The Texas Animal Health Commission (Commission) adopts amendments to §51.3, concerning Exceptions, without changes to the proposed text as published in the March 25, 2011, issue of the Texas Register (36 TexReg 1943) and will not be republished.
The purpose of the amendment is to clarify existing entry requirements for equine entering Texas from out of state on an equine passport.
The Commission adds a term to §51.3(a) which has exceptions for having an entry permit and a certificate of veterinary inspection. Equine may enter Texas for shows, fairs, exhibitions or assembly purposes when accompanied by a valid equine interstate passport or equine identification card and a completed VS Form 10-11 showing negative results to an official EIA test within the previous six months. This is in support of an agreement by and between the state animal health regulatory agencies of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia and is accepted by all parties for the purpose of fulfilling the objectives and provisions of the Equine Interstate Event Permit program in those respective states and enhancing the coordination and cooperation between those states regarding the interstate transportation of equine.
No comments were received regarding adoption of the rule.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The amendments are adopted under the following statutory authority as found in Chapter 161 of the Texas Agriculture Code. The Commission is vested by statute, §161.041(a), with the requirement to protect all livestock, domestic animals, and domestic fowl from disease. The Commission is authorized, by §161.041(b), to act to eradicate or control any disease or agent of transmission for any disease that affects livestock. If the Commission determines that a disease listed in §161.041 of this code or an agent of transmission of one of those diseases exists in a place in this state among livestock, or that livestock are exposed to one of those diseases or an agent of transmission of one of those diseases, the Commission shall establish a quarantine on the affected animals or on the affected place. That authority is found in §161.061.
As a control measure, the Commission, by rule may regulate the movement of animals. The Commission may restrict the intrastate movement of animals even though the movement of the animals is unrestricted in interstate or international commerce. The Commission may require testing, vaccination, or another epidemiologically sound procedure before or after animals are moved. That authority is found in §161.054. An agent of the Commission is entitled to stop and inspect a shipment of animals or animal products being transported in this state in order to determine if the shipment originated from a quarantined area or herd; or determine if the shipment presents a danger to the public health or livestock industry through insect infestation or through a communicable or noncommunicable disease. That authority is found in §161.048.
Section 161.005 provides that the Commission may authorize the executive director or another employee to sign written instruments on behalf of the Commission. A written instrument, including a quarantine or written notice signed under that authority, has the same force and effect as if signed by the entire Commission.
Section 161.101 provides that the Commission may require a veterinarian, a veterinary diagnostic laboratory, or a person having care, custody, or control of an animal to report the existence of specific diseases among livestock, exotic livestock, bison, domestic fowl, or exotic fowl.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June 3, 2011.
TRD-201101990
Gene Snelson
General Counsel
Texas Animal Health Commission
Effective date: June 23, 2011
Proposal publication date: March 25, 2011
For further information, please call: (512) 719-0724