Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3445 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R4334 MP-F
2	2	By: Hunter H.B. No. 3445
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the oyster license moratorium program and the permanent
8	8	retirement of certain commercial oyster boat licenses.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 75, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended
11	11	by adding Section 75.01045 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 75.01045. WAIVER OF PERMIT APPLICATION FEE FOR CERTAIN
13	13	FORMER COMMERCIAL OYSTER BOAT LICENSE HOLDERS. The department
14	14	shall waive any application fee established under commission rules
15	15	for a cultivated oyster mariculture permit if the applicant was the
16	16	most recent holder of a commercial oyster boat license that was
17	17	transferred to a nongovernmental organization under Section
18	18	76.4051.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 76.1031, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
20	20	amended to read as follows:
21	21	Sec. 76.1031. LICENSE EXPIRATIONS AND TRANSFERS. (a)
22	22	Except as provided by Section 76.4051, a license [All licenses]
23	23	issued under the authority of this chapter is [Chapter 76 of this
24	24	code are] valid only during the yearly period for which the license
25	25	is [they are] issued without regard to the date on which the license
26	26	is [licenses are] acquired. Each yearly period begins on September
27	27	1 or another date set by the commission and extends through August
28	28	31 of the next year or another date set by the commission. The
29	29	commission by rule may set the amount of a license fee for a license
30	30	issued during a transition period at an amount lower than
31	31	prescribed in this chapter and provide for a license term for a
32	32	transition period that is shorter or longer than a year.
33	33	(b) A license [All licenses] issued under the authority of
34	34	this chapter may not be transferred to another person or vessel
35	35	except as provided by this subsection. A license issued under the
36	36	authority of Section 76.101(c) may be transferred to another vessel
37	37	or [to] a new owner of the same vessel or to a nongovernmental
38	38	organization as provided by Section 76.4051. Except as provided by
39	39	Subsection (c), the [The] commission, by regulation, may prescribe
40	40	requirements necessary to clarify license transfer procedures and
41	41	may prescribe, by regulation, forms to be used and fees to be
42	42	charged for transfer of licenses in this chapter and for duplicate
43	43	license plates or duplicate or replacement licenses.
44	44	(c) The commission may not prescribe or collect a fee for
45	45	the transfer of a license to a nongovernmental organization under
46	46	Section 76.4051.
47	47	SECTION 3. Section 76.401, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
48	48	amended to read as follows:
49	49	Sec. 76.401. OYSTER LICENSE MORATORIUM PROGRAM. The
50	50	department shall implement an oyster license moratorium program to:
51	51	(1) promote efficiency and economic stability in the
52	52	oyster industry; and
53	53	(2) restore oyster reefs and the benefits the reefs
54	54	provide to the citizens of this state.
55	55	SECTION 4. Section 76.402, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
56	56	amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
57	57	(c) The department may not renew a commercial oyster boat
58	58	license issued for a vessel that has not been used by the license
59	59	holder to take or attempt to take oysters from the public water of
60	60	this state during the two years immediately preceding a request to
61	61	renew the license.
62	62	SECTION 5. Sections 76.405(b) and (c), Parks and Wildlife
63	63	Code, are amended to read as follows:
64	64	(b) The commission by rule shall establish criteria, using
65	65	reasonable classifications, for the department's use in selecting
66	66	licenses to be purchased. The department or executive director
67	67	shall consult with the oyster license moratorium review board and
68	68	any nongovernmental organization that has entered into an agreement
69	69	with the department under Section 76.4051 concerning establishment
70	70	of the criteria.
71	71	(c) The department shall permanently retire each license
72	72	purchased under the license buyback program [until the commission
73	73	finds that management of the oyster fishery allows reissue of those
74	74	licenses through auction or lottery].
75	75	SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 76, Parks and Wildlife
76	76	Code, is amended by adding Section 76.4051 to read as follows:
77	77	Sec. 76.4051. TRANSFER OF COMMERCIAL OYSTER BOAT LICENSE TO
78	78	NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION FOR PURPOSE OF RETIRING LICENSE. (a)
79	79	The department shall select and cooperate with one or more
80	80	nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of permanently
81	81	retiring commercial oyster boat licenses transferred under this
82	82	section.
83	83	(b) The department shall enter into an agreement with each
84	84	nongovernmental organization selected under Subsection (a) that:
85	85	(1) authorizes the organization to compensate the
86	86	holder of a commercial oyster boat license for the voluntary
87	87	transfer of the license to the organization under Subsection (c);
88	88	(2) requires the organization to hold in perpetuity
89	89	each license transferred to the organization under Subsection (c),
90	90	regardless of whether the oyster license moratorium remains in
91	91	effect; and
92	92	(3) prohibits the organization from taking or
93	93	attempting to take oysters from the public water of this state under
94	94	a license transferred to the organization under Subsection (c).
95	95	(c) The holder of a commercial oyster boat license may:
96	96	(1) transfer the license to a nongovernmental
97	97	organization that has entered into an agreement with the department
98	98	under this section; and
99	99	(2) receive compensation from the organization for the
100	100	transfer of the license under Subdivision (1).
101	101	(d) A nongovernmental organization that has entered into an
102	102	agreement with the department under this section:
103	103	(1) is not required to renew or pay a renewal fee for
104	104	any license transferred to the organization under Subsection (c);
105	105	and
106	106	(2) is not subject to department regulations or
107	107	policies applicable to the administration of the department's
108	108	buyback program.
109	109	SECTION 7. Section 76.405(g), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
110	110	repealed.
111	111	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.