| (a) Delegation of Authority. The commission delegates
power and authority to the executive director to administer the Oyster
License Buyback Program.
(b) License Buyback Bid Application Period.
(1) The department will open one or more license buyback
bid offer application periods (hereinafter referred to as an application
period) per license year if available funds permit.
(2) The department shall establish during each application
period a deadline for receipt of all applications.
(c) License Buyback Application Requirements.
(1) The department shall consider all applications
to the Oyster License Buyback Program provided the applicants meet
the following requirements:
(A) A completed License Buyback Application form furnished
by the department has been submitted to the department by the application
deadline;
(B) The applicant is the owner of the license submitted
for buyback; and
(C) The applicant has submitted to the department copies
of all information as required in this subsection.
(2) A completed License Buyback Application shall contain:
(A) full name of the applicant;
(B) current address of applicant's residence;
(C) social security number of the applicant;
(D) a copy of legal documentation that:
(i) documents applicant as the sole owner of the vessel
who holds the sole rights and privileges to the license; or
(ii) documents that all members of a partnership or
corporation are in agreement to apply to the license buyback program
and the submitted bid offer for license buyback;
(E) USCG vessel documentation number or State of Texas
registration number;
(F) a copy of current commercial oyster boat license;
and
(G) the applicant's bid offer, in U.S. dollars.
(3) Department records will be used to verify all information
supplied by the applicant or pertaining to the applicant's history
in the oyster fishery or will be used in cases where the applicant
has not provided adequate information for proper consideration of
the application.
(d) Oyster License Buyback Criteria.
(1) The department may establish criteria each license
year which will be used to determine qualifications for license buybacks.
(2) The department may consider:
(A) length of vessel;
(B) amount of funds accumulated in the Oyster License
Buyback Account and the Commercial License Buyback Subaccount;
(C) number of commercial oyster boat licenses in the
fishery issued in the license year of the specific bid offer application
period;
(D) bid offers from previous application periods;
(E) established open market prices for licenses; and
(F) other relevant factors.
(e) Application Ranking Procedures.
(1) Ranking values will be assigned to all applications
based on the criteria set forth in subsection (d) of this section.
(2) The department will purchase licenses beginning
with the highest ranking to the lowest.
(3) Equally ranked bid offers:
(A) If bid offers are equally ranked and both vessels
are not the same length, the department will rank the larger vessel
ahead of the smaller.
(B) If bid offers are equally ranked, the department
will rank according to the ascending alphabetical order of the applicant's
last name.
(f) Notification of Acceptance or Rejection of Application.
(1) Department will notify each applicant in writing
within 45 days of receipt of application regarding acceptance or rejection
of application bid offer.
(2) Applicants whose bids are accepted must then notify
the department of their intent to accept or reject the offer from
the department within 15 days of the postmark of the notification
letter sent by the department.
(g) Delegation of Purchasing Authority.
(1) The department may designate other qualified agents
to purchase licenses on behalf of the department provided all purchased
licenses are surrendered to the department and retired.
(2) The designated qualified agents may utilize the
Oyster License Buyback Criteria established in subsection (d) of this
section to purchase licenses.
(h) The department shall set aside 20 percent of the
fees from licenses issued under this subchapter for the purpose of
buying back commercial oyster boat licenses from willing license holders.
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