Part 1. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Chapter 3. BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION PROGRAM

Subchapter D. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE ERADICATION PROGRAM AND ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY ENFORCEMENT

4 TAC §3.72, §3.73

The Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) adopts the amendments to §3.72 and §3.73, concerning the reporting of cotton acreage as required for participation in the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation and notice of participation requirements, without changes to the proposal published in the February 25, 2000, issue of the Texas Register (25 TexReg 1483).

The amendments to §3.72 are adopted to clarify the reporting requirements, coordinate the reporting with that required by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency and to eliminate double reporting. Further, the amendments to §3.72 will result in greater efficiency in reporting of acreage, therefore ensuring proper assessment and collection of revenue for the boll weevil eradication program. The amendments to §3.73 are adopted to establish more reasonable and timely requirements for providing notice to cotton growers of participation requirements for the boll weevil eradication program. The amendment to §3.72 establishes deadlines for the reporting of cotton acreage by a cotton grower in an established boll weevil eradication zone and provides procedures for reporting such acreage to either the Farm Service Agency of the USDA or the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation. The amendment to §3.73 eliminates the 30-day requirement for the publication of a notice of participation, adds language requiring that such a notice be published upon establishment of new requirements, and further clarifies that notice will be provided upon the passage of a referendum to establish an eradication program and maximum assessment for a zone.

No comments were received on the proposal.

The amendments are adopted under the Texas Agriculture Code (the Code), §74.118 which provides the department with the authority to adopt reasonable rules regarding participation in a boll weevil eradication program by cotton growers in an established eradication zone; the Code, §74.121, which requires growers to furnish to the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation information concerning the size and location of all commercial and noncommercial cotton fields; and, the Code, §74.120, which provides the department with the authority to adopt reasonable rules to carry out the purposes of the Code, Chapter 74, Subchapter D.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on April 13, 2000.

TRD-200002640

Dolores Alvarado Hibbs

Deputy General Counsel

Texas Department of Agriculture

Effective date: May 3, 2000

Proposal publication date: February 25, 2000

For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075

4 TAC §3.304, §3.305

The Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) adopts new §3.304 and §3.305, concerning modification of boll weevil eradication zones without changes to the proposal published in the March 10, 2000 issue of the Texas Register (25 TexReg 1927).

The new sections are adopted to transfer areas from one boll weevil eradication zone to another zone created under the Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 74, Subchapter D. The new sections were proposed and are adopted upon the request of cotton producers in the affected counties and upon recommendation of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation's Board of Director's and technical advisory committee. The transfers are adopted in accordance with the Texas Agriculture Code, §74.108(b), in order to ensure that contiguous cotton-growing areas with similar biological characteristics are treated within one zone and to give growers a mechanism to address cotton growers' desires to have efficient, responsive eradication zones to facilitate boll weevil eradication in Texas. New §3.304 transfers all of Kent County and portions of Motley, Dickens, Garza, Floyd, and Crosby Counties from the Northern High Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone and the Southern High Plains/Caprock Boll Weevil Eradication Zone to the Northern Rolling Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone. New §3.305 transfers portions of Motley and Briscoe Counties from the Northern High Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone and Southern High Plains/Caprock Boll Weevil Eradication Zone to the Northern Rolling Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone.

No comments were received on the proposal.

The new sections are adopted under the Texas Agriculture Code, §74.108(b), which provides the commissioner of agriculture with the authority, by rule, to add an area to an eradication zone or transfer an area or county from one statutory zone to another.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on April 10, 2000.

TRD-200002563

Dolores Alvarado Hibbs

Deputy General Counsel

Texas Department of Agriculture

Effective date: April 30, 2000

Proposal publication date: March 10, 2000

For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075