88R4334 MP-F
By: Hunter H.B. No. 3445
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the oyster license moratorium program and the permanent
retirement of certain commercial oyster boat licenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 75, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended
by adding Section 75.01045 to read as follows:
Sec. 75.01045. WAIVER OF PERMIT APPLICATION FEE FOR CERTAIN
FORMER COMMERCIAL OYSTER BOAT LICENSE HOLDERS. The department
shall waive any application fee established under commission rules
for a cultivated oyster mariculture permit if the applicant was the
most recent holder of a commercial oyster boat license that was
transferred to a nongovernmental organization under Section
76.4051.
SECTION 2. Section 76.1031, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 76.1031. LICENSE EXPIRATIONS AND TRANSFERS. (a)
Except as provided by Section 76.4051, a license [All licenses]
issued under the authority of this chapter is [Chapter 76 of this
code are] valid only during the yearly period for which the license
is [they are] issued without regard to the date on which the license
is [licenses are] acquired. Each yearly period begins on September
1 or another date set by the commission and extends through August
31 of the next year or another date set by the commission. The
commission by rule may set the amount of a license fee for a license
issued during a transition period at an amount lower than
prescribed in this chapter and provide for a license term for a
transition period that is shorter or longer than a year.
(b) A license [All licenses] issued under the authority of
this chapter may not be transferred to another person or vessel
except as provided by this subsection. A license issued under the
authority of Section 76.101(c) may be transferred to another vessel
or [to] a new owner of the same vessel or to a nongovernmental
organization as provided by Section 76.4051. Except as provided by
Subsection (c), the [The] commission, by regulation, may prescribe
requirements necessary to clarify license transfer procedures and
may prescribe, by regulation, forms to be used and fees to be
charged for transfer of licenses in this chapter and for duplicate
license plates or duplicate or replacement licenses.
(c) The commission may not prescribe or collect a fee for
the transfer of a license to a nongovernmental organization under
Section 76.4051.
SECTION 3. Section 76.401, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 76.401. OYSTER LICENSE MORATORIUM PROGRAM. The
department shall implement an oyster license moratorium program to:
(1) promote efficiency and economic stability in the
oyster industry; and
(2) restore oyster reefs and the benefits the reefs
provide to the citizens of this state.
SECTION 4. Section 76.402, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The department may not renew a commercial oyster boat
license issued for a vessel that has not been used by the license
holder to take or attempt to take oysters from the public water of
this state during the two years immediately preceding a request to
renew the license.
SECTION 5. Sections 76.405(b) and (c), Parks and Wildlife
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission by rule shall establish criteria, using
reasonable classifications, for the department's use in selecting
licenses to be purchased. The department or executive director
shall consult with the oyster license moratorium review board and
any nongovernmental organization that has entered into an agreement
with the department under Section 76.4051 concerning establishment
of the criteria.
(c) The department shall permanently retire each license
purchased under the license buyback program [until the commission
finds that management of the oyster fishery allows reissue of those
licenses through auction or lottery].
SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 76, Parks and Wildlife
Code, is amended by adding Section 76.4051 to read as follows:
Sec. 76.4051. TRANSFER OF COMMERCIAL OYSTER BOAT LICENSE TO
NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION FOR PURPOSE OF RETIRING LICENSE. (a)
The department shall select and cooperate with one or more
nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of permanently
retiring commercial oyster boat licenses transferred under this
section.
(b) The department shall enter into an agreement with each
nongovernmental organization selected under Subsection (a) that:
(1) authorizes the organization to compensate the
holder of a commercial oyster boat license for the voluntary
transfer of the license to the organization under Subsection (c);
(2) requires the organization to hold in perpetuity
each license transferred to the organization under Subsection (c),
regardless of whether the oyster license moratorium remains in
effect; and
(3) prohibits the organization from taking or
attempting to take oysters from the public water of this state under
a license transferred to the organization under Subsection (c).
(c) The holder of a commercial oyster boat license may:
(1) transfer the license to a nongovernmental
organization that has entered into an agreement with the department
under this section; and
(2) receive compensation from the organization for the
transfer of the license under Subdivision (1).
(d) A nongovernmental organization that has entered into an
agreement with the department under this section:
(1) is not required to renew or pay a renewal fee for
any license transferred to the organization under Subsection (c);
and
(2) is not subject to department regulations or
policies applicable to the administration of the department's
buyback program.
SECTION 7. Section 76.405(g), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.