Sec. 101.003. LICENSE REQUIRED    


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  • (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a person may not handle perishable commodities, as owner, agent, or otherwise, without a license or an identification card issued by the department.

    (b) This section does not apply to:

    (1) a retailer, unless the retailer:

    (A) has annual sales of perishable commodities that comprise 50 percent or more of the retailer's total sales; or

    (B) employs a buying agent who buys directly from a producer;

    (2) a producer who handles or deals exclusively in the producer's own products;

    (3) a person shipping less than six standard boxes of citrus fruit in any one separate shipment;

    (4) a person who ships a noncommercial shipment of perishable commodities; or

    (5) a person who purchases perishable commodities and pays for the perishable commodities in United States currency before or at the time of delivery or taking possession.

    (c) A person who purchases perishable commodities without a license, as owner, agent, or otherwise, does not violate this section if the person obtains a license not later than the 30th day after the date the person first purchases perishable commodities.

Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1252, ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 917, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 358, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 506 , Sec. 5.10, eff. September 1, 2009.