By: RodrÃguez S.B. No. 1805
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to egg grading.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 132.002, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 132.002. SALE OF UNGRADED EGGS BY PRODUCER [LIMITATION
OF CHAPTER]. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this
[This] chapter does not apply to a person selling only eggs that are
produced by the person's own flock and for which the person does not
claim a grade.
(b) A person who produces eggs as described by Subsection
(a) may sell the eggs directly to a consumer or at wholesale if the
eggs are sold in a carton labeled with "ungraded" followed by
"produced by (producer's name)" and the producer's address. The
label information must be legible, must appear on the top panel of
the carton, and may be preprinted on the carton, printed on a label
attached to the carton, or hand printed on the carton. The carton
may not display the name of a retailer or of a producer other than
the producer whose flock produced the eggs.
(c) A state agency or political subdivision may not prohibit
a person described by Section 132.021(b) from purchasing,
reselling, or using eggs described by Subsection (b).
SECTION 2. Section 132.043(c), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) Licensees required by this section to collect or pay a
special fee shall remit the fee [monthly] in accordance with rules
established by the department. The rules may not require a licensee
to remit the fee more often than:
(1) monthly; or
(2) annually, if the licensee is required to remit
less than $360 for the year.
SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2019, the Department
of Agriculture shall adopt rules consistent with Section
132.043(c), Agriculture Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2019.