| 1 | 1 | | By: Wray H.B. No. 4547 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | relating to requiring a consumer warning upon sale of certain |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | household plants that are hazardous when ingested by canines. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Rudy's Law. |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 2. Section 71.057 of the Agriculture Code is |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | amended to read as follows: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 71.057. NURSERY DEALERS AND AGENTS; ANNUAL |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | REGISTRATION; REQUIRED WARNING TO CONSUMERS. (a) A person who buys |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | and sells or leases or offers for sale or lease a nursery product |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | and who has facilities that maintain or preserve the nursery |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | product and prevent that product from becoming dry, infested, or |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | diseased is a nursery dealer. |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (b) A person is a nursery agent if the person sells or |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | leases, offers for sale or lease, or takes mail orders for the sale |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | or lease of a nursery product and: |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | (1) is entirely under the control of a nursery grower |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | or nursery dealer with whom the nursery product offered for sale or |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | lease originates; or |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | (2) operates on a cooperative basis for handling a |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | nursery product with a nursery grower or nursery dealer. |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (c) A nursery agent shall possess proper credentials from |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | the nursery grower or nursery dealer the agent represents or |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | cooperates with. A nursery agent who fails to possess proper |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | credentials is subject to this subchapter as a nursery dealer. |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | (d) A nursery dealer or nursery agent must register with the |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | department under this section before offering for sale or lease or |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | otherwise distributing a nursery product. |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | (e) A nursery dealer or nursery agent may apply for |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | registration or renewal of registration by submitting an |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | application prescribed by the department and an annual fee. The fee |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | shall be the sum of: |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | (1) an amount based on the size and type of a location, |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | as defined by department rule, where a nursery dealer or nursery |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | agent offers a nursery product for sale or lease; and |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | (2) an optional additional amount equal to 15 percent |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | of the amount described by Subdivision (1), to fund the Texas |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | nursery and floral account. |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | (e-1) The department shall allow an applicant to elect |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | whether to pay the amount described by Subsection (e)(2). An |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | applicant is not required to pay that amount to apply for or renew |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | registration. |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | (f) Registrations under this section expire one year after |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | issuance. A person who fails to submit a renewal fee on or before |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | the expiration date of the registration must pay, in addition to the |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | renewal fee, the late fee provided by Section 12.024 of this code. |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | (g) Upon receipt of the correct annual registration fee, the |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | department shall issue a registration certificate for each location |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | a florist or nursery owner has registered. |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | (h) A nursery dealer or nursery agent must include a written |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | statement upon the sale of any species of plant containing cycasin, |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | warning the end user of such plant that the ingestion of the plant |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | by canines can be harmful or fatal. |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
|---|