(a) Delegation of Authority. The commission delegates power and authority to the executive director to administer the Oyster License Buyback Program.
(b) License Buyback Bid Application Period.
  (1) The department will open one or more license buyback bid offer application periods (hereinafter referred to as an application period) per license year if available funds permit.
  (2) The department shall establish during each application period a deadline for receipt of all applications.
(c) License Buyback Application Requirements.
  (1) The department shall consider all applications to the Oyster License Buyback Program provided the applicants meet the following requirements:
    (A) A completed License Buyback Application form furnished by the department has been submitted to the department by the application deadline;
    (B) The applicant is the owner of the license submitted for buyback; and
    (C) The applicant has submitted to the department copies of all information as required in this subsection.
  (2) A completed License Buyback Application shall contain:
    (A) full name of the applicant;
    (B) current address of applicant's residence;
    (C) social security number of the applicant;
    (D) a copy of legal documentation that:
      (i) documents applicant as the sole owner of the vessel who holds the sole rights and privileges to the license; or
      (ii) documents that all members of a partnership or corporation are in agreement to apply to the license buyback program and the submitted bid offer for license buyback;
    (E) USCG vessel documentation number or State of Texas registration number;
    (F) a copy of current commercial oyster boat license; and
    (G) the applicant's bid offer, in U.S. dollars.
  (3) Department records will be used to verify all information supplied by the applicant or pertaining to the applicant's history in the oyster fishery or will be used in cases where the applicant has not provided adequate information for proper consideration of the application.
(d) Oyster License Buyback Criteria.
  (1) The department may establish criteria each license year which will be used to determine qualifications for license buybacks.
  (2) The department may consider:
    (A) length of vessel;
    (B) amount of funds accumulated in the Oyster License Buyback Account and the Commercial License Buyback Subaccount;
    (C) number of commercial oyster boat licenses in the fishery issued in the license year of the specific bid offer application period;
    (D) bid offers from previous application periods;
    (E) established open market prices for licenses; and
    (F) other relevant factors.
(e) Application Ranking Procedures.
  (1) Ranking values will be assigned to all applications based on the criteria set forth in subsection (d) of this section.
  (2) The department will purchase licenses beginning with the highest ranking to the lowest.
  (3) Equally ranked bid offers:
    (A) If bid offers are equally ranked and both vessels are not the same length, the department will rank the larger vessel ahead of the smaller.
    (B) If bid offers are equally ranked, the department will rank according to the ascending alphabetical order of the applicant's last name.
(f) Notification of Acceptance or Rejection of Application.
  (1) Department will notify each applicant in writing within 45 days of receipt of application regarding acceptance or rejection of application bid offer.
  (2) Applicants whose bids are accepted must then notify the department of their intent to accept or reject the offer from the department within 15 days of the postmark of the notification letter sent by the department.
(g) Delegation of Purchasing Authority.
  (1) The department may designate other qualified agents to purchase licenses on behalf of the department provided all purchased licenses are surrendered to the department and retired.
  (2) The designated qualified agents may utilize the Oyster License Buyback Criteria established in subsection (d) of this section to purchase licenses.
(h) The department shall set aside 20 percent of the fees from licenses issued under this subchapter for the purpose of buying back commercial oyster boat licenses from willing license holders.

Source Note: The provisions of this §58.70 adopted to be effective October 7, 2018, 43 TexReg 6660