88R22615 KBB-F
By: Thimesch, Harris of Anderson, Rosenthal, H.B. No. 3373
Goodwin, Orr, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration, implementation, and enforcement of
federal produce safety standards by the Department of Agriculture.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 91.009, Agriculture Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c-1) and adding Subsections (e), (f),
(g), (h), (i), and (j) to read as follows:
(a) The department shall administer, implement, and enforce
in this state [is the lead agency for the administration,
implementation, and enforcement of], and provide education and
training relating to, the United States Food and Drug
Administration Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and
Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (21 C.F.R. Part 112) or any
successor federal produce safety rule or standard. This section
does not authorize the department to implement or enforce any other
federal regulation.
(c-1) The department may enter into a cooperative
agreement, interagency agreement, grant agreement, or memorandum
of understanding with a federal or state agency as necessary to
carry out the department's [for the] administration,
implementation, or enforcement of this section.
(e) The department shall provide a farmer with the option to
provide the information necessary to determine whether a farm is
covered by, is not covered by, is exempt from, or meets the criteria
for a qualified exemption from 12 C.F.R. Part 112 by telephone call,
videoconference, or another remote method. If a farmer chooses to
provide the information using a remote method, the department may
conduct an on-farm interview only:
(1) after three failed attempts to conduct the remote
interview; or
(2) as a follow-up to a remote interview when the
information provided is incomplete or insufficient.
(f) The department may not use the authority granted by this
section as justification to:
(1) inquire about the amount of revenue generated by a
farm more often than every three years after the date the farm
establishes that it is not subject to the federal rules or standards
described by Subsection (a) because it does not generate more than
the threshold amount of revenue from the sale of produce to be a
covered farm; or
(2) conduct further investigative activity after
receiving documentation indicating that a farm generates less than
the threshold amount of revenue from the sale of produce to be a
covered farm under the federal rules or standards described by
Subsection (a).
(g) Subsection (f) does not prevent the department from
collecting data regarding the type of commodities grown by a farm
and whether those commodities are covered produce under the federal
rules or standards described by Subsection (a).
(h) The department's rules may not impose additional or more
burdensome requirements than those provided by the federal rules or
standards described by Subsection (a). Specifically, the
department may not:
(1) require registration of a farm that is not covered
by, is exempt from, or meets the criteria for a qualified exemption
from the rules or standards;
(2) without probable cause that the farm is violating
an applicable law, conduct a physical inspection of a farm that is
not covered by, is exempt from, or meets the criteria for a
qualified exemption from the rules or standards; or
(3) create a new or different standard that is not
contained in the federal rules or standards or required under other
law.
(i) Information collected by the department for purposes of
this section is confidential and not subject to disclosure under
Chapter 552, Government Code.
(j) The department may use information collected for
purposes of this section to determine whether farms are covered by,
are not covered by, are exempt from, or meet the criteria for a
qualified exemption from the federal rules or standards described
by Subsection (a).
SECTION 2. 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, 2023.