87(R) SB 821 - Introduced version - Bill Text

	By:  Zaffirini	S.B.  No.  821

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the processing and sale of kratom and kratom products
	and related public health and safety protections; providing civil
	penalties; providing rulemaking authority.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION  1.    This Act shall be known as the Texas Kratom
	Consumer Health and Safety Protection Act.
	SECTION  2.    Subtitle A, Title 6, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended by adding Chapter 444 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 444. MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION, AND SALE OF
	KRATOM  PRODUCTS
	Sec.  444.001.    DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
	(1)    "Department" means the Department of State Health
	Services.
	(2)    "Food" has the meaning assigned by Section
	432.003.
	(3)    "Kratom" means any part of the leaf of the plant
	Mitragyna speciosa.
	(4)    "Kratom processor" means a person who:
	(A)    manufactures, prepares, distributes, or
	maintains kratom products for sale;
	(B)    advertises, represents, or holds oneself out
	as a seller, preparer, or manufacturer of kratom products;
	(C)    is responsible for ensuring the purity and
	proper labeling of kratom products; or
	(D)    packages or labels kratom products.
	(5)    "Kratom product" means a food, including an
	extract, capsule, or pill, containing any form of kratom.
	(6)    "Kratom retailer" means a kratom processor who
	engages in selling kratom products to consumers or who advertises,
	represents, or holds oneself out as a person who sells kratom
	products to consumers.
	Sec.  444.002.    LABELING REQUIRED. (a) A kratom processor
	shall label each kratom product with the product use directions
	necessary to ensure safe and effective use of the product by a
	consumer, including the recommended serving size for the product.
	(b)    A kratom retailer may not sell a kratom product that is
	not properly labeled under this section.
	Sec.  444.003.    ADULTERATED, CONTAMINATED, AND PROHIBITED
	PRODUCTS. A kratom processor or kratom retailer may not prepare,
	distribute, sell, or offer to sell a kratom product that:
	(1)    is adulterated with a dangerous non-kratom
	substance affecting the quality or strength of the product to a
	degree that renders the product injurious to a consumer;
	(2)    is contaminated with a poisonous or otherwise
	deleterious non-kratom substance, including any substance
	designated as a controlled substance by Chapter 481 (Texas
	Controlled Substances Act);
	(3)    has a level of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the
	alkaloid fraction that is greater than two percent of the overall
	alkaloid composition of the product; or
	(4)    contains any synthetic alkaloids, including
	synthetic 7-hydroxymitragynine and synthetically derived compounds
	from a kratom plant.
	Sec.  444.004.    DISTRIBUTION AND SALE OF KRATOM PRODUCTS TO
	MINORS PROHIBITED. A person may not distribute, sell, or expose for
	sale a kratom product to someone who is younger than 18 years of
	age.
	Sec.  444.005.    CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
	this chapter is subject to a civil penalty in the amount of:
	(1)    $250 for the first violation;
	(2)    $500 for the second violation; and
	(3)    $1,000 for each subsequent violation.
	(b)    Each day a violation continues or occurs is a separate
	violation for purposes of imposing a penalty under this section.
	(c)    A kratom retailer is not liable for a civil penalty
	under this section for a violation of Section 444.002 or 444.003 if
	the kratom retailer proves by a preponderance of the evidence that
	the violation was unintentional and due to the kratom retailer's
	good faith reliance on the representation of another kratom