| (a) Parties wishing to petition for addition or movement
into an existing pest management zone shall notify the Commissioner
of their intent in writing. The petition shall include:
(1) a geographic description of the proposed area to
be added or moved;
(2) information sufficient for the Commissioner to
determine whether or not citrus production has begun or could begin
in the proposed area;
(3) information sufficient for the Commissioner to
determine whether or not the proposed area is adjacent to a pest management
zone or is in an area with biological characteristics similar to the
pest management zone to which the area is requesting to be added or
moved; and
(4) any other pertinent information on the zone to
which the area would be moved or added.
(b) The Department shall provide a petition form for
the party submitting the request. The completed form must include:
(1) certification by the person signing the petition
that he or she is an eligible citrus producer in the area proposed
to be added or moved by having citrus production in the area proposed
to be added or moved or sharing in the proceeds of citrus production
in the current crop year;
(2) the complete name and address of the eligible citrus
producer or entity;
(3) a legible signature of the person with authority
to sign for the person or entity; and
(4) the date signed.
(c) Only one signature or petition form per entity
may be gathered.
(d) Signatures that are dated before the date the petition
process starts are invalid.
(e) Producer eligibility to sign a petition shall be
determined as follows.
(1) If the petitioning process commences prior to or
after traditional citrus production in the area, the immediately preceding
citrus crop year information as maintained in the official list provided
to the Department determines eligibility for having a producer's name
on the petition.
(2) If a petition drive crosses crop years, the Commissioner
shall use the most current complete eligible list of producers in
the area proposed to be added or moved, and shall notify the petitioning
party of the appropriate date when the eligibility list changes. If
a person farmed in a year other than the year determined to be the
eligible year, that signature or petition form will not be valid.
(f) Upon receipt of request for petition, the Department
shall advise the party of the number of eligible voters/producers
in the proposed area using the list that will be used to determine
if the total number of producer signatures gathered meets or exceeds
30% of producers in the petitioning area, as required by §80.009(b)
of the Code.
(g) Completed petitions may be filed with the Department
either by sending them to the Department by postal mail or by hand-delivery
to the Department's headquarters in Austin. The filing date of the
petition shall be the date the petition is actually received by the
Department. Signatures may not be added to or withdrawn from a petition,
once filed with the Department.
(h) The petitioning party must certify that the documents
submitted to the Department for review have been screened to eliminate
possible duplicates. In addition, the petitioning party must attest
in an affidavit that all signatures are valid according to the agreed
upon eligibility list.
(i) Once a petition is received by the Department shall
review the petition for compliance with the 30% requirement. If, upon
review, greater than 10% of signatures on the petition forms are not
in compliance with this section, the petition will be rejected. The
Commissioner, at his or her discretion, may appoint a committee to
review the petition.
(j) Within 30 days of receipt of the petition, the
Department shall notify the petitioning party of a decision, and,
if applicable, file for publication in the Texas Register a proposed
rule adding or transferring the area, and may set a hearing in the
area to take public comment on the rule. Once the required period
for public comment on the proposed rule has passed, the Commissioner
may adopt a rule adding or moving an area, and may hold a producer
referendum, if appropriate.
(k) If necessary, the Department shall conduct a referendum
to add or move an area or county in the same manner as other referenda
conducted under Chapter 80 of the Code and this subchapter.
(l) If approved, citrus producers within the proposed
area shall be part of the amended pest management zone and be subject
to assessment and other participation requirements for that pest management
zone.
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