Title AG, Agriculture Code

Sec. 101.014. COMMISSION OR SERVICE CHARGE IN CONTRACT. If a licensee or a person required to be licensed handles perishable commodities by guaranteeing a producer or owner a minimum price and handles the perishable commodities on the account of the producer or owner, the license…

Sec. 101.015. SETTLEMENT ON GRADE AND QUALITY. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a licensee or a person required to be licensed shall settle with the producer or seller of perishable commodities on the basis of the grade and quality that is referred to in the cont…

Sec. 101.0151. BUYING OR SELLING BY WEIGHT. A licensee or a person required to be licensed who buys or sells perishable commodities by weight shall weigh or have the perishable commodities weighed on scales that meet state requirements. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 358, Sec…

Sec. 101.016. RECORDS OF PURCHASE. (a) A licensee or a person required to be licensed or a packer, processor, or warehouseman may not receive or handle perishable commodities without requiring the person from whom the perishable commodities are purchased or received to furnish a …

Sec. 101.017. RECORD OF SALE. (a) Except for a retailer, a licensee or a person required to be licensed shall maintain for each sale a complete and accurate record showing: (1) the date of sale of the perishable commodities; (2) the person to whom the perishable commodities were …

Sec. 101.018. DEPARTMENT ENFORCEMENT. (a) For the purpose of enforcing this chapter, the department shall, on its own initiative or on receipt of a verified complaint, investigate all alleged violations of this chapter. (b) For the purpose of conducting an investigation under thi…

Sec. 101.0185. CIVIL PENALTY; INJUNCTION. (a) A person who violates this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter is liable to the state for a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each violation. Each day a violation continues may be considered a separate violation for purpos…

Sec. 101.019. VENUE OF CIVIL OR CRIMINAL ACTION. The venue of a civil action or criminal prosecution instituted under this chapter is in the county in which the violation occurred, is occurring, or is threatened or in which the perishable commodities were received by the licensee…

Sec. 101.020. PENALTIES. (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) acts in violation of Section 101.003 by not obtaining a license or registration or after receiving notice of cancellation of a license or registration; (2) acts or assumes to act as a transporting agent o…

Sec. 101.021. CONFLICT WITH ANTITRUST LAWS. This chapter does not affect the application of Chapter 15, Business & Commerce Code. If any provision of this chapter is held to conflict with that chapter, the entire chapter is void. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1258, ch. 388, Sec. 1, ef…

Sec. 102.101. IDENTIFICATION SIGNS. (a) A motor vehicle, including a truck or tractor, that hauls citrus fruit in bulk or in open containers for commercial purposes on the highways of this state must be identified by signs showing: (1) the name of the person who owns the vehicle;…

Sec. 102.102. CERTIFICATE. A person who operates a motor vehicle, including a truck or tractor, or a motor vehicle and a trailer for hauling citrus fruit in bulk or in open containers for commercial purposes on the highways of this state shall, when operating the vehicle, have on…

Sec. 102.103. EXCEPTION. This subchapter does not apply to citrus fruit being hauled from the farm or grove to market or the place of first processing by the producer of the citrus fruit operating the producer's vehicle or by an employee of the producer operating a vehicle owned …

Sec. 102.104. PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) operates a motor vehicle or a motor vehicle and trailer not identified in accordance with Section 102.101 of this code; or (2) operates a motor vehicle or motor vehicle and trailer without a certificate or …

Sec. 102.1045. CIVIL PENALTY; INJUNCTION. (a) A person who violates this subchapter or a rule adopted under this subchapter is liable to the state for a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each violation. Each day a violation continues may be considered a separate violation for …

Sec. 102.151. POLICY. The unreasonable waste and inefficient use of the citrus resources, caused by the marketing within this state of greater quantities of fresh citrus fruit than are reasonably necessary to supply the demands of the market, are not in the public interest. The d…

Sec. 102.152. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Citrus fruit" means grapefruit, oranges, and tangerines. (2) "Handler" means a person who packs or ships citrus fruit or causes citrus fruit to be packed or shipped in intrastate commerce. (3) "Intrastate commerce" means all com…

Sec. 102.153. LIMITED APPLICATION OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter applies only to areas of three citrus fruit producing counties whose boundaries are contiguous and whose aggregate population according to the last preceding federal census is not less than 165,043. This subchapter …

Sec. 102.154. MARKETING AGREEMENTS AND LICENSES. In accordance with this subchapter, the department may execute marketing agreements and issue licenses to persons engaged in intrastate commerce transactions in the marketing, processing, packing, shipping, handling, or distributin…

Sec. 102.155. HEARING. (a) On its own motion or on application of a producer or handler of citrus fruit, the department may conduct a hearing on the execution of a marketing agreement or on the issuance of a license if the department has reason to believe that the marketing agree…

Sec. 102.156. FINDINGS. (a) Following a hearing, the department may execute a marketing agreement or issue a license only if it finds that: (1) the supply of a citrus fruit available for marketing exceeds or is likely to exceed the demand for the fruit at prices that will provide…

Sec. 102.157. TERMS OF AGREEMENT OR LICENSE. (a) Any marketing agreement executed or license issued may: (1) limit or provide a method for limiting the total quantity of any grade, variety, size, or quality of citrus fruit that may be produced during one or more specified periods…

Sec. 102.158. ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE. (a) A marketing agreement or license may authorize the department to select and define the powers and duties of one or more administrative committees to administer the program. (b) The department may authorize an administrative committee to…

Sec. 102.159. ASSESSMENT. (a) If an administrative committee is authorized to collect an assessment, for each marketing season or year in which the marketing agreement or license is effective the committee shall collect from each handler an assessment representing the handler's p…

Sec. 102.160. APPROVAL BY PRODUCERS AND HANDLERS. (a) A license may not be issued until: (1) assented to in writing by: (A) 51 percent of the total number of handlers of the citrus fruit; or (B) the handlers of at least 51 percent of the total volume of the citrus fruit covered b…

Sec. 102.161. UNIFORM LICENSES. If a license is issued under this subchapter, the department shall issue an identical license to each handler, processor, or distributor of the same class. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1271, ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981.

Sec. 102.162. FEES. Each person applying for a marketing agreement or license shall submit to the department a filing fee, as provided by department rule, and a deposit in an amount that the department considers sufficient and necessary to defray the expenses of preparing and mak…

Sec. 102.163. AMENDMENT OF MARKETING AGREEMENT OR LICENSE. (a) If the department has reason to believe that an amendment of a marketing agreement or license is necessary or desirable to achieve the policy of this subchapter, the department shall conduct a hearing on the proposed …

Sec. 102.164. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF MARKETING AGREEMENT OR LICENSE. (a) The department shall suspend for a specified period or terminate the operation of a marketing agreement, a license, or a provision of a marketing agreement or license if the department finds: (1) follo…

Sec. 102.165. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF INDIVIDUAL LICENSE. After notice and opportunity for a hearing, the department may suspend or revoke the license of any person who violates a provision of the license. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1272, ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981.

Sec. 102.166. RECORDS. (a) Each person subject to a marketing agreement or license shall: (1) maintain records reflecting the person's operation under the agreement or license; (2) permit the department to inspect those records; and (3) furnish to the department information reque…

Sec. 102.167. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. (a) The department may adopt rules and issue orders as necessary or desirable to carry out this subchapter. (b) The department may hold hearings, take testimony, administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, and issue subpoenas for the p…

Sec. 102.168. ENFORCEMENT BY CIVIL SUIT. (a) The state or, with the approval of the department, an administrative committee may sue a person who: (1) wilfully exceeds any quota, allotment, or salable percentage fixed for the person under a license issued or rule adopted by the de…

Sec. 102.169. INJUNCTION. The attorney general or a district or county attorney on the attorney's own initiative may, or in response to a complaint shall, investigate violations of this subchapter. If the attorney believes that a violation has occurred, the attorney may sue in th…

Sec. 102.170. ATTORNEY'S FEES; VENUE; CUMULATIVE REMEDIES. (a) In an action brought under Section 102.168 or 102.169 of this code, the judgment, if in favor of the plaintiff, shall provide that the defendant pay to the plaintiff a reasonable attorney's fee and all costs of suit. …

Sec. 102.171. PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) violates a provision of a marketing agreement or license to which the person is subject; or (2) engages in a transaction mentioned in and regulated by a license to which the person is subject during the sus…

Sec. 102.172. CONFLICT WITH ANTITRUST LAW. If any provision of this subchapter conflicts with a provision of the civil or criminal antitrust law of this state, the antitrust law prevails. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1274, ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981.

Sec. 103.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Board" means the Produce Recovery Fund Board. (2) "Fund" means the produce recovery fund. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1274, ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981.

Sec. 103.002. FUND. (a) The produce recovery fund is a special trust fund with the comptroller administered by the department, without appropriation, for the payment of claims against license holders, retailers, and persons required to be licensed under Chapter 101. (b) Fees coll…

Sec. 103.003. BOARD. (a) The Produce Recovery Fund Board is composed of five members appointed by the commissioner. Two members must be producers, one must be a license holder licensed under Chapter 101, and two must be members of the general public. (b) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81…

Sec. 103.004. DUTIES OF THE BOARD. (a) The board shall: (1) advise the department on all matters relating to the fund, including the fund's budget and the revenues necessary to accomplish the purposes of the fund; (2) advise the department in the adoption of rules relating to the…

Sec. 103.005. INITIATION OF CLAIM. (a) A person who deals with a license holder or a person required to be licensed under Chapter 101 in the purchasing, handling, selling, and accounting for sales of perishable commodities and who is aggrieved by an action of the license holder o…

Sec. 103.0055. BANKRUPTCY OF MERCHANT OR RETAILER. For purposes of this chapter, the amount due an aggrieved party by a license holder or a person required to be licensed is not affected by a final judgment of a bankruptcy court that releases the license holder or person required…

Sec. 103.006. INVESTIGATION; HEARING ON CLAIM. (a) After a claim is initiated, the department shall investigate the complaint and determine the amount due the aggrieved party. If the amount determined by the department is disputed by the license holder, a person required to be li…

Sec. 103.007. PAYMENT OF CLAIM. (a) If the amount determined by the department's investigation to be due the aggrieved party is not disputed by the license holder, a person required to be licensed, or the aggrieved party, the department shall pay the claim within the limits presc…

Sec. 103.008. LIMITS ON CLAIM PAYMENTS. (a) In making payments from the fund the department may pay the aggrieved party the full value of their validated claim, subject to Subsections (b) and (d). (b) The total payment of all claims arising from the same contract with a license h…