Sec. 77.117. LICENSE SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION. (a) The executive director, after notice and the opportunity for a hearing, may suspend a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license if the license holder or any other operator of the licensed vessel is convicted of one or more flagrant offenses totalling three flagrant offenses for the licensed vessel. The suspension may be for:

(1) six months, if:

(A) the date of each offense is within a 24-consecutive-month period beginning not earlier than September 1, 1995; and

(B) the license holder has not previously had a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license suspended under this section; or

(2) 12 months, if the date of each offense is within a 24-consecutive-month period and the license holder has previously had a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license suspended under this section.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a license suspension under this section does not affect the license holder's eligibility to renew the license after the suspension expires.

(c) The executive director, after notice and the opportunity for a hearing, may permanently revoke a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license if:

(1) the license holder has previously had a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license suspended twice under this section;

(2) the license holder or any other operator of the licensed vessel is convicted of one or more flagrant offenses totalling three flagrant offenses for the licensed vessel; and

(3) the date of each offense is in a 24-consecutive-month period beginning not earlier than the date of the most recent previous suspension under this section.

(d) For purposes of this section, a flagrant offense includes:

(1) trawling in a nursery area in violation of this code or of a proclamation of the commission issued under this code;

(2) shrimping longer than 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after legal shrimping hours prescribed by this code or by a proclamation of the commission issued under this code;

(3) exceeding possession limits, in violation of this code or of a proclamation of the commission issued under this code, by 100 or more pounds;

(4) exceeding legal net size, in violation of this code or of a proclamation of the commission issued under this code, by five feet or more; or

(5) falsifying information required by this subchapter or a commission rule adopted under this subchapter for the issuance of a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license.

(e) The same flagrant offense may not be counted for more than one suspension under this section.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 339, Sec. 1, eff. June 8, 1995.