Bill Text: TX HB40 | 2013 | 83rd Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced

Texas House Bill 40 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to the eligibility of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-06-05 - Filed [HB40 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB40-Introduced.html

	83S10236 CJC-D

	By: Rodriguez of Travis	H.B. No. 40



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the eligibility of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax
	purposes as qualified open-space land.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 23.51, Tax Code, is amended by amending
	Subdivisions (1) and (2) and adding Subdivision (9) to read as
	follows:
	(1) "Qualified open-space land" means land that is
	currently devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree of
	intensity generally accepted in the area and that has been devoted
	principally to agricultural use or to production of timber or
	forest products for five of the preceding seven years or land that
	is used principally as an ecological laboratory by a public or
	private college or university. In determining whether agricultural
	use meets the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area, a
	chief appraiser shall consider the cumulative effect of all
	agricultural uses of a tract of land, including producing fruits
	and vegetables and raising or keeping livestock, and not each use in
	isolation. Qualified open-space land includes all appurtenances to
	the land. For the purposes of this subdivision, appurtenances to
	the land means private roads, dams, reservoirs, water wells,
	canals, ditches, terraces, and other reshapings of the soil,
	fences, and riparian water rights. Notwithstanding the other
	provisions of this subdivision, land that is currently devoted
	principally to wildlife management as defined by Subdivision (7)(B)
	or (C) to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area
	qualifies for appraisal as qualified open-space land under this
	subchapter regardless of the manner in which the land was used in
	any preceding year.
	(2) "Agricultural use" includes but is not limited to
	the following activities: cultivating the soil, producing crops
	for human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production
	of fibers; producing fruits and vegetables; floriculture,
	viticulture, and horticulture; raising or keeping livestock;
	raising or keeping exotic animals for the production of human food
	or of fiber, leather, pelts, or other tangible products having a
	commercial value; planting cover crops or leaving land idle for the
	purpose of participating in a governmental program, provided the
	land is not used for residential purposes or a purpose inconsistent
	with agricultural use; and planting cover crops or leaving land
	idle in conjunction with normal crop or livestock rotation
	procedure. The term also includes the use of land to produce or
	harvest logs and posts for the use in constructing or repairing
	fences, pens, barns, or other agricultural improvements on adjacent
	qualified open-space land having the same owner and devoted to a
	different agricultural use. The term also includes the use of land
	for wildlife management. The term also includes the use of land to
	raise or keep bees for pollination or for the production of human
	food or other tangible products having a commercial value, provided
	that the land used is not less than 5 or more than 20 acres. The term
	also includes the use of land for a nonprofit community garden.
	(9) "Nonprofit community garden" means land owned or
	leased by a nonprofit entity, as defined by Section 1.002, Business
	Organizations Code, and gardened by a cooperative group of people
	residing in a neighborhood or community for the purpose of
	providing without profit fresh produce for the benefit of the
	residents of the neighborhood or community.
	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
	adding Section 23.5215 to read as follows:
	Sec. 23.5215. GUIDELINES FOR QUALIFICATION OF SMALL TRACTS
	AND NONPROFIT COMMUNITY GARDENS. (a) The comptroller shall develop
	guidelines for determining whether land under 10 acres in size used
	for the production of fruits, vegetables, poultry, hogs, sheep, or
	goats qualifies for appraisal under this subchapter.
	(b) The comptroller, in consultation with the Texas A&M
	AgriLife Extension Service and individuals selected by the
	comptroller who are nonprofit community garden stakeholders, shall
	develop guidelines consistent with the definition provided by
	Section 23.51(9) for determining whether land qualifies as a
	nonprofit community garden for appraisal under this subchapter.
	SECTION 3. (a) Not later than September 1, 2014, the
	comptroller shall develop guidelines required by Section
	23.5215(a), Tax Code, as added by this Act, and shall distribute
	those guidelines to each appraisal district.
	(b) Not later than September 1, 2014, the comptroller, in
	consultation with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and
	individuals selected by the comptroller who are nonprofit community
	garden stakeholders, shall develop guidelines required by Section
	23.5215(b), Tax Code, as added by this Act, and shall distribute
	those guidelines to each appraisal district.
	SECTION 4. This Act applies only to the appraisal of land
	for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year that begins on or after
	January 1, 2015.
	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
	last day of the legislative session.