(a) Parties wishing to petition for addition or movement into an existing pest management zone shall notify the Commissioner of their intent in writing. The petition shall include:
  (1) a geographic description of the proposed area to be added or moved;
  (2) information sufficient for the Commissioner to determine whether or not citrus production has begun or could begin in the proposed area;
  (3) information sufficient for the Commissioner to determine whether or not the proposed area is adjacent to a pest management zone or is in an area with biological characteristics similar to the pest management zone to which the area is requesting to be added or moved; and
  (4) any other pertinent information on the zone to which the area would be moved or added.
(b) The Department shall provide a petition form for the party submitting the request. The completed form must include:
  (1) certification by the person signing the petition that he or she is an eligible citrus producer in the area proposed to be added or moved by having citrus production in the area proposed to be added or moved or sharing in the proceeds of citrus production in the current crop year;
  (2) the complete name and address of the eligible citrus producer or entity;
  (3) a legible signature of the person with authority to sign for the person or entity; and
  (4) the date signed.
(c) Only one signature or petition form per entity may be gathered.
(d) Signatures that are dated before the date the petition process starts are invalid.
(e) Producer eligibility to sign a petition shall be determined as follows.
  (1) If the petitioning process commences prior to or after traditional citrus production in the area, the immediately preceding citrus crop year information as maintained in the official list provided to the Department determines eligibility for having a producer's name on the petition.
  (2) If a petition drive crosses crop years, the Commissioner shall use the most current complete eligible list of producers in the area proposed to be added or moved, and shall notify the petitioning party of the appropriate date when the eligibility list changes. If a person farmed in a year other than the year determined to be the eligible year, that signature or petition form will not be valid.
(f) Upon receipt of request for petition, the Department shall advise the party of the number of eligible voters/producers in the proposed area using the list that will be used to determine if the total number of producer signatures gathered meets or exceeds 30% of producers in the petitioning area, as required by §80.009(b) of the Code.
(g) Completed petitions may be filed with the Department either by sending them to the Department by postal mail or by hand-delivery to the Department's headquarters in Austin. The filing date of the petition shall be the date the petition is actually received by the Department. Signatures may not be added to or withdrawn from a petition, once filed with the Department.
(h) The petitioning party must certify that the documents submitted to the Department for review have been screened to eliminate possible duplicates. In addition, the petitioning party must attest in an affidavit that all signatures are valid according to the agreed upon eligibility list.
(i) Once a petition is received by the Department shall review the petition for compliance with the 30% requirement. If, upon review, greater than 10% of signatures on the petition forms are not in compliance with this section, the petition will be rejected. The Commissioner, at his or her discretion, may appoint a committee to review the petition.
(j) Within 30 days of receipt of the petition, the Department shall notify the petitioning party of a decision, and, if applicable, file for publication in the Texas Register a proposed rule adding or transferring the area, and may set a hearing in the area to take public comment on the rule. Once the required period for public comment on the proposed rule has passed, the Commissioner may adopt a rule adding or moving an area, and may hold a producer referendum, if appropriate.
(k) If necessary, the Department shall conduct a referendum to add or move an area or county in the same manner as other referenda conducted under Chapter 80 of the Code and this subchapter.
(l) If approved, citrus producers within the proposed area shall be part of the amended pest management zone and be subject to assessment and other participation requirements for that pest management zone.

Source Note: The provisions of this §27.210 adopted to be effective December 6, 2015, 40 TexReg 8637