By: Hegar, Zaffirini S.B. No. 801
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of land used
for wildlife management.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (7), Section 23.51, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(7) "Wildlife management" means:
(A) actively using land that at the time the
wildlife-management use began was appraised as qualified
open-space land under this subchapter or as qualified timber land
under Subchapter E in at least three of the following ways to
propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating, or wintering
population of indigenous wild animals for human use, including
food, medicine, or recreation:
(i) habitat control;
(ii) erosion control;
(iii) predator control;
(iv) providing supplemental supplies of
water;
(v) providing supplemental supplies of
food;
(vi) providing shelters; and
(vii) making of census counts to determine
population;
(B) actively using land to protect federally
listed endangered species under a federal permit if the land is:
(i) included in a habitat preserve and is
subject to a conservation easement created under Chapter 183,
Natural Resources Code; or
(ii) part of a conservation development
under a federally approved habitat conservation plan that restricts
the use of the land to protect federally listed endangered species;
or
(C) actively using land for a conservation or
restoration project to provide compensation for natural resource
damages pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et
seq.), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. Section 2701 et
seq.), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section
1251 et seq.), or Chapter 40, Natural Resources Code.
SECTION 2. Section 23.52, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) The category of land that qualifies under Section
23.51(7) is the category of the land under this subchapter or
Subchapter E, as applicable, before the wildlife-management use
began.
SECTION 3. Section 23.56, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 23.56. LAND INELIGIBLE FOR APPRAISAL AS OPEN-SPACE
LAND. Land is not eligible for appraisal as provided by this
subchapter if:
(1) the land is located inside the corporate limits of
an incorporated city or town, unless:
(A) the city or town is not providing the land
with governmental and proprietary services substantially
equivalent in standard and scope to those services it provides in
other parts of the city or town with similar topography, land
utilization, and population density; [or]
(B) the land has been devoted principally to
agricultural use continuously for the preceding five years; or
(C) the land:
(i) has been devoted principally to
agricultural use or to production of timber or forest products
continuously for the preceding five years; and
(ii) is used for wildlife management;
(2) the land is owned by an individual who is a
nonresident alien or by a foreign government if that individual or
government is required by federal law or by rule adopted pursuant to
federal law to register his ownership or acquisition of that
property; or
(3) the land is owned by a corporation, partnership,
trust, or other legal entity if the entity is required by federal
law or by rule adopted pursuant to federal law to register its
ownership or acquisition of that land and a nonresident alien or a
foreign government or any combination of nonresident aliens and
foreign governments own a majority interest in the entity.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.