	[(2) the destination of the shipment;
45	45	[(3) the approximate date of the shipment;
46	46	[(4) the names and addresses of the consignor and
47	47	consignee; and
48	48	[(5)] a certificate of inspection signed by the
49	49	official apiary inspector or entomologist of the state, territory,
50	50	or country from which the bees are to be shipped before the shipment
51	51	may enter the state; or
52	52	(2) an inspection of the shipment by the chief apiary
53	53	inspector of Texas not more than 12 months before the date of the
54	54	shipment.
55	55	(e) [(c)] A certificate of inspection for a permit
56	56	required by Subsection (d)(1) [(b)(5) of this section] must certify
57	57	that the bees or equipment are apparently free from disease based
58	58	on an actual inspection conducted not more than 12 months before the
59	59	date of the shipment. If the bees or equipment are to be shipped
60	60	into this state from a state, territory, or country that does not
61	61	have an official apiary inspector or entomologist:
62	62	(1) [,] the person shipping the bees or equipment may
63	63	provide other suitable evidence that the bees and equipment are
64	64	free from disease; or
65	65	(2) the bees may be shipped into this state under
66	66	quarantine and the person receiving the shipment shall have the
67	67	bees inspected not later than the 30th day after the date the bees
68	68	enter this state.
69	69	(f) [(d)] If a person files an application in accordance
70	70	with Subsection (c) [(b) of this section] and the inspector is
71	71	satisfied that the shipment or shipments to which the permit
72	72	applies do [does] not pose a threat to disease control in the
73	73	beekeeping industry, the inspector shall issue a permit
74	74	[authorizing the shipment].
75	75	(g) [(e)] This section does not apply to a shipment of
76	76	package [live] bees [in wire cages without combs or honey].
77	77	(h) The inspector shall charge a fee for each permit issued
78	78	under this section. The inspector shall set the fee at an amount
79	79	that is reasonable in relation to the costs of administering this
80	80	section.
81	81	SECTION 3. Section 131.045, Agriculture Code, is amended to
82	82	read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 131.045. BEEKEEPER [APIARY] REGISTRATION. (a) Each
84	84	beekeeper in this state may register on an annual basis with the
85	85	[The] chief apiary inspector [may provide for the periodic
86	86	registration of all apiaries in this state]. A registration under
87	87	this section expires August 31.
88	88	(b) A registration must include:
89	89	(1) information required by the chief apiary
90	90	inspector [the beekeeper's name, address, and telephone number];
91	91	and
92	92	(2) the county or counties in which the beekeeper
93	93	operates [apiary will be located; and
94	94	[(3) the approximate dates that the apiary will be
95	95	located in each county].
96	96	(c) The inspector may require a beekeeper to submit with the
97	97	registration information a map showing the exact location of each
98	98	of the beekeeper's apiaries. A map submitted under this section is
99	99	a trade secret under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be
100	100	disclosed.
101	101	(d) The chief apiary inspector may charge a fee for each
102	102	registration issued under this section. The inspector shall set
103	103	the fee at an amount that is reasonable in relation to the costs of
104	104	administering this section. The chief apiary inspector may
105	105	establish separate registration categories for purposes of setting
106	106	and collecting fees under this section.
107	107	SECTION 4. Section 131.046(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
108	108	to read as follows:
109	109	(a) Fees collected under this subchapter shall be deposited
110	110	in the State Treasury [to the credit of a special fund to be known as
111	111	the bee disease control fund to be used only to defray the costs of
112	112	administering and enforcing this chapter].
113	113	SECTION 5. Section 131.121(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
114	114	to read as follows:
115	115	(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
116	116	(1) violates a provision of Section 131.022 or 131.023
117	117	[of this code];
118	118	(2) fails to report diseased bees in accordance with
119	119	Section 131.025 [of this code];
120	120	(3) ships or causes bees or equipment to be shipped
121	121	into this state [or between counties in this state] without the
122	122	permit required by Section 131.041 [or 131.043 of this chapter];
123	123	(4) violates a rule, order, or quarantine of the chief
124	124	apiary inspector adopted under this chapter;
125	125	(5) prevents or attempts to prevent an inspection of
126	126	bees, equipment, pollen, or honey under the direction of the
127	127	inspector under this chapter;
128	128	(6) prevents or attempts to prevent the discovery or
129	129	treatment of diseased bees;
130	130	(7) interferes with or attempts to interfere with the
131	131	inspector in the discharge of the duties under this chapter;
132	132	(8) as the owner or keeper of a diseased colony of
133	133	bees, barters, gives away, sells, ships, or moves diseased bees,
134	134	equipment, pollen, or honey or exposes other bees to the disease;
135	135	(9) exposes honey, pollen, hives, frames, combs, bees,
136	136	or appliances known to be diseased in a manner that provides access
137	137	to bees; or
138	138	(10) sells, offers for sale, barters, gives away,
139	139	ships, or distributes honey or pollen taken from a colony of
140	140	diseased bees.
141	141	SECTION 6. The following provisions of the Agriculture Code
142	142	are repealed:
143	143	(1) Section 131.042; and
144	144	(2) Section 131.043.
145	145	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
146	146	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
147	147	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
148	148	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
149	149	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
150	150	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
151	151	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
152	152	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.