TEEATTORNEYGENEFCAL
OFTEXAS
AUSTIN 11, TExas
WVILL WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL August 29, 1960
Honorable Arthur W. Young, Chairman
Texas Seed and Plant Board
,Texas Technological College
.Lubbock, Texas
Opinion No. WW-925
Re: Whether Article @'a, Vernon's
Civil Statutes, authorizes the
State Seed and Plant Board to
prohibit the sale in Texas of
certified OP registered seed
from other states produced un-
der minimum standards lower
than those established by the
Dear Mr. Young: Seed Board.
In your letter requesting an opinion from this office,
you ask whether the State Seed and Plant Board is authorized
to prohibit the sale in Texas of certified or registered
seed from other states produced under minimum standards lower
than those established by the.Seed Board.
Article 57, Vernon's Civil Statutes, as amended by House
Bill 105, Acts of the 56th Legislature, Regular Session, ,1959,
states In part:
"The administration of the licensing pro-
visions of Title 4, Chapter 2 of the Revised
Civil Statutes and of Chapter 93, Acts of the
Forty-first Legislature, First Called Session,
1929 . shall be vested In a Board to be
known ai Ehe State Seed and Plant Board . .
All applicants for license as a registered'or
certified seed grower shall furnish such in-
formation as the Board may require . . . The
Board shall approve and issue licenses for re-
gistered and certified seed growers, promulgate
rules and regulations governing . . . registered
or certified seeds . . ."
.
Honorable Arthur W. Young, Page 2 (WW-925)
Section 4(b), Article @a, Vernon's Civil Statutes,
provides:
"The Commissioner of Agriculture shall
promulgate rules . . . under which cotton,
alfalfa, corn and sorghum aeed for planting
purposes may be shipped Into Texas, and pro-
viding that no cotton, alfalfa, corn or
sorghum seed for planting purposes may be
shipped into Texas for planting purposes un-
less said seed meet the requirements as set
forth by the Commissioner of Agriculture. . .
Said Commissioner, through his agents . . .
may investigate the quality of the seed to
be shipped into the State . . . and further
providing that the Commissioner of Agrlcul-
ture shall have full authority to refuse per-
mission to any applicant to ship cotton, al-
falfa, corn or sorghum planting seed into
Texas when the records and information of the
agents of said Commissioner of Agriculture
show the seed to be of Inferior quality, lacking
prescribed varietal purity, from diseased flelile,
or other reasons prescribed in the rules and
regulations under the provisions of this Section."
Section 4(f), Article 67a, Vernon's Civil Statutes
states:
"Providing that all planting seed shipped
Into Texas and bearing the label denoting Re-
gistered or Certified.Seed shall have been pro-
duced under standards equal to the existing
standards In Texas for such Class of seed. Such
seed coming Into the State of Texas and being
declared by the Commissioner of Agriculture not
to have been produced under Registration and
Certification standards equal to the Texas
standards, shall not bear the labels or be re-
presented as Registered or Certified Seed . . .
Such seed may bear the Registration or Certlfl-
cationtag issued In the State of origin pro-
vided such tags are plainly marked 'These Seed
do not meet the requirements of Registration or
Certiflcatlor in Texas'."
. -
Honorable Arthur W. Young, Page 3 (WW-925)
It is the o inlon of this office that by the enact-
ment of Section E (f), Article 67a, Ve,rnon'sCivil Statutes,
the Legislature did not give the State Seed and Plant Board
the authority to prevent the movement into Texas of seed
under a certified or registered seed label from any other
state even though the minimum certification requirements
are lower than those In Texas. However, the Legislature
clearly stated that such seed cannot bear the tag or be re-
presented as registered or oertified seed, and the tag must
state that the seeds "do not meet the requirements of Regis-
tration or Certification in Texas.I'
It Is the further opinion of this office that under
Section 4 (b), Article 67a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, that the
Commissioner of Agriculture may refuse to permit cotton,
alfalfa, corn and sorghum seed for planting purposes to be
shipped into Texas when the records and information of the
Commissioner show the seed to be of inferior quality or have
other defects as set out in Section 4(b), Article 67a, Vernon's
Civil Statutes, above cited.
This opinion is not to be construed as holding that an
out-of-state producer must not meet the requirements of
Article 93b, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which Is the Texas
Seed Law, Attorney Cleneral'sOpinion O-2554.
SUMMARY
Section 4(f), Article 67a, Vernon's Civil
Statutes, does not authorize the State
Seed and Plant Board to prevent the ship-
ment into Texas of certified and reglster-
ed seeds produced in other states even
though the minimum requirements for certi-
fication In other states are lower than
those In Texas. However, such seed cannot
bear the tag or be represented as register-
ed or certified seed, and the tag must state
that the seeds 'do not meet the requirements
of Registration or Certification in Texas."
The Commissioner of Agriculture does have
authority to refuse to permit cotton, al-
falfa, corn or sorghum seed for planting
purposes to be shipped into Texas when
Honorable Arthur W. Young, Page 4,(WW-925)
his records and Information show the seed
to be of inferior quality or fok other
reasons listed In Section 4(b), Article
67a, Vernon's Civil Statutes.
Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON
Attorney General of Texas
Assistant
MJs:mm
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
W. V. Oeppert, Chairman
Ben M. Harrison
Marietta Payne
C. K. Richards
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.