87R448 BEF-D
By: Powell S.B. No. 1128
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to pollinator health.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 131, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Sections 131.011 and 131.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 131.011. POLLINATOR HEALTH EDUCATION. (a) The Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in consultation with the
department, shall develop educational materials regarding the best
practices for avoiding adverse effects from pesticides on
populations of bees and other pollinating insects. The educational
materials must include information on measures that pesticide
applicators may take to protect honeybees and bumblebees. The
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the department shall
jointly design the requirements to ensure that any pesticide
applicator applying or supervising the application of a pesticide
is knowledgeable regarding alternatives to, the appropriateness
of, and precautions for pesticide use that may be injurious to the
health of bees and other pollinating insects.
(b) The department shall make the educational materials
described in this section a part of the education required to obtain
a pesticide applicator license under Chapter 76.
Sec. 131.012. TASK FORCE ON POLLINATOR HEALTH. (a) In this
section, "task force" means the task force on pollinator health
established under this section.
(b) The task force consists of the following 10 members:
(1) one member of the senate, appointed by the
lieutenant governor after consultation with the speaker of the
house of representatives, who serves as a nonvoting member of the
task force;
(2) one member of the house of representatives,
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives after
consultation with the lieutenant governor, who is from a different
political party than the member appointed under Subdivision (1) and
who serves as a nonvoting member of the task force;
(3) one member, appointed by the governor, who is a
university faculty member specializing in the science of pollinator
health;
(4) one member, appointed by the governor,
representing an advocacy group for nurseries and greenhouse
producers;
(5) one member, appointed by the governor,
representing an advocacy group for farmers;
(6) one member, appointed by the governor,
representing an advocacy group dedicated to the protection of
pollinators and invertebrates;
(7) one member, appointed by the governor,
representing an advocacy group dedicated to environmental
protection;
(8) one member, appointed by the governor,
representing an advocacy group for retailers;
(9) one member, appointed by the governor, who is
certified as a master gardener by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Service and who represents the public; and
(10) one member, appointed by the governor, who is a
beekeeper and who represents the public.
(c) The task force shall undertake activities to examine
issues relevant to pollinator health, including:
(1) studying proposed and enacted pesticide
regulations from other states and countries that are more
protective of pollinator health than the pesticide regulations of
the United States Environmental Protection Agency;
(2) studying public education and outreach plans
regarding pollinator health that have been successful in other
states;
(3) evaluating the effectiveness of applicator
licensing and other legal requirements, and of any state or federal
incentives, in matters affecting pollinator health;
(4) identifying possible funding streams for efforts
to promote or protect pollinator health;
(5) investigating the means used by other states to
gather data on populations of bees or other pollinating insects;
and
(6) evaluating existing best management practices for
applying neonicotinoids in a manner that avoids harming pollinating
insects.
(d) The task force may take actions necessary and proper to
carry out the work of the task force, including scheduling hearings
and taking testimony on matters related to pollinator health.
(e) A majority of the voting members of the task force
constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.
(f) Official action by the task force requires the approval
of five or more voting members of the task force.
(g) The task force shall elect one of its voting members to
serve as presiding officer.
(h) The appropriate appointing officer shall appoint a
qualified person to fill a vacancy on the task force.
(i) The task force shall meet at times and places specified
by the call of the presiding officer or of a majority of the voting
members of the task force.
(j) The task force may adopt bylaws necessary for the
operation of the task force.
(k) Not later than October 1, 2022, the task force shall
submit a report, which may include recommendations for legislation,
to the standing committees of the senate and the house of
representatives with primary jurisdiction over agriculture. The
task force may provide progress reports to those committees before
October 1, 2022.
(l) The department shall provide staff support to the task
force.
(m) Members of the task force who are not members of the
legislature are not entitled to compensation but may be reimbursed
for actual and necessary travel and other expenses incurred in the
performance of their official duties in the manner and amounts
provided for in the General Appropriations Act.
(n) Each state agency shall assist the task force in the
performance of its duties and, to the extent permitted by laws
relating to confidentiality, shall furnish information and advice
that the members of the task force consider necessary to perform
their duties.
(o) This section expires December 31, 2022.
SECTION 2. Not later than October 1, 2021, the relevant
appointing authorities shall appoint the members of the task force
on pollinator health under Section 131.012(b), Agriculture Code, as
added by this Act.
SECTION 3. 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, 2021.