Section 27.301 - Requirement for Program Participation(a) All citrus producers within a pest management zone are required to participate in the suppression program approved by producers in a referendum for that zone.(b) Participation in the suppression program includes: (1) timely reporting to the Corporation, as specified in subsection (c) or (d) of this section, of all information regarding all commercial and noncommercial citrus and of all citrus grown for ornamental, research, or any other purposes as provided in §80.023 of the Code;(2) payment of the assessment in the amount and manner established and approved for that pest management zone; and(3) compliance with any rules or procedures established by the Department or the Corporation for implementation of the suppression program in that pest management zone.(c) Reporting deadlines. (1) All acreage planted with citrus and the location of such acreage in an active pest management zone, regardless of which pest management zone, must be reported annually to the Corporation by the producer no later than the reporting date established for each pest management zone.(2) The dates by which citrus acreage and location of such acreage in an active pest management zone must be reported by December 15 of each year.(3) The citrus acreage and location of such acreage required to be reported by paragraph (1) of this subsection may be reported to the Department rather than the Corporation.(d) The Corporation may send a written inquiry directly to a producer who has previously failed to report citrus acreage or location planted within a then-active pest management zone or to a producer who the Corporation has probable cause to believe has planted citrus in an active zone without reporting the acreage or location of such citrus to the Corporation. The written inquiry shall be sent by certified mail and shall require that the recipient producer certify in writing, on a form supplied by the Corporation, either the number of acres and location of each tract of citrus the producer has planted within an active pest management zone for the current producing season or that no acres of citrus are planted in an active pest management zone for the current producing season. The form must be returned within 10 days of receipt by the producer. After delivery or refusal of delivery of the written inquiry, the producer's obligation to report citrus acreage and location may be satisfied only by return of the certification required by this subsection. Failure to return the required certification or refusal of delivery of the written inquiry may result in the assessment of an administrative penalty, which shall not relieve the producer of the requirement to submit the certification required by this subsection. The Corporation may send out an additional written inquiry upon refusal of delivery of a previous written inquiry or if the Corporation considers a response to a previous written inquiry inadequate. Each written inquiry mailed under this subsection may serve as the basis for a separate violation.(e) Falsely reporting the number of acres or location of citrus under any provision of this section may result in the assessment of an administrative penalty.4 Tex. Admin. Code § 27.301
Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 48, November 27, 2015, TexReg 8638, eff. 12/6/2015; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 43, Number 05, February 2, 2018, TexReg 0572, eff. 2/6/2018