Sec. 14.015. POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT. The department shall administer this chapter and may:

(1) investigate the storing, shipping, and handling of grain and complaints relating to these activities through the inspection of:

(A) any public grain warehouse;

(B) the grain stored in any warehouse; or

(C) all property and records pertaining to a warehouse;

(2) determine whether a warehouse for which a license has been issued or applied for is suitable for properly storing, shipping, or handling grain that is stored in or expected to be stored in the warehouse;

(3) include field seed within the definition given to "grain" by Section 14.001;

(4) require that a warehouse operator keep records or submit reports the department determines are necessary in the administration of this chapter;

(5) require a warehouse operator or depositor to terminate storing, shipping, and handling agreements within a time specified by the department:

(A) on closeout or revocation of the warehouse operator's license;

(B) if grain has been abandoned by the warehouse operator or a depositor and the warehouse operator or depositor cannot be located after diligent effort; or

(C) on issuance of an injunction ordering an unlicensed warehouse operator to cease operations;

(6) prescribe forms, including the form of receipts, bonds, or applications for licenses;

(7) for purposes of determining compliance with this chapter or amounts due to a depositor in an action taken by the department against a surety or surety instrument under this chapter, determine a warehouse operator's specific obligations to a depositor, including:

(A) the type, quantity, or quality of open storage or receipted grain due a depositor;

(B) the payment owed a depositor if a shortage or variance exists in the type, quantity, or quality of a depositor's open storage or receipted grain;

(C) the time and manner of delivery of grain due a depositor; and

(D) whether a warehouse operator has failed to deliver a depositor's open storage or receipted grain within a reasonable time;

(8) by written order require a warehouse operator to deliver grain of a particular type, quantity, and quality to a depositor at a particular time and in a particular manner based on the department's determination that the required delivery of grain is due the depositor;

(9) classify grain by category, including open storage, receipted, identity-preserved, company-owned, and abandoned grain, and adopt rules regarding the storage, shipping, or handling of classified grain, including recordkeeping and accounting requirements;

(10) seize the records of a warehouse operator, including any electronic records or the equipment or media on which the records are stored, during a period of suspension of a warehouse operator's license;

(11) seal or post as sealed, or both seal and post as sealed, the warehouse of a warehouse operator:

(A) whose license has been suspended or revoked;

(B) whose license has expired; or

(C) who is unlicensed;

(12) seal or post as sealed, or both seal and post as sealed, a warehouse that is found to be unsafe for inspection or unsuitable for the storage of grain;

(13) during reasonable hours and to determine compliance with this chapter, enter any facility where the department reasonably believes grain is being handled, stored, shipped, purchased, or sold to examine:

(A) the facility's storage, shipping, handling, and financial records;

(B) grain; and

(C) physical structures;

(14) determine the suitability of a warehouse for storing, shipping, or handling grain or for adequate and safe inspection and, if found unsuitable for any of those purposes, order corrective action;

(15) require the warehouse operator to notify the department regarding:

(A) the handling of commodities that may pose a hazard to humans, animals, the grain of other depositors in the warehouse operator's warehouse, or the grain industry;

(B) existing hazards to inspection, including recent or ongoing fumigations of warehouse facilities and unsafe or inoperable warehouse equipment or structures; or

(C) any change in ownership, management, or legal or financial status of a warehouse licensed under this chapter;

(16) require by rule that sales, purchase, or brokerage agreements between a warehouse operator and a producer be in writing and contain written terms or provisions the department considers appropriate to protect producers, depositors, and warehouse operators and to ensure the department's ability to carry out its regulatory functions under this chapter;

(17) regulate a warehouse operator's temporary storage of grain in a non-warehouse location or facility;

(18) require segregation of grain requiring identity preservation;

(19) enter into cooperative agreements with agencies of the federal government or other states to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

(20) recover the unused warehouse receipts of a warehouse operator:

(A) during any period of probation or suspension of the warehouse operator's license;

(B) on revocation or voluntary surrender of the warehouse operator's license; or

(C) during any period in which the warehouse operator is not licensed, including after a failure to timely renew the license;

(21) order corrective action or impose any reasonable condition of probation necessary to accomplish the regulatory goals authorized by this chapter; and

(22) adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1047, ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 553, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 419, Sec. 3.06, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Renumbered from Sec. 14.003 and amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1124, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.