(a) Parties wishing to petition for addition or movement into an eradication zone shall notify the commissioner of their intent in writing. The notice 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 cotton 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 an eradication zone or is in an area with biological characteristics similar to the eradication zone to which the area is requesting to be added or moved; and
  (4) any other pertinent information on the eradication zone to which the area would be moved or added.
(b) The department shall develop and make available a petition form for the party conducting the petition drive. The completed form must include:
  (1) certification by the person signing the petition that the person is an eligible cotton grower or a representative with the authority to sign for the grower in the area proposed to be added or moved by having cotton production in the area proposed to be added or moved or sharing in the proceeds of cotton production in the current crop year;
  (2) the complete name and address of the eligible cotton grower; and
  (3) the date signed.
(c) Only one signature or petition form per grower may be gathered.
(d) Signatures that are dated before the date the petition process starts are invalid.
(e) Grower eligibility to sign a petition shall be determined as follows.
  (1) If the petitioning process commences prior to or after traditional cotton production in the area, the immediately preceding cotton crop year information as maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) determines eligibility for having a grower's name on the petition.
  (2) If a petition drive crosses crop years, the commissioner shall use the most current complete eligible list of growers in the area proposed to be added or moved as maintained by the FSA, and shall notify the petitioning party of the appropriate date when the eligibility list changes. Thus, if a grower 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 the notice of intent to petition, the department shall notify the petitioning party of the eligible voter/grower list that will be used to determine if the total number of grower signatures or petition forms gathered meets or exceeds 30% of growers in the petitioning area, as required by the Texas Agriculture Code (Code), §74.108(b).
(g) Completed petitions may be filed with the department either by sending them to the department by certified mail, returned receipt requested, 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 alphabetized, if on individual petition forms, and that they 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. If, upon review, greater than 10% of signatures or petition forms are not in compliance with this section, the petition will be deemed null and void and will be rejected.
(i) Once a petition is received by the department, department staff shall review the petition for compliance with the 30% requirement. The commissioner, at the commissioner's discretion, may appoint a committee to review the petition.
(j) Within 21 days of receipt of the petition, the department shall notify the petitioning party of a decision, and, if appropriate, file for publication in the Texas Register a proposed rule adding or moving the area, and set a hearing in the area to take public comment on the rule, if the commissioner deems appropriate. 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 grower referendum, if appropriate.
(k) If a referendum of growers is held, the department shall conduct the referendum to add or move an area or county in the same manner as other referenda conducted under the Code, Chapter 74, Subchapter D and this subchapter.
(l) If growers approve an area being added or moved to an existing eradication zone, all cotton growers in the proposed area will become part of the amended eradication zone and be subject to assessment and other participation requirements for that eradication zone.

Source Note: The provisions of this §3.10 adopted to be effective November 24, 1997, 22 TexReg 11082; amended to be effective June 26, 2023, 48 TexReg 3405