EMERGENCY RULES An agency may adopt a new or amended section or repeal an existing section on an emergency basis if it determines that such action is necessary for the public health, safety, or welfare of this state. The section may become effective immediately upon filing with the Texas Register, or on a stated date less than 20 days after filing and remaining in effect no more than 120 days. The emergency action is renewable once for no more than 60 additional days. Symbology in amended emergency sections. New language added to an existing section is indicated by the use of bold text. [Brackets] indicate deletion of existing material within a section. TITLE 4. AGRICULTURE Part I. Texas Department of Agriculture Chapter 5. Quarantines Sweet Potato Weevil Quarantine 4 TAC sec.5.62, sec.5.63 The Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) adopts on an emergency basis amendments to sec.5.62 and sec.5.63, concerning sweet potato weevil-free areas. The department is amending sec.5.62 to remove Freestone County from the list of weevil-free counties in Texas and amending sec.5.63 to designate Freestone County and other counties as regulated areas in Texas. Recent detections of the sweet potato weevil in Freestone county pose a serious threat to the sweet potato weevil industry from one of the most devastating, contagious, and persistent pests known, the sweet potato weevil. The department's failure to take immediate action could result in spreading of the weevil to other counties in which sweet potato production occurs. In a separate submission, the department is proposing a permanent amendment consistent with this filing. The department will hold a hearing to take public comment on whether these emergency amendments should be adopted on a permanent basis. The amendments are adopted on an emergency basis under the Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 71, Subchapter A, sec.71.007, which provides the Texas Department of Agriculture with the authority to adopt rules necessary for the protection of agricultural and horticultural interests in the state; and the Texas Government Code, sec.2001.34, which provides for the adoption of administrative rules on an emergency basis, without notice and comment. sec.5.62. Texas Weevil-Free Area. The Texas weevil-free area is as follows: The counties of Andrews, Armstrong, Archer, Brewster, Bailey, Borden, Bosque, Briscoe, Baylor, Brown, Bowie, Culberson, Castro, Cochran, Carson, Crane, Crosby, Concho, Collingsworth, Crockett, Childress, Cottle, Coke, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Clay, Cook, Collin, Cass, Camp, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Dawson, Donley, Dickens, Denton, Dallas, Delta, El Paso, Ector, Eastland, Erath, Ellis, Floyd, Fisher, Foard, Fannin, Franklin, [Freestone,] Gaines, Garza, Glasscock, Gray, Grayson, Gregg, Gillespie, Hudspeth, Hockley, Hartley, Hill, Hansford, Hutchinson, Hamilton, Howard, Hale, Hemphill, Hall, Hardeman, Haskell, Hood, Henderson, Hunt, Hopkins, Harrison, Irion, Jack, Johnson, Jeff Davis, Jones, Kaufman, Kimble, Kent, King, Knox, Loving, Leon, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Lipscomb, Lamar, Limestone, Llano, Mills, Mason, Moore, Marion, Martin, McCulloch, McLennan, Menard, Midland, Motley, Mitchell, Montague, Morris, Nolan, Navarro, Oldham, Ochiltree, Potter, Parmer, Palo Pinto, Parker, Panola, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Roberts, Reagan, Randall, Robertson, Runnels, Rockwall, Rains, Red River, San Saba, Sherman, Schleicher, Smith, Sutton, Swisher, Sterling, Stonewall, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Somervell, Terry, Taylor, Throckmorton, Tarrant, Terrell, Titus, Tom Green, Upshur, Upton, Van Zandt, Wood, Ward, Winkler, Wheeler, Wilbarger, Wichita, Wise, Yoakum, and Young. sec.5.63. Regulated Areas.
    [The regulated areas are as follows:] (a) The regulated areas within the State of Texas are all areas not designated in sec.5.62 of this title (relating to Texas Weevil-Free Area). (b) The regulated areas outside the State of Texas are as follows: (1) Alabama: Baldwin, Coffed, Covington, Geneva, Houston, and Mobile; (2) Florida: entire state; (3) Georgia: Appling, Bacon, Brooks, Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty, Echols, Grady, Glynn, Liberty, Lowndes, McIntosh, Pierce, Thomas, Ware, and Wayne; (4) Louisiana: Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyells, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, Evangeline, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayete, Lafourche, Livingston, Natchitoches, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Sabine, Statutes Bernard, Statutes Charles, Statutes James, Statutes John the Baptist, Statutes Helena, Statutes Landry, Statutes Martin, Statutes Mary, Statutes Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana; (5) Mississippi: Adams, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Lamar, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Simpson, Smith, Stone, and Walthall; (6) South Carolina: Beaufort, Charleston, and Jasper; (7) Arkansas: Ouachita County; and (8) California; Merced County and Stanislaus County. Issued in Austin, Texas, on August 9, 1994. TRD-9446331 Dolores Alvarado Hibbs Chief Administrative Law Judge Texas Department of Agriculture Effective date: August 9, 1994 Expiration date: November 7, 1994 For further information, please call: (512) 463-7583