Bill Text: TX HB40 | 2013 | 83rd Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the eligibility of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
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 | |
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| 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. | ||
