1. (a) General.

   1. (1) In addition to any other applicable restrictions imposed by regulations adopted under Chapter 71, Texas Agriculture Code, quarantined articles may not be transported into Texas except as outlined in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
   2. (2) Quarantined articles from areas of Texas outside of the citrus zone may not be transported into the citrus zone except when approved by the department for research or for testing of official regulatory samples.

2. (b) Exemptions.

   1. (1) Citrus seed produced in California is exempt from these rules.
   2. (2) Commercial citrus fruit is exempt from these rules.

3. (c) Exceptions. Budwood of citrus varieties not existing in Texas may be shipped into Texas, including into the citrus zone, from any state or from outside the United States under the following conditions:

   1. (1) before any citrus budwood is allowed to enter Texas, it shall be certified as originating from an area free of citrus blight. It shall also have been tested using methods approved by the department, and such tests shall have produced negative results for all diseases quarantined under §21.2 of this chapter (relating to Quarantined Pests and Diseases). Documentation of negative results of tests described in this section shall be included with the shipment; and
   2. (2) budwood shall be assigned to a federal or state agency approved by the department for the purpose of confirmation tests to determine if the budwood is free from all virus and infectious diseases currently known at the time of the confirmation tests before it is released to the buyer. For confirmation tests, budwood shall be grown on rootstock varieties appropriate for the diagnosis of the diseases listed in this section; and
   3. (3) for all budwood shipments, a permit from the Texas Department of Agriculture shall be issued and, together with a copy of the certificate(s) required by paragraphs (4) and (5) of this subsection, shall be attached to the shipment; and
   4. (4) before any citrus budwood will be allowed to enter Texas from outside the continental United States, it shall be cleared through the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine. Such clearance shall be certified to and approved by the department before the entrance of the budwood shipment into Texas; or
   5. (5) in addition to the requirements outlined in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection, shipments originating in a state other than Texas shall be accompanied by a certificate from the origin state's department of agriculture specifying that the budwood is free of pests and diseases listed in this subchapter. A copy of the certificate shall be sent to and approved by the Texas Department of Agriculture before shipment of the budwood to Texas. However, budwood originating from the California citrus clonal protection program (CCCPP) or the USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Citrus and Dates (USDA-ARS-NCGR) will be exempt from the requirements in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, but must be accompanied by a certificate from the CCCPP or the USDA-ARS-NCGR specifying that the budwood is free of pests and diseases listed in this subchapter instead of the origin state's certificate.

Source Note:The provisions of this §21.6 adopted to be effective September 2, 1996, 21 TexReg 7973; amended to be effective July 16, 2003, 28 TexReg 5529; amended to be effective May 3, 2006, 31 TexReg 3529; amended to be effective June 29, 2010, 35 TexReg 5523.