Bill Text: TX SB949 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the game animal meat safety task force.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-01 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB949 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB949-Introduced.html
86R11095 SRA-D | ||
By: Kolkhorst | S.B. No. 949 |
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relating to the game animal meat safety task force. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. GAME ANIMAL MEAT SAFETY TASK FORCE. (a) In this | ||
section, "task force" means the game animal meat safety task force. | ||
(b) The task force is composed of the following nine | ||
members: | ||
(1) the chair of the House Public Health Committee or | ||
its successor; | ||
(2) the chair of the Senate Health and Human Services | ||
Committee or its successor; | ||
(3) the chairs of the committees of the house and | ||
senate with primary jurisdiction over parks and wildlife; | ||
(4) the chairs of the committees of the house and | ||
senate with primary jurisdiction over agriculture; and | ||
(5) three members of the public who have demonstrated | ||
sufficient knowledge of game animal meat safety, appointed as | ||
follows: | ||
(A) one member appointed by the governor; | ||
(B) one member appointed by the lieutenant | ||
governor; and | ||
(C) one member appointed by the speaker of the | ||
house of representatives. | ||
(c) The chairs of the house and senate committees with | ||
primary jurisdiction over agriculture shall serve as co-presiding | ||
officers of the task force. | ||
(d) The task force shall: | ||
(1) study and examine trends in the commercially | ||
raised game meat industry in this state, including the regulations | ||
of and protections required for game meat, and the differences in | ||
the inspection of game meats compared to the inspection of | ||
traditional meats, including beef, pork, and poultry; and | ||
(2) develop a short-term and a long-term commercially | ||
raised game animal food safety plan to strengthen protections for | ||
commercially raised native and nonnative wildlife game animals. | ||
(e) A task force member is not entitled to compensation for | ||
the services provided as a task force member. Subject to the | ||
availability of funds, a task force member is entitled to | ||
reimbursement for the member's actual and necessary expenses | ||
incurred in performing task force duties. | ||
(f) The task force shall meet at the call of one of the | ||
co-presiding officers and may hold additional meetings as necessary | ||
by telephone conference call, videoconference, or other similar | ||
telecommunication method. | ||
(g) The task force shall hold at least three public hearings | ||
in locations selected by the task force to provide interested | ||
persons an opportunity to appear and speak on any subject relating | ||
to the powers and duties of the task force. | ||
(h) Not later than December 1, 2020, the task force must | ||
submit the short-term and the long-term commercially raised game | ||
animal food safety plan to the governor, lieutenant governor, and | ||
speaker of the house of representatives. | ||
(i) The task force is abolished and this Act expires January | ||
1, 2021. | ||
(j) Not later than December 1, 2019, the governor, the | ||
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of | ||
representatives shall appoint the members of the task force created | ||
under this section. | ||
SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect | ||
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members | ||
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas | ||
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for | ||
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |