NOTICE

In accordance with the provisions of the Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 80, and, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) election rules found at 4 TAC, Ch. 27, Subchapter B, the Texas Citrus Pest and Disease Management Corporation (Corporation) is conducting a biennial board of directors election ending August 3, 2020 to fill seven (7) board positions.

The Corporation, a Texas nonprofit corporation, is designated to plan, carry out, and operate suppression programs to manage and control pests and diseases, including the Asian citrus psyllid and citrus greening, in citrus plants in the state under the supervision of TDA.

An eligible voter is a Texas citrus producer in the Lower Rio Grande Valley Pest Management Zone, which consists of all of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy counties (Zone). A citrus producer is a person in the Zone who grows citrus and receives or intends to receive income from the sale of citrus. The term includes an individual who as owner, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper is entitled to share in the citrus grown and available for marketing from a farm or to share in the proceeds from the sale of the citrus from the farm. The term includes a person who owns land that is primarily used to grow citrus and that is appraised based on agricultural use under Ch. 23, Tax Code, regardless of whether the person receives income from the sale of citrus, and there is an irrebuttable presumption that the person intends to receive income from the sale of citrus.

Any person qualifying to vote in the election may place his/her name in nomination for a 4 year term on the Corporation Board by an application to the Corporation, signed by applicant and at least ten other persons eligible to vote in the election.  Applications must be received by June 29, 2020 in order to have his/her name placed on the ballot.  Applications may be obtained upon request to the Texas Citrus Pest & Disease Management Corporation office, 901 Business Park Drive, Suite 100, Mission, Texas 78572 or at one of the county agents offices listed below.

The election will be held by mail ballot, which will be mailed to all eligible voters of record no later than 15 days prior to the election. Ballots must be mailed to 901 Business Park Drive, Ste. 100, Mission, TX 78572 and postmarked before midnight on August 3, 2020.

Any person qualified to vote who does not receive a ballot 15 days prior to the election, may obtain a ballot from one of the locations listed below.

If you are an eligible voter in Cameron, Hidalgo, or Willacy county and did not receive a ballot, write or call one of the following:

• Texas Citrus Pest and Disease Management Corporation, (956) 580-8004, 901 Business Park Drive, Suite 100, Mission, Texas 78572
• Cameron County, Cameron County Extension Office, (956) 361-8236, 1390 West Expressway 83, San Benito, Texas 78566
• Hidalgo County, Hidalgo County Extension Office, (956) 383-1026, 410 N. 13th Ave., Edinburg, Texas 78541
• Willacy County, Willacy County Extension Office, (956) 689-2412, 471 W. Hidalgo Ave, Raymondville, Texas 78580