H.B. No. 1750

	AN ACT
	relating to the applicability of certain city requirements to
	agricultural operations.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  The heading to Chapter 251, Agriculture Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 251.  EFFECT OF NUISANCE ACTIONS AND GOVERNMENTAL
	REQUIREMENTS ON CERTAIN [PREEXISTING] AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
	SECTION 2.  Sections 251.002(1) and (2), Agriculture Code,
	are amended to read as follows:
	(1)  "Agricultural operation" includes the following
	activities:
	(A)  cultivating the soil;
	(B)  producing crops or growing vegetation for
	human food, animal feed, livestock forage, forage for wildlife
	management, planting seed, or fiber;
	(C)  floriculture;
	(D)  viticulture;
	(E)  horticulture;
	(F)  silviculture;
	(G)  wildlife management;
	(H)  raising or keeping livestock or poultry,
	including veterinary services; and
	(I)  planting cover crops or leaving land idle for
	the purpose of participating in any governmental program or normal
	crop or livestock rotation procedure.
	(2)  "Governmental requirement" includes any rule,
	regulation, ordinance, zoning, license or permit requirement, or
	other requirement or restriction enacted or promulgated by a
	county, city, or other municipal corporation that has the power to
	enact or promulgate the requirement or restriction.
	SECTION 3.  Section 251.005(c), Agriculture Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(c)  A governmental requirement of a city:
	(1)  does not apply to any agricultural operation
	located [situated] outside the corporate boundaries of the city;
	and
	(2)  applies to an agricultural operation located in
	the corporate boundaries of the city only if the governmental
	requirement complies with Section 251.0055 [on the effective date
	of this chapter.  If an agricultural operation so situated is
	subsequently annexed or otherwise brought within the corporate
	boundaries of the city, the governmental requirements of the city
	do not apply to the agricultural operation unless the requirement
	is reasonably necessary to protect persons who reside in the
	immediate vicinity or persons on public property in the immediate
	vicinity of the agricultural operation from the danger of:
	[(1)  explosion, flooding, vermin, insects, physical
	injury, contagious disease, removal of lateral or subjacent
	support, contamination of water supplies, radiation, storage of
	toxic materials, or traffic hazards; or
	[(2)  discharge of firearms or other weapons, subject
	to the restrictions in Section 229.002, Local Government Code].
	SECTION 4.  Chapter 251, Agriculture Code, is amended by
	adding Section 251.0055 to read as follows:
	Sec. 251.0055.  LIMITATIONS ON CITY GOVERNMENTAL
	REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE WITHIN CORPORATE BOUNDARIES. (a) A city
	may not impose a governmental requirement that applies to
	agricultural operations located in the corporate boundaries of the
	city unless:
	(1)  there is clear and convincing evidence that the
	purposes of the requirement cannot be addressed through less
	restrictive means and that the requirement is necessary to protect
	persons who reside in the immediate vicinity or persons on public
	property in the immediate vicinity of the agricultural operation
	from the imminent danger of:
	(A)  explosion;
	(B)  flooding;
	(C)  an infestation of vermin or insects;
	(D)  physical injury;
	(E)  the spread of an identified contagious
	disease that is directly attributable to the agricultural
	operation;
	(F)  the removal of lateral or subjacent support;
	(G)  an identified source of contamination of
	water supplies;
	(H)  radiation;
	(I)  improper storage of toxic materials;
	(J)  crops planted or vegetation grown in a manner
	that will cause traffic hazards; or
	(K)  discharge of firearms or other weapons,
	subject to the restrictions in Section 229.002, Local Government
	Code;
	(2)  the governing body of the city makes a finding by
	resolution, based on a report described by Subsection (b), that the
	requirement is necessary to protect public health; and
	(3)  the requirement is not otherwise prohibited by
	this section.
	(b)  Before making a finding described by Subsection (a)(2),
	the governing body of the city must obtain and review a report
	prepared by the city health officer or a consultant that:
	(1)  identifies evidence of the health hazards related
	to agricultural operations;
	(2)  determines the necessity of regulation and the
	manner in which agricultural operation should be regulated;
	(3)  states whether each manner of regulation under
	Subdivision (2) will restrict or prohibit a generally accepted
	agricultural practice listed in the manual prepared under Section
	251.007; and
	(4)  if applicable, includes an explanation why the
	report recommends a manner of regulation that will restrict the use
	of a generally accepted agricultural practice that the manual
	indicates does not pose a threat to public health.
	(c)  A city may not impose a governmental requirement that
	directly or indirectly:
	(1)  prohibits the use of a generally accepted
	agricultural practice listed in the manual prepared under Section
	251.007, except as provided by Subsections (a) and (b);
	(2)  prohibits or restricts the growing or harvesting
	of vegetation for animal feed, livestock forage, or forage for
	wildlife management, except as provided by Subsection (d);
	(3)  prohibits the use of pesticides or other measures
	to control vermin or disease-bearing insects to the extent
	necessary to prevent an infestation; or
	(4)  requires an agricultural operation be designated
	for:
	(A)  agricultural use under Section 1-d, Article
	VIII, Texas Constitution; or
	(B)  farm, ranch, wildlife management, or timber
	production use under Section 1-d-1, Article VIII, Texas
	Constitution.
	(d)  A city may impose a maximum height for vegetation that
	applies to agricultural operations only if:
	(1)  the maximum vegetation height is at least 12
	inches; and
	(2)  the requirement applies only to portions of an
	agricultural operation located no more than 10 feet from a property
	boundary that is adjacent to:
	(A)  a public sidewalk, street, or highway; or
	(B)  a property that:
	(i)  is owned by a person other than the
	owner of the agricultural operation; and
	(ii)  has a structure that is inhabited.
	(e)  A governmental requirement of a city relating to the
	restraint of a dog that would apply to an agricultural operation
	does not apply to a dog used to protect livestock on property
	controlled by the property owner while the dog is being used on such
	property for that purpose.
	(f)  A city may require a person to provide a written
	management plan that meets the specifications described by Section
	23.521(c), Tax Code, to establish that activities constitute an
	agricultural operation on the basis of being wildlife management
	activities.
	SECTION 5.  Chapter 251, Agriculture Code, is amended by
	adding Sections 251.007 and 251.008 to read as follows:
	Sec. 251.007.  GENERALLY ACCEPTED AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES.
	The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service shall develop a manual
	that identifies generally accepted agricultural practices and
	indicates which of those practices do not pose a threat to public
	health, including a threat to public health posed by a danger listed
	in Section 251.0055(a)(1).
	Sec. 251.008.  CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAW. If there is a
	conflict between this chapter and other law, this chapter prevails.
	SECTION 6.  Sections 251.005(c-1) and (c-2), Agriculture
	Code, are repealed.
	SECTION 7.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
	of this Act, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service shall develop
	the manual described by Section 251.007, Agriculture Code, as added
	by this Act.
	SECTION 8.  Sections 251.002 and 251.005, Agriculture Code,
	as amended by this Act, and Section 251.0055, Agriculture Code, as
	added by this Act, apply to a governmental requirement adopted
	before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1750 was passed by the House on April
	11, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 3, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1750 was passed by the Senate on May
	15, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor