SECTION 3.20. Statement of Purpose and Role of the Department

(a) It has been declared by the Texas Legislature that the boll weevil presents a major economic threat to Texas' cotton crop and that it is necessary to create a Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation as a vehicle to provide for assessments of cotton producers, governing boards, and for establishing eradication zones in order to suppress and eradicate the boll weevil. It is also the intent of the Legislature that any program established for boll weevil eradication be carried out in a manner which incorporates the best available integrated pest management techniques, as well as other methods of eradication, and is implemented in a manner that poses the least possible risk to people, property, and the environment.

(b) In accordance with the Texas Agriculture Code (the Code), Chapter 74, Subchapter D, §74.120, the commissioner is specifically charged with adopting rules to protect individuals, livestock, wildlife, and honeybee colonies on any premises located in an eradication zone on which cotton plants are being grown that have been or are being treated as part of the boll weevil eradication program.

Source Note: The provisions of this §3.20 adopted to be effective October 15, 1993, 18 TexReg 6735; amended to be effective July 30, 2008, 33 TexReg 5922