Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2150 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8409 JE-D
2	2	By: Kleinschmidt H.B. No. 2150
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the eligibility of land for ad valorem tax appraisal as
8	8	qualified open-space land.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 23.51(7), Tax Code, is amended to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	(7) "Wildlife management" means:
13	13	(A) actively using land [that at the time the
14	14	wildlife-management use began was appraised as qualified
15	15	open-space land under this subchapter] in at least three of the
16	16	following ways to propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating, or
17	17	wintering population of indigenous wild animals for human use,
18	18	including food, medicine, or recreation:
19	19	(i) habitat control;
20	20	(ii) erosion control;
21	21	(iii) predator control;
22	22	(iv) providing supplemental supplies of
23	23	water;
24	24	(v) providing supplemental supplies of
25	25	food;
26	26	(vi) providing shelters; and
27	27	(vii) making of census counts to determine
28	28	population;
29	29	(B) actively using land to protect federally
30	30	listed endangered species under a federal permit if the land is:
31	31	(i) included in a habitat preserve and is
32	32	subject to a conservation easement created under Chapter 183,
33	33	Natural Resources Code; or
34	34	(ii) part of a conservation development
35	35	under a federally approved habitat conservation plan that restricts
36	36	the use of the land to protect federally listed endangered species;
37	37	or
38	38	(C) actively using land for a conservation or
39	39	restoration project to provide compensation for natural resource
40	40	damages pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
41	41	Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et
42	42	seq.), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. Section 2701 et
43	43	seq.), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section
44	44	1251 et seq.), or Chapter 40, Natural Resources Code.
45	45	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
46	46	adding Section 23.522 to read as follows:
47	47	Sec. 23.522. TEMPORARY CESSATION OF AGRICULTURAL USE TO
48	48	REQUIRED DEGREE OF INTENSITY. The eligibility of land for
49	49	appraisal under this subchapter does not end because the land
50	50	ceases to be devoted principally to agricultural use, including
51	51	wildlife management, to the degree of intensity generally accepted
52	52	in the area if:
53	53	(1) the owner of the land intends that the use of the
54	54	land in that manner and to that degree of intensity be resumed
55	55	within two years of the year in which the land ceases to be used in
56	56	that manner or to that degree of intensity; and
57	57	(2) the land does not cease to be used in that manner
58	58	or to that degree of intensity for more than two years in any
59	59	seven-year period.
60	60	SECTION 3. This Act applies only to the appraisal of land
61	61	for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year that begins on or after
62	62	the effective date of this Act.
63	63	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.