Tex. Parks & Wild. Code Section 77.119
License Buyback Program


(a)

The department shall implement a license buyback program as part of the shrimp license management program established by this subchapter.

(b)

The commission by rule may establish criteria, using reasonable classifications, by which the department selects licenses to be purchased. The commission may delegate to the executive director, for purposes of this section only, the authority to develop the criteria through rulemaking procedures, but the commission by order must finally adopt the rules establishing the criteria. The commission or executive director shall consult with the shrimp license management review board concerning establishment of the criteria.

(c)

The commission shall retire each license purchased under the license buyback program until the commission finds that management of the shrimp fishery allows reissue of those licenses through auction or lottery.

(d)

A person whose license is selected by the department to be purchased under the license buyback program shall be required to execute a contract that includes the following terms:
"Section 40.251 (Penalties), Natural Resources Code, provides that any person who intentionally leaves, abandons, or maintains any vessel in a wrecked, derelict, or substantially dismantled condition in violation of Section 40.108 (Derelict Vessels and Structures), Natural Resources Code, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Further, a person who leaves, abandons, or maintains a derelict vessel in violation of Section 40.108 (Derelict Vessels and Structures), Natural Resources Code, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $100 or more than $10,000 per violation for each day of violation, not to exceed a maximum of $125,000 pursuant to Section 40.251 (Penalties)(f), Natural Resources Code. I agree not to abandon or dispose of any vessel in violation of state law. I further acknowledge that money paid to me under the license buyback program may be forfeited to the coastal protection fund established by Section 40.151 (Coastal Protection Fund), Natural Resources Code, if the commissioner of the General Land Office finds that the vessel to which the license applied was abandoned in violation of Section 40.108 (Derelict Vessels and Structures), Natural Resources Code."

(e)

The commissioner of the General Land Office may order the forfeiture of any money paid to a person under the license buyback program if the commissioner finds that the vessel to which the license applied was abandoned by the person in violation of Section 40.108 (Derelict Vessels and Structures), Natural Resources Code. Any money forfeited under this section shall be deposited to the credit of the coastal protection fund established by Section 40.151 (Coastal Protection Fund), Natural Resources Code.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 339, Sec. 1, eff. June 8, 1995.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 216 (H.B. 2096), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2005.

Source: Section 77.119 — License Buyback Program, https://statutes.­capitol.­texas.­gov/Docs/PW/htm/PW.­77.­htm#77.­119 (accessed Mar. 23, 2024).

77.001
Definitions
77.002
License Fees
77.003
Disposition of Funds
77.004
Research Program
77.005
Study and Report on Shrimp Industry and Resources
77.007
Regulation of Catching, Possession, Purchase, and Sale of Shrimp
77.011
License Requirement
77.014
Method of Taking Count
77.015
Gradation and Processing
77.020
Penalty
77.021
Separate Offense
77.022
Responsibility for Violation
77.024
Operation Without License
77.025
Period of Limitation
77.031
Commercial Bay Shrimp Boat License
77.033
Commercial Bait-shrimp Boat License
77.034
Commercial Gulf Shrimp Unloading License
77.035
Commercial Gulf Shrimp Boat License
77.036
Official Registration
77.037
Transfer of License
77.039
License Design
77.040
Other Licenses Required
77.043
Bait-shrimp Dealer License
77.044
Issuance of Bait-shrimp Dealer’s License
77.045
Rights and Duties of Bait-shrimp Dealer
77.046
Exemptions from Bait-shrimp Dealer’s License
77.048
Individual Bait-shrimp Trawl License
77.061
General Closed Season
77.062
Change in General Closed Season
77.063
General Limitation on Nets
77.071
Regulations in Contiguous Zone
77.072
Shrimp Size Exception
77.111
Shrimp License Management Program
77.112
Issuance and Renewal of Commercial Bay and Bait Shrimp Boat Licenses
77.113
License Transfer
77.114
Limit on Number of Licenses Held
77.115
Transfer Fee
77.116
Length and Engine Limits
77.117
License Suspension and Revocation
77.118
Shrimp License Management Review Board
77.119
License Buyback Program
77.121
Program Administration
77.122
Report to Legislature
77.123
Prevailing Authority
77.151
Gulf Shrimp License Moratorium Program
77.152
Issuance and Renewal of Commercial Gulf Shrimp Boat Licenses
77.153
Gulf Shrimp License Moratorium Review Board
77.154
Program Administration
77.0191
Retention of Redfish, Speckled Sea Trout, and Lightning Whelks
77.0351
Commercial Shrimp Boat Captain’s License
77.0352
Sale of Catch
77.0361
License Expirations and Transfers

Accessed:
Mar. 23, 2024

§ 77.119’s source at texas​.gov