Author: Newsletter Staff

No Beekeeping Regulation Changes in 2019

 

At least until September of 2021, beekeepers that wish to comply with the beekeeping laws and regulations will have to continue acquiring an intrastate transport permit in order to legally carry bees or beekeeping equipment across a Texas county line.

This is because there will be no bee regulation changes made in the 2019 session of the Texas Legislature. The Chairman of the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee, Representative Drew Springer, decided not to move forward with any bills having to do with bee regulation changes.  This is according to a legislative aid.  Thus all bee bills before the legislature will effectively die, left pending before that house committee.

There were 3 bills that specifically related to honey beekeeping and one bill specifically related to honey bee hive removal.  The bills that dealt with beekeeping were SB 677, HB1723 and HB 2670.  The very unpopular HB 4212 that dealt with hive removal, never received a hearing.

According to the legislative aid, Representative Drew Springer decided not to move forward because of the conflicting language between SB 677, HB 1723 & HB 2670 and the lack of unanimous support among beekeepers on any single issue stating “an interim study is needed”.

Even the simplest of these bills Continue reading “No Beekeeping Regulation Changes in 2019”

Senate Bill 677 is Amended in Committee

SB 677 is amended in Committee;  LSBA changes from Support to Neutral

Senate Bill 677 was amended during Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on March 11th.  As a result Lone Star Beekeepers has changed its position from support of SB 677 to neutral on the bill and made its neutral position known during the hearing.

Senator Bob Hall of District 2 introduced SB 677 at the request of the  Lone Star Beekeepers Association.  As introduced the bill’s scope was the elimination of the permit that beekeepers are required to have in order to cross county lines with bees or beekeeping equipment.  The introduced bill can be read at https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/html/SB00677I.htm

The scheduling of the Texas Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Senate Bill 677 spurred other Texas beekeeping associations to propose additional language be added to SB 677.

Other associations were concerned that because of the elimination of $11k per year in permit fees, the Texas Apiary Inspection Service (TAIS) would discontinue maintaining a publicly available list of those offering hive removal services on the Texas Apiary Inspection Service’s website.  So, other associations proposed the creation of an optional beekeeper registration program with associated fees in order to make up for the loss of county to county permit fees.  Leading the effort to add the fee based beekeeper registration was the Texas Beekeepers Association.  In addition to the beekeeper registration, TBA  proposed that Senator Hall add 3 other provision detailed below.  Senator Hall’s office contacted Lone Star Beekeepers Association about the proposed language changes.

While the language change to SB 677 still repeals the county to county bee transport permit, the substitute bill makes 4 other changes unrelated to the county to county bee transport permit.  Those additional changes are: Continue reading “Senate Bill 677 is Amended in Committee”

Texas Legislature Update – 2019 Session

There are no fewer than 10 proposed law changes currently under consideration by the 2019 Texas Legislature that if passed will effect beekeepers.

Lone Star Beekeepers Associations urges beekeepers to study these bills and their potential impact and further urges beekeepers then contact their State Representative and Senator to let them know your opinion.

 

BEEKEEPING REGULATIONS

  • SB 677, as amended:
    1. Repeals the county to county bee transport permit requirement
    2. Refines the legal definition of the terms “Beekeeper”, “Colony” and “Director” while creating a legal definition for the term “Package Bees”
    3. Combines the two separate state import permit and export permits that migratory beekeepers have to apply for annually into a single annual permit.
    4. It allows migratory beekeepers to bring bees into the Texas that have been inspected within the past 12 months by the Texas Apiary Inspection Service.
    5. It changes the name of the existing optional registration from Apiary Registration to Beekeeper Registration and allows the Texas Apiary Inspection Service to charge fees for the beekeeper registration that a beekeeper has the option not to do.

 

  • HB 2670: Same as the amended SB 677, except that beehive removers are not explicitly exempt from paying the registration fee.
  • HB 1723: A narrow scope bill that only repeals the county to county bee transport permit requirement.

Continue reading “Texas Legislature Update – 2019 Session”

Call To Action

Fellow Beekeeper,

The Lone Star Beekeepers Association has been working for you reducing unnecessary burdens and fees that beekeepers have to pay.

Two bills before the 2019 Texas Legislature eliminate unnecessary efforts for beekeepers. Let your representatives know how these bills affect you as a beekeeper. Additional background information is available through fact sheet on the bills that have been filed.

 

 

 

SB 677 / HB 1723

Currently a beekeeper must obtain a permit from the Chief Apiary Inspector prior to transporting honey bees across a county line. Violation is a Class C misdemeanor.
SB 677 / HB 1723 removes this burden from beekeepers.
Representative Meza and LSBA Directors
Representative Terry Meza meets with Directors of LSBA to discuss HB 1723

 

The Intrastate Transport permit requirement was supposed to help control the spread of bee diseases & pests and stop the migration of Africanized bees, but has failed to do so. The current regulation only serves to burden beekeepers with unnecessary paper work and fees.

