1. (a) Licensing requirements. All rendering businesses, renderable raw material haulers and/or dead animal haulers shall obtain a license unless an exemption applies in subsection (c) of this section. Licenses are issued for a one or two-year term as determined by the department. A separate license is required for each business and/or place of business operated as a:

   1. (1) rendering establishment;
   2. (2) related station;
   3. (3) transfer station;
   4. (4) renderable raw material hauler;
   5. (5) dead animal hauler; or
   6. (6) combination dead animal and renderable raw material hauler.

2. (b) Construction permit requirements. A person shall, prior to construction, obtain a construction permit (except as provided by the Act, §144.042) to construct a new rendering business or initiate construction involving replacement, addition, renovations or expansion of a rendering business as a:

   1. (1) rendering establishment;
   2. (2) related station; or
   3. (3) transfer station.

3. (c) Exemptions from licensing requirements. Rendering business licensing requirements do not apply to the following:

   1. (1) a person who slaughters, butchers, manufactures, or sells animal flesh or products only for use as food for human consumption, unless the person also performs rendering operations or processes as defined in this subchapter;
   2. (2) a person who transports or disposes of the bodies of animals slaughtered for use as food for human consumption or the products of these bodies only for that purpose;
   3. (3) an individual who disposes of the individual's own animal; or
   4. (4) a governmental agency that collects, transports, or disposes of dead animals and renderable raw materials.

4. (d) Exemption from construction permit requirements. A construction permit fee is not required if the following conditions are met.

   1. (1) The construction of a new rendering business is less than $10,000.
   2. (2) The construction at a licensed rendering business is less than $10,000.
5. (e) The construction and layout requirements established under the Act applies to the construction.
6. (f) The department may prescribe other reasonable and appropriate construction, operational, and maintenance requirements to ensure compliance with the Act and rules of this chapter.

7. (g) License fee. All rendering businesses, renderable raw material haulers and/or dead animal haulers operating in Texas shall obtain a license and pay a licensing fee for each business operated as follows:

   1. (1) for each rendering establishment having gross annual sales not exceeding $100,000:

      1. (A) $350 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $700 for a two-year license.

   2. (2) for each rendering establishment having gross annual sales exceeding $100,000 but not more than $200,000:

      1. (A) $500 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $1,000 for a two-year license.

   3. (3) for each rendering establishment having gross annual sales exceeding $200,000 but not more than $500,000:

      1. (A) $750 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $1,500 for a two-year license.

   4. (4) for each rendering establishment having gross annual sales exceeding $500,000 but not more than $1 million:

      1. (A) $1,000 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $2,000 for a two-year license.

   5. (5) for each rendering establishment having gross annual sales exceeding $1 million:

      1. (A) $1,500 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $3,000 for a two-year license.

   6. (6) for each related station license:

      1. (A) $400 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $800 for a two-year license.

   7. (7) for each transfer station license:

      1. (A) $400 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $800 for a two-year license.

   8. (8) for each dead animal hauler license:

      1. (A) $250 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $500 for a two-year license.

   9. (9) for each renderable raw material hauler license:

      1. (A) $250 for a one-year license; or
      2. (B) $500 for a two-year license; and

   10. (10) for each combination dead animal and renderable raw material hauler license:

       1. (A) $250 for a one-year license; or
       2. (B) $500 for a two-year license.

8. (h) Vehicle permit decal fee. Except as exempted under subsection (c) of this section, a renderable raw material and/or dead animal hauling vehicle shall not be allowed to collect and transport dead animals or renderable raw materials unless such vehicle displays a decal as prescribed by the department. A vehicle permit decal will be issued for a one or two-year term as determined by the department. The fees are as follows:

   1. (1) $25 for a one-year vehicle permit decal; or
   2. (2) $50 for a two-year vehicle permit decal.

9. (i) Construction permit fee. An application for a construction permit must be accompanied by a fee payable to the department and will be based on the dollar value of construction cost as listed in this paragraph. The applicant must provide validated information and any other information required by the department to verify the construction cost. If construction cost is:

   1. (1) Less than $10,000 , then there is no permit fee required;
   2. (2) $10,000-$49,999, the fee is $250;
   3. (3) $50,000-$99,999, the fee is $500;
   4. (4) $100,000-$249,999, the fee is $1,000;
   5. (5) $250,000-$499,999, the fee is $1,500; and
   6. (6) $500,000 and over, the fee is $2,500.
10. (j) License forms. License forms may be obtained by mail from the Meat Safety Assurance Division, Texas Department of Health, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756-3182, or from the Bureau of Food and Drug Safety website at http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/bfds/lic/apps.html.
11. (k) License applications and construction permits. A license or construction permit application for each rendering business, renderable raw material hauler and/or dead animal hauler shall be signed by the applicant and notarized, shall be made on the license application furnished by the department, shall be completed in its entirety, and shall be submitted with the license or construction permit fee.

12. (l) Issuance of license. The department may issue a license to the owner of a rendering business, renderable raw material hauler, and/or dead animal hauler after determining that the application is complete and the applicant is in compliance with the Act and rules in this chapter.

    1. (1) A rendering business, renderable raw material hauler and/or dead animal hauler operating license is not prorated. The license is valid from the date of issuance until 12:00 midnight, December 31 of the calendar year in which the license was issued for a one-year license, and December 31 of the following calendar year for a two-year license.
    2. (2) The license shall be displayed in a prominent place at the physical rendering business location.
    3. (3) A photocopy of the license should be placed in each rendering business vehicle used to collect dead animals and/or renderable raw material.

13. (m) Renewal of license--applicable to all operations subject to the Act.

    1. (1) A license holder shall renew a license in accordance with the requirements of this subsection.
    2. (2) The license holder shall renew the license by filing an application for renewal on the form prescribed by the department accompanied by the required licensing fee set by the department. A licensee must file for renewal before the expiration date of the current license.
    3. (3) If the renewal fee is not paid before the expiration of the 15th day after the date on which written notice of delinquency is provided to the license holder by the department, the license expires.
    4. (4) If an operating license expires, a new application for an operating license must be submitted along with the appropriate fee.
    5. (5) Failure to submit the renewal application may subject the rendering business to the enforcement provision of this chapter, §221.8 (relating to Assessment of Administrative Penalties) and §221.9 (relating to Denial, Suspension, or Revocation of License or Permit and Enforcement Provisions.)
    6. (6) Falsification of an application will be grounds for denial or revocation of a license.
14. (n) Transferability of license. A rendering business license is not transferable.
15. (o) All license/permit fees paid under this section are non-refundable.
16. (p) A current license/permit shall only be issued when all past due fees are paid.
17. (q) Texas Online. Applicants may submit applications and renewal applications for a license under these sections electronically by the Internet through Texas Online at www.texasonline.state.tx.us. The department is authorized to collect fees, in amounts determined by the Texas Online Authority, to recover costs associated with application and renewal application process through Texas Online.

Source Note:The provisions of this §221.3 adopted to be effective December 10, 2000, 25 TexReg 12175; amended to be effective January 1, 2005, 29 TexReg 11979.