Honorable GeorgeW. Cox

State Health Officer Board of Health Austin, Texas
Dear Sir: OpinionNo. 0-7083 Re: Registration of veterinaryproducts under the Texas Livestock Remedy Act.
Your request for opinion on the above matter reads in part as follows:

"Wewould like to submit our request to you for a formal ruling onthe followingquestion:

non) reads The Miller Veterinary Supply Company, Fort

Worth, Texas, who is the distributor for severalmanufacturers engaged in the manufactureand sale of veterinaryproducts, has applied for a blanket registrationunder Senate Bill No. 75, known as the Texas LivestockRemedy Act, Can a distributordistributing veterinaryproducts under the manufa~cturer's label make such a blanket registration or is it the responsibility of the individual manufacturers to register their products direct according to the requirements of the Texas LivestockRemedy Act?" Section 4 of Senate Bill No. 75 (Article 192-1,Veras follows: "(a) Any person may make application for the registration of a livestock remedy by filingwith the State Health Officer on forms furnished by him, a sworn statementwith respect thereto setting forth:

"(1) The name and principal address of the manufacturer or person responsible for placing such livestock remedy on the market:

"(2) The name, brand or trademarkunder which the livestockremedy is to be sold;Honorable George W. Cox, page 2 0-7083

“(3) The minimum net contents of the package, lot or parcel of such livestock remedy (statedby weight in the case of solids and by volume in the case 

### 0f liquids, and by both count and weight or volume per dose in the case of d~osageforms);

"(4) The English name of each active ingredient, except in the case of livestockremedies for insecticidaluse, the name and percentage of each active ingredienttogetherwith the total percentage of~inert ingredientsor the name and percentage~of each inert ingredientor the words "active ingredients lOO$'when the article consists of ingredients all of which will prevent,destroy, repel or mitigate insects or parasites;

“(5) The percentage of diluent filler or inert ingredient;

“(6) If present, the name and quantity or proportion of all anthelmintic

### drugs, alcohol, strychnine,arsenic, lead, mercury, chloroform, or any derivative or preparation of such substances;

“(7) If present, the minimum percentages of phosphorus (P)and iodine (i)and the maximum percentages of calcium (Ca)and salt (NaCl);

“(8) ~Ifpresent, the quantity of vitaminA in U.S.P. units, vitaminD for poultry inA.O.A.C. chick units, vitaminD. for other animals in U.S.P. units, and all other vitamins inmilligrams or micrograms per gram, ounce or pound, in the case of solidsand ;;;u~;;liliter, fluid ounce, or' pint in the case of

, or per count in the case of dosage forms; "(b) A label or specimen of labeling for any livestodk remedy shall accompany each application for registration,and when requested by the StateHealth Officer a representativeand true sample or specimen of each livestockremedy to be registered.

"(c) If the State Health Officer after examination and investigationfinds the application and labeling complywith the requirements of this Act, a certificate of registration shallbe issued the appliCant on payment of a registration fee as hereinafter provided. All such certificates shallbe issued for a perlocl

not exceeding one year, expiring onDecember 3ls.t of each year. No certificate shall be construedHonorable George W. Cox, page 3

as a recommendation or endorsement of the livestock remedy registered.

"(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a livestockremedy intended solely for investigational,experimental or laboratoryuse by qualified persons, provided the article is plainly labeled 'ForInvestigationalUse Only'.

"(e) Nothing In this Act shall apply to any productregisteredwith the Commissioner ofAgrlculture under the provisions of Chapter 98, Acts of the Regular Session of the 48th Legislature."

Section 5 of saidAct reads as follows:
"Toprovide for the costs of enforcement of thisAct: (a) The StateHealth Officer shall,prior to the issuance of an original certificate of registration for any livestockremedy, collect from the applicant therefora registration fee of not more than Ten Dollars ($10.00)for each separateand distinct article registered; or a blanket fee of not more than OneHundred Dollars ($100.00)of any manufacturer or person registering ten or more products: Provided, that for a period of sixmonths or less the original registration fees above mentioned shall be halved; and, provided further, thatwhen a livestockremedy has been registered and the registration fee paid by the manufacturer or distributor, no other person shall be required to pay such fee.

"(b) Registration of any livestockremedy may be continued in force and effect upon the payment of an annual renewal fee of not more than Ten Dollars ($10.00)for each separateand distinct product registered; or a blanket renewal fee of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of any manufacturer or person registering ten or more products. Provided, that such re-registrationmust be applied for and all renewal fees paid on or before January 31st of each year.

"(c) In the event the registration fees above set forthprovide more revenue than necessary for the enforcement of this Act, the StateHealth Officer is hereby authorized and directed to reduce such fees by regulation, or by regulation to increase such fees if deemed necessary,but not in excess of the fees specified In sub-sections (a)and (b) hereof.Honorable George W. Cox, page 4 0-7083

"(a) Any retailer of livestockremedieswho has bought a supply of such remedies at a timewhen such articleswere duly registered shallbe allowed to sell or otherwise dispose of the samewithout reregistering such articles."

Section 15 of saidAct, reads in part as follows: being the emergency clause,

"The fact that there is now no adequate law regulating the manufacture and sale of livestockremedies in Texas, and the further fact that the livestock producers of Texas need uniform guarantee and assurance that the productswhich are offered to them for sale and which they purchase to administer to their livestock meet the respective purposes forwhich each is supposed to be used,

. . .creates an emergency. . .'
We are unable to find anything In the Act which would require the individualmanufacturer to register its own products. Section 4 authorizes "anyperson" to make applica.tion for the registration of a remedy, not "anymanufacturer". However, it is clear that the informationrequired by said Section 4 to be sworn to can be given only by onewho has personal knowledge of the ingredientsof the particular remedy. Hearsay statements of such contents, such as could be gained from a reading of the label of the package, are of no probative value and will not suffice. Such heresay statementswould be no assurance to the livestockproducerwho might purchase the remedy that the product iswhat it Is represented to be.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

By s/ArthurL. Roller Arthur L. Moller Assistant
ALM:ms:wc
APPROVED FEB 23, 1946 s/Carlos C. Ashley FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL This Opinion ConsideredAnd Approved In Limited Conference