Texas Drafts Shrimp Labels for 8,200 Small Firms and Trims Its Alcohol Rules; New York Ties Rental Permits to Lead Certificates

The bottom line today

About 8,200. That is how many small and micro-businesses the Texas Department of State Health Services says its proposed shrimp labeling rules would reach, and the department says it cannot estimate what compliance will cost them [1]. The same October 9 Texas Register carried the opposite instinct from the state’s alcohol regulator: a package that cuts recordkeeping, ends penalty enhancements based on warning letters and hands licensees a ready-made compliance policy [3]. In New York, a lead rule for older rentals took effect October 7, and gas utilities picked up a new annual reporting duty [5, 7].

TX Texas SB 823: who has to label imported shrimp?

What it does. SB 823, by Sen. Middleton, says a food service supplier, wholesaler or distributor may not sell shrimp in Texas unless the label includes “a clear and conspicuous notice stating whether the shrimp is imported” [2]. Shrimp counts as imported if it fails the federal country-of-origin test for shellfish in 7 C.F.R. §60.128 [2]. Restaurants may not call imported shrimp “Texas shrimp,” “American shrimp,” “Domestic shrimp,” or “Gulf shrimp” [2]. Grocery stores and properly labeled packaged shrimp are exempt, a seller’s good-faith belief that the shrimp was domestic is an affirmative defense, and the law creates no private cause of action [2].

The department’s proposed Subchapter JJ applies to shrimp “wholesaled into and within Texas” [1]. The notice can go on the immediate container, the master shipping container or an accompanying document [1]. It must appear in a foreign language too if other labeling does, and in type no smaller than the largest size used for any other required label [1]. Wholesalers must keep records for one year to back up the notice, and producer affidavits count [1]. Licensed manufacturers, wholesalers and warehouse operators face administrative penalties after an opportunity for a hearing [1].

Where it stands. The Senate passed SB 823 by 28-3 and the House by 128-13; the governor signed it June 20, 2025, and it took effect September 1, 2025 [2]. The proposal was filed September 24 and published October 9, with comments accepted for 31 days, which by this column’s count runs to November 9 [1].

Pratt’s read. This is a fight with business on both sides. Gulf shrimpers want their product told apart from cheaper imports, and the department lists the benefit as “increased consumer awareness and greater transparency” for customers and seafood markets [1]. The cost falls on distributors: new labels, procedures, training and records, in the department’s own list [1]. The department admits an adverse effect on small businesses and then declines to put a number on it “due to insufficient data” [1]. Credit where due: the Legislature wrote in a good-faith defense and kept trial lawyers out, and the rule’s acceptance of a shipping document or affidavit keeps the paperwork light. The type-size clause is the odd part. A notice that must match the largest label already on the box will, on some boxes, be the largest thing on it.

TX Texas TABC rules: fewer records, softer warnings

What it does. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission proposed changes across nine chapters of its rules, based on a review by the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office [3]. For restaurants holding a Food and Beverage Certificate, the commission would drop the complimentary drink valuation tracking, which it calls “overly burdensome,” and cut records retention from four years to two [3]. Bonds other than excise tax bonds would no longer have to be payable in Travis County, and banks and credit unions issuing bond substitutes would need only authority to do business in Texas and federal deposit insurance, not a physical presence in the state [3]. Written warnings could no longer be used to increase a later penalty, and the time to file a compliance affidavit would grow from 10 days to 30 [3]. The agency would publish a model written policy that, once adopted, creates a rebuttable presumption of compliance [3].

Not every change runs one way. The window in which three or more violations create a presumption that the permit holder encouraged them would double from 12 months to 24, and a licensee would carry the burden of proving mitigating factors in a contested case [3].

Where it stands. Published October 9 [3]. Staff will hold a hearing October 29, and written comments are due by 5 p.m. central on November 9 [3].

Pratt’s read. This is the good news of the day. The efficiency office counted about 55,000 active primary permittees, about 18,000 of them food and beverage certificate holders, and put the annual benefit of its full set of recommendations at about $13.1 million on a conservative reading and up to about $34.8 million with market effects [4]. The commission notes that figure covers every recommendation, not only these [3]. Even so, a restaurant that no longer has to log the dollar value of a comped drink, and can buy a bond from an out-of-state bank, is spending less on paperwork. The 24-month look-back is the price, and the industry should say in comments whether it is a fair one.

NY New York lead rule: older rentals need a certificate on file

What it does. The Department of State amended the Uniform Code enforcement standards in 19 NYCRR Part 1203, as required by Part T of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2023 [5, 6]. In the 25 communities of concern named by the Department of Health, which include Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and Yonkers, code officials inspecting pre-1980 buildings with two or more potential rental units must check the state rental registry for a certificate that the dwelling is free of lead paint hazards, record the result and report it to the Department of Health [5, 6]. Where the inspection leads to a certificate of occupancy or compliance, that certificate now depends on the lead certification being on file [5].

Where it stands. The rule first took effect as an emergency measure May 3 and was adopted permanently effective October 7 [5, 6]. One change matters to owners. The emergency text made the certificate condition apply from October 1, 2026; the final text applies it from October 1 of the year each building’s certification is due under the health rules [5, 6]. The department called the edits nonsubstantial [5].

Pratt’s read. The case for the rule is plain: catch lead hazards in old rentals before children are exposed [6]. The department’s cost analysis covers the 25 local governments and says nothing about what a lead inspection costs a landlord [6]. Tying the certificate to each building’s own due date is a sensible fix, and owners in Utica or Newburgh should check which year applies to them. The one commenter, who opposed the rule, said it makes code officials an extra compliance checkpoint; the department answered that the statute leaves no other option [5].

NY New York gas utilities: annual emissions inventories

What it does. The Public Service Commission adopted, with changes, the Joint Utilities’ proposal for annual greenhouse gas inventory reports covering distribution system emissions and emissions from customers burning gas [7]. The first report is due December 31, 2027, with estimates back to 1990; the next by September 1, 2028; and from 2029, by June 1 each year [7]. Every rate filing must now estimate the emissions effect of each project in the proposed plan [7].

Where it stands. Adopted September 17, effective September 18, and published October 7 [7].

Pratt’s read. Counting emissions is not a mandate to cut them, and using state and federal emission factors keeps the method standard [7]. But a per-project emissions figure in every rate case gives intervenors a new number to fight over pipe replacement and expansion, and ratepayers fund the analysis. New York already tightened its power plant carbon cap this summer, as this release noted in August. The gas side is now getting its own ledger.

On the calendar

TABC holds its hearing October 29 and takes written comments through November 9 [3]. The shrimp rules can be adopted no earlier than November 8 [1]. The utilities owe the commission a standard report template within 60 days of the September order, and the first gas inventories are due December 31, 2027 [7].