Texas Agriculture Code Title 6, Chapter 131 - Bees And Honey

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 131.001 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Abandoned apiary, equipment, or bees" means an apiary, equipment, or a colony of bees that is not regularly maintained or attended...
• Texas Section 131.002 - Chief Apiary Inspector
  (a) The director shall appoint a person qualified by scientific training or personal experience as chief apiary inspector to make inspections and administer this chapter...
• Texas Section 131.003 - Conflicts Of Interest
  (a) A person may not serve as chief apiary inspector or be an assistant of the inspector if the person is an officer, employee, or...
• Texas Section 131.004 - Assistants
  (a) The chief apiary inspector may employ assistants and inspectors as necessary, subject to the approval of the director and governing board of the experiment...
• Texas Section 131.005 - Annual Reports
  (a) The chief apiary inspector shall make an annual report to the director giving a detailed account of inspection activities, receipt and use of funds,...
• Texas Section 131.006 - Audit
  The financial transactions of the chief apiary inspector are subject to audit by the state auditor in accordance with Chapter 321, Government Code. Added by...
• Texas Section 131.007 - Publishing Information
  (a) The chief apiary inspector shall publish information on methods and directions for treating, eradicating, or suppressing infectious diseases of honeybees, the rules adopted for...
• Texas Section 131.008 - Complaints
  (a) The chief apiary inspector shall keep an information file about each complaint filed with the inspector relating to a beekeeper regulated under this chapter....
• Texas Section 131.009 - Public Testimony
  The chief apiary inspector shall develop and implement policies that will provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the inspector and to...

SUBCHAPTER B DISEASE CONTROL

• Texas Section 131.010 - Fees
  The chief apiary inspector shall make a reasonable effort to set the fees charged under this chapter at amounts that will produce enough revenue to...
• Texas Section 131.021 - Powers And Duties Of Chief Apiary Inspector
  (a) For the purpose of enforcing this chapter, the chief apiary inspector may: (1) adopt rules and act as necessary to control, eradicate, or prevent...
• Texas Section 131.022 - Quarantines
  (a) If the chief apiary inspector determines that the public welfare requires the establishment of a quarantine, the inspector may: (1) declare a protective quarantine...
• Texas Section 131.023 - Sale Of Queen Bee And Attendants, Package Bees, And Nuclei
  A person may not sell or offer for sale a queen bee and attendant bees, package bees, nuclei, or queen cells in this state unless...
• Texas Section 131.024 - Seizure Of Bees, Equipment, Pollen, Or Honey
  (a) Bees, equipment, pollen, or honey seized by the chief apiary inspector under Section 131.021 of this code shall be treated, destroyed, or sold at...

SUBCHAPTER C PERMITS AND REGISTRATION

• Texas Section 131.025 - Duty To Report Diseased Bees
  If a beekeeper knows that a colony of bees is diseased, the beekeeper shall immediately report to the chief apiary inspector all facts known about...
• Texas Section 131.041 - Permit For Importation
  (a) A person may not ship or cause to be shipped bees or equipment into this state unless the person has a permit issued by...
• Texas Section 131.042 - Permit For Exportation
  (a) A person who ships bees or equipment from this state to another state, territory, or country may apply to the chief apiary inspector for...
• Texas Section 131.043 - Permits For Intrastate Shipment
  (a) A person may not ship or cause to be shipped bees or equipment between counties in this state unless the person has a permit...
• Texas Section 131.044 - Certificate Of Inspection
  (a) A person who wants a certificate of inspection for bees, equipment, pollen, or honey must file a written request for the inspection with the...
• Texas Section 131.045 - Apiary Registration
  (a) The chief apiary inspector may provide for the periodic registration of all apiaries in this state. (b) A registration must include: (1) the beekeeper's...

SUBCHAPTER D BRANDING AND IDENTIFICATION OF APIARY EQUIPMENT

• Texas Section 131.046 - Disposition And Use Of Fees
  (a) Fees collected under this subchapter shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of a special fund to be known as the...
• Texas Section 131.061 - Identification Required
  A person may not operate an apiary in this state unless the apiary equipment is: (1) clearly and indelibly marked with the name and address...
• Texas Section 131.062 - Brand; Registration
  (a) The chief apiary inspector shall maintain a system of registration of apiary equipment brands to identify equipment used by a beekeeper in an apiary....
• Texas Section 131.063 - Registration Of Brand; Fee
  (a) The chief apiary inspector shall register a brand for each person who applies for a brand and pays a recording fee. The inspector shall...
• Texas Section 131.064 - Affixing Brand To Equipment
  A registrant shall affix the registered brand to his or her apiary equipment by burning or pressing the brand, in figures at least three-quarters of...

SUBCHAPTER E LABELING AND SALE OF HONEY

• Texas Section 131.065 - Transfer Of Brand
  (a) A brand may be transferred only if: (1) the chief apiary inspector approves the transfer; and (2) the transferor is selling all of the...
• Texas Section 131.081 - Use Of "Honey" On Label
  A person may not label, sell, or keep, offer, or expose for sale a product identified on its label as "honey," "liquid or extracted honey,"...
• Texas Section 131.082 - Use Of Bee, Hive, Or Comb Design
  A person may not label, sell, or keep, expose, or offer for sale a product that resembles honey and that has on its label a...
• Texas Section 131.083 - Sale Of Imitation Honey
  A person may not label, sell, or keep, expose, or offer for sale a product that resembles honey and is identified on its label as...

SUBCHAPTER F ENFORCEMENT

• Texas Section 131.084 - Sale Of Honey Mixtures
  (a) A person may not label, sell, or keep, expose, or offer for sale a product that consists of honey mixed with another ingredient unless:...
• Texas Section 131.101 - Enforcement Authority
  The chief apiary inspector is the official responsible for enforcing Subchapters B, C, and D of this chapter. The Texas Department of Health is the...
• Texas Section 131.102 - Entry Power
  (a) The chief apiary inspector may enter at a reasonable hour any public or private premises, including a building, depot, express office, storeroom, vehicle, or...
• Texas Section 131.103 - Stop-sale Order
  If the official or agency responsible for enforcing a provision of this chapter or a rule or quarantine adopted under this chapter has reason to...
• Texas Section 131.104 - Civil Actions
  (a) The official or agency responsible for enforcing a provision of this chapter or a rule or quarantine adopted under this chapter may sue to...

SUBCHAPTER G PENALTIES

• Texas Section 131.105 - Venue For Civil And Criminal Actions
  Venue for a civil or criminal prosecution under this chapter is in the county where the affected group of bees, equipment, pollen, or honey is...
• Texas Section 131.121 - Disease Control
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) violates a provision of Section 131.022 or 131.023 of this code; (2) fails to report...
• Texas Section 131.122 - Apiary Equipment Brands
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) violates Section 131.061 of this code; or (2) alters or attempts to alter a registered...
• Texas Section 131.123 - Labeling Or Sale Of Honey
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person violates a provision of Subchapter E of this chapter. (b) An offense under this section is...

Last modified: September 28, 2016