TESTING LABORATORIES

(a) Subject to Subsection (b), testing under this subchapter or Section 122.053 must be performed by: (1) the department; (2) an institution of higher education; or (3) an independent testing laboratory registered under Section 122.152. (b) To perform testing under this chapter, a laboratory described by Subsection (a) must be accredited by an independent accreditation body in accordance with International Organization for Standardization ISO/IEC 17025 or a comparable or successor standard. (c) A license holder shall select a laboratory described by Subsection (a) to perform preharvest or postharvest testing of a sample taken from the license holder's plot. A license holder may not select an independent testing laboratory under Subsection (a)(3) unless the license holder has: (1) no ownership interest in the laboratory; or (2) less than a 10 percent ownership interest in the laboratory if the laboratory is a publicly traded company. (d) A license holder must pay the costs of preharvest or postharvest sample collection and testing in the amount prescribed by the laboratory selected by the license holder. (e) The department shall recognize and accept the results of a test performed by an institution of higher education or an independent testing laboratory described by Subsection (a). The department shall require that a copy of the test results be sent by the institution of higher education or independent testing laboratory directly to the department and the license holder. (f) The department shall notify the license holder of the results of the test not later than the 14th day after the date the sample was collected under Section 122.154 or the date the department receives test results under Subsection (e).