By: Lozano (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 1097
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2021;
May 14, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
Human Services; May 20, 2021, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 20, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the processing and sale of kratom and kratom products;
providing civil penalties; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Texas Kratom
Consumer Health and Safety Protection Act.
SECTION 2. Subtitle A, Title 6, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 444 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 444. MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION, AND SALE OF
KRATOM PRODUCTS
Sec. 444.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Food" has the meaning assigned by Section
431.002.
(2) "Kratom" means any part of the leaf of the plant
Mitragyna speciosa.
(3) "Kratom processor" means a person who:
(A) manufactures, prepares, distributes, or
maintains kratom products for sale;
(B) advertises, represents, or holds oneself out
as a seller, preparer, or manufacturer of kratom products;
(C) is responsible for ensuring the purity and
proper labeling of kratom products; or
(D) packages or labels kratom products.
(4) "Kratom product" means a food, including an
extract, capsule, or pill, containing any form of kratom.
(5) "Kratom retailer" means a kratom processor who
engages in selling kratom products to consumers or who advertises,
represents, or holds oneself out as a person who sells kratom
products to consumers.
Sec. 444.002. LABELING REQUIRED. (a) A kratom processor
shall label each kratom product with the product use directions
necessary to ensure safe and effective use of the product by a
consumer, including the recommended serving size for the product.
(b) A kratom retailer may not sell a kratom product that is
not properly labeled under this section.
Sec. 444.003. ADULTERATED, CONTAMINATED, AND PROHIBITED
PRODUCTS. A kratom processor or kratom retailer may not prepare,
distribute, sell, or offer to sell a kratom product that:
(1) is adulterated with a dangerous non-kratom
substance affecting the quality or strength of the product to a
degree that renders the product injurious to a consumer;
(2) is contaminated with a poisonous or otherwise
deleterious non-kratom substance, including any substance
designated as a controlled substance by Chapter 481 (Texas
Controlled Substances Act);
(3) has a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the
alkaloid fraction that is greater than two percent of the overall
alkaloid composition of the product; or
(4) contains any synthetic alkaloids, including
synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine and synthetically derived compounds
from a kratom plant.
Sec. 444.004. OFFENSE FOR DISTRIBUTION OR SALE OF KRATOM
PRODUCT TO MINOR. (a) A person commits an offense if the person
distributes, sells, or exposes for sale a kratom product to someone
who is younger than 18 years of age.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
Sec. 444.005. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
this chapter is subject to a civil penalty in the amount of:
(1) $250 for the first violation;
(2) $500 for the second violation; and
(3) $1,000 for each subsequent violation.
(b) Each day a violation continues or occurs is a separate
violation for purposes of imposing a penalty under this section.
(c) A kratom retailer is not liable for a civil penalty
under this section for a violation of Section 444.002 or 444.003 if
the kratom retailer proves by a preponderance of the evidence that
the violation was unintentional and due to the kratom retailer's
good faith reliance on the representation of another kratom
processor.
(d) The attorney general, the district or county attorney
for the county, or the municipal attorney of the municipality in
which the violation is alleged to have occurred may bring an action
to recover a civil penalty under this section.
Sec. 444.006. PENALTIES UNDER OTHER LAW. The penalties
prescribed by this chapter are in addition to any other penalties
prescribed by law, including penalties prescribed by Chapters 431
and 481.
Sec. 444.007. RULES. The executive commissioner may adopt
rules consistent with this chapter as necessary to ensure the safe
consumption and distribution of kratom and kratom products.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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