SUN S ET ADVI S ORY COMMI ss ION FIN A L REPORT Texas Department of Agriculture Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Prescribed Burning Board Texas-Israel Exchange Fund Board July 2009 Sunset Advisory Commission Representative Carl Isett, Chair Senator Glenn Hegar, Jr., Vice Chair Representative Dan Flynn Senator Robert F. Deuell, M.D. Representative Linda Harper-Brown Senator Craig Estes Representative Lois Kolkhorst Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa Representative Ruth Jones McClendon Vacant* Ike Sugg, Public Member Charles McMahen, Public Member** * Senator Kim Brimer served on the Commission from December 2005 through December 2008. ** Charles McMahen was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Michael Stevens. Joey Longley Director In 1977, the Texas Legislature created the Sunset Advisory Commission to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. The 12-member Commission is a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 government agencies every 12 years. The Commission questions the need for each agency, looks for potential duplication of other public services or programs, and considers new and innovative changes to improve each agency’s operations and activities. The Commission seeks public input through hearings on every agency under Sunset review and recommends actions on each agency to the full Legislature. In most cases, agencies under Sunset review are automatically abolished unless legislation is enacted to continue them. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TEXAS BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION FOUNDATION PRESCRIBED BURNING BOARD TEXAS-ISRAEL EXCHANGE FUND BOARD SUNSET FINAL REPORT JULY 2009 Th is document is intended to compile all recommendations and action taken by the Sunset Advisory Commission and the Legislature for an agency under Sunset review. Th e following explains how the document is expanded and reissued to include responses from agency staff and members of the public, as well as action taken by the Sunset Commission and the Legislature in each step of the Sunset process. Sunset Staff Report – Contains all Sunset staff recommendations on an agency, including both statutory and management changes, developed after extensive evaluation of the agency. Hearing Material – Summarizes all responses from agency staff and members of the public to Sunset staff recommendations, as well as new policy issues raised for consideration by the Sunset Commission. Decision Material – Includes additional responses, testimony, or new policy issues raised during the public hearing for consideration by the Sunset Commission in its decision meeting on an agency. Commission Decisions – Contains the decisions of the Sunset Commission on staff recommendations and new policy issues. Statutory changes adopted by the Commission are presented to the Legislature in the agency’s Sunset bill. Final Report – Summarizes action taken by the Legislature on Sunset Commission recommendations and new provisions added by the Legislature to the agency’s Sunset bill. Staff Report – March 2008 Commission Decisions – June 2008 (Includes additional Commission decisions made in September 2008 and January 2009) Final Report – July 2009 Table of Contents PAGE SUMMARY Staff Recommendations ................................................................................... 1 Legislative Action ............................................................................................ 6-a ISSUES/RECOMMENDATIONS 1 Th e Texas Agricultural Finance Authority Has Signifi cant Structural Problems and Does Not Currently Meet the Needs of Texas Agriculture .............. 7 Commission Decision (page 16) Legislative Action (page 17) 2 Th e State Needs to Continue and Strengthen the Regulation of Prescribed Burn Managers ...................................................................................... 19 Commission Decision (page 32) Legislative Action (page 32) 3 Texas Does Not Need a Separate Stand-Alone Board to Conduct Binational Collaborative Agricultural Research ...................................................... 33 Commission Decision (page 38) Legislative Action (page 38) 4 Update the Structure of Certain Boards and Advisory Committees to Streamline Th eir Operations ............................................................................... 39 Commission Decision (page 45) Legislative Action (page 45) 5 TDA Has No Formal Rules Governing How It Administers and Enforces the Texas Public School Nutrition Policy ................................................. 47 Commission Decision (page 52) Legislative Action (page 52) 6 TDA’s Regulatory Framework Needs Adjustment to Refl ect the Current Need for Oversight and Trends in Certain Industries ............................... 53 Commission Decision (page 60) Legislative Action (page 60) PAGE 7 Key Elements of TDA’s Licensing and Regulatory Functions Do Not Conform to Commonly Applied Licensing Practices ............................... 61 Commission Decision (page 72) Legislative Action (page 72) 8 Statute Limits TDA’s Ability to Fully Integrate the Structural Pest Control Program Into Its Regulatory Structure ...................................................... 75 Commission Decision (page 79) Legislative Action (page 79) 9 Texas Has a Continuing Need for the Texas Department of Agriculture ............... 81 Commission Decision (page 86) Legislative Action (page 86) 10 Texas Has a Continuing Need for the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation .......................................................................................... 87 Commission Decision (page 93) Legislative Action (page 93) 11 Statute Limits the Foundation’s Ability to Adapt the Use and Collection of Grower Assessments to Meet the Changing Nature of Boll Weevil Eradication Eff orts .......................................................................... 95 Commission Decision (page 101) Legislative Action (page 101) ACROSS-THE-BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS (ATBS) ................................................................................................................................ 103 NEW ISSUES ................................................................................................................................ 105 Commission Decision (page 106) Legislative Action (page 106) AGENCY INFORMATION Texas Department of Agriculture ........................................................................... 107 Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation ............................................................. 129 PAGE APPENDICES Appendix A — Prescribed Burning Board and Texas-Israel Exchange Fund Board Members ................................................... 141 Appendix B — Texas-Israel Exchange Fund Projects ............................................. 143 Appendix C — Equal Employment Opportunity Statistics ................................... 145 Appendix D — Historically Underutilized Businesses Statistics ............................ 149 Appendix E — Texas Department of Agriculture Fee Revenue ............................. 153 Appendix F — Staff Review Activities ................................................................... 157 PROVISIONS ADDED BY LEGISLATURE Texas Department of Agriculture ........................................................................... 159 Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation ............................................................. 163 SUMMARY Summary As the only state agency headed by a single statewide elected offi cial that is subject to Sunset review, the Texas Department of Agriculture, more than other agencies, refl ects the vision and personality of this one person at the top. Accountable directly to the state’s voters, Agriculture Commissioners have traditionally been aff orded leeway to defi ne priorities and direction of the agency. Recent Commissioners have taken the agency well beyond its original mission of serving agriculture to include promoting rural economic development and ensuring healthy meals for Texas school children. Th is trend has continued under the current Commissioner, who, in his fi rst year in offi ce, has overseen the further consolidation of child and adult nutrition programs and pest control regulation within the agency, and the expansion of research and assistance grant programs, adding signifi cantly to the agency’s size and scope. Sunset staff evaluated TDA from this standpoint, as an agency having experienced recent growth and change, overseen by an elected offi cial with an interest in redirecting programs to ensure that they meet the needs of today’s agriculture industry and the state as a whole. Sunset staff also evaluated the Prescribed Burning Board and the Texas-Israel Exchange Fund Board – two semi-independent TDA’s programs could be boards operating under TDA’s umbrella – that are separately redirected to better refl ect the subject to review under the Sunset Act. Agriculture Commissioner’s Sunset staff found opportunities for redirecting several of and the State’s interests. TDA’s programs to better refl ect the Commissioner’s and the State’s interests. Sunset staff has developed a framework for deciding if programs that provide fi nancial assistance for agricultural interests, regulate persons who conduct prescribed burns of vegetation, and conduct cooperative research with Israel, are worth the eff ort to improve their operations and delivery, or if they should be eliminated. Additional opportunities for the Commissioner to place his stamp on the agency would improve the operations