SB 677 / HB1723 will eliminate the county to county transport permit and allow beekeepers to transport bees across county lines without the need to spend ineffective time and money.

 

 

 

How You Can Help

If you support repeal of the Intrastate Bee Transport Permit, call or email your State Representative and Senator and urge them to help move it forward. A phone call has the greatest impact; just remember to keep the conversation polite and to-the-point. If you speak with the staffer, briefly share (in 2-4 sentences) why the bills matter to you. If you prefer email, your Representative’s email address is FirstName.LastName@house.texas.gov .Your Senator’s email address is FirstName.LastName@senate.texas.gov .

 

  • Let the legislators know you support this legislation by:
    • Contacting your local state representative & senator
  • Contacting the office of Senate Agriculture Committee Chair, Senator Bob Hall, sponsor of SB 677
  • Contact the office of House Agriculture & Livestock Committee Member, State Representative Terry Meza, sponsor of HB 1723
  • Encourage your beekeeping association to support it by:
    1. Adopting a resolution in support of the repeal.
    2. Sending a copy of the signed adopted resolution to members of the Senate & House Agriculture Committee. CLICK HERE to see a sample resolution, or create your own.

Members Support Texas Master Beekeeper Program and oppose Flea Beetle introduction

Among the policy adoptions made by LSBA membership at the annual membership meeting held in Waxahachie this past October 27, was a resolution that the LSBA membership supports the Texas Master Beekeeper Program.

While LSBA members adopted the policy that LSBA opposes the USDA’s proposed introduction of the non-native flea beetle for the purpose of controlling the spread of the Chinese Tallow tree, LSBA membership did not take a position on whether Chinese Tallow should be eradicated or not.

Other policy positions adopted by the LSBA membership are:

  • LSBA opposes the FDA proposed labeling practice stating that unadulterated Honey has added sugar.
  • LSBA supports the repeal of Texas intrastate bee & equipment transport permit and take steps to lobby for repeal with in the 2019 Texas legislative session.

Associate Member Interview: South Texas Apiaries LLC

Interview with Michael Leidner of South Texas Apiaries LLC.

 

1) Your Associate membership in LSBA is under the name “South Texas Apiaries”.  Could you tell us a little bit more about your business and what you have to offer?

South Texas Apiaries, LLC is location in Orange Grove, TX at the intersection of the Coastal Plains and South Texas Brush Country. We produce local honey from a variety of plants, including guajillo and mesquite. We provide bee hives to customers in the Coastal Bend desiring AG evaluation for tax purposes. Additionally, South Texas Apiaries performs professional live bee removal services.

 

2) Where are you located?  How big an impact does your location have on your business?

Jim Wells county, just outside of Corpus Christi. Location plays an important role in our business. We make very unique honey that is highly desirable. We are only 100 miles from the first county in the country (Hidalgo) to have Africanized Honey Bees discovered in it. Our local bees carry the same stigma as the bees that “invaded” the US.

 

3) Are you focused on local nectar flows, or do you spread out wider than that?

Yes. We focus on local nectar, specifically our early spring flow, which contains a large percentage of guajillo nectar. Our flows are very dependent on rainfall and we are able to move bees around as necessary to chase local and regional flows.

 

4)  How did you originally get into beekeeping?

I have a degree in biology and have always loved nature. Things that grow fascinate me.  Beekeeping was an extension of this passion and an opportunity for a small hobby farm. Eventually what started as a hobby, grew into a small business.

 

5) If you could give new beekeepers just one piece of advice early on, what would it be?

Read “Tools for Varroa Management” by the Honey Bee Health Coalition and “Fat Bees, Skinny Bees”. These two free resources and any off the shelf beekeeping book will take you further than you could ever hope in your beekeeping endeavors.

 

6) Given your work with removals, tell us a little bit about feral bees in your area.  Are the genetics you encounter in removals suitable for management, or do you recommend requeening?

I do not recommend keeping our feral bees to anyone with less than a few years experience or anyone in close proximity to neighbors. I do keep some of our feral stock, however all of these colonies are half a mile or more from any inhabited structure. These bees have a very high disposition to aggression, 20% or more of the colonies I encounter are overly aggressive. Every year someone in South Texas is killed by unmanaged feral bees. Some of these bees make great amounts of honey and some are fairly mite resistant. However, neither of these attributes is expected in a predictable pattern or worth the risk. I will not move managed bees near the general public, unless they have been requeened for two months or more. I highly recommend requeening any and all feral bees as soon as possible, as these bees are not worth the risk.

Continue reading “Associate Member Interview: South Texas Apiaries LLC”