82R4758 ALL-D
By: Rodriguez H.B. No. 1600
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(1), Tax Code, is amended 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 three [five] of the preceding five [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 distinguish between
land in an area that is incorporated and land in an area that is
unincorporated. 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.
SECTION 2. Section 23.54, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as
follows:
(a) A person claiming that the person's [his] land is
eligible for appraisal under this subchapter must file a valid
application with the chief appraiser for each year the person
claims the person's land is eligible.
(e) If a person fails to file a valid application on time in
a given year, the land is ineligible for appraisal as provided by
this subchapter for that year. [Once an application is filed and
appraisal under this subchapter is allowed, the land is eligible
for appraisal under this subchapter in subsequent years without a
new application unless the ownership of the land changes or its
eligibility under this subchapter ends. However, the chief
appraiser if he has good cause to believe the land's eligibility
under this subchapter has ended, may require a person allowed
appraisal under this subchapter in a prior year to file a new
application to confirm that the land is currently eligible under
this subchapter by delivering a written notice that a new
application is required, accompanied by the application form, to
the person who filed the application that was previously allowed.]
(e-1) Before February 1 the chief appraiser shall deliver an
application form to each person whose land was appraised as
provided by this subchapter during the preceding year. The chief
appraiser shall include with the application a brief explanation of
the requirements for obtaining the appraisal.
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;
(B) the land has been devoted principally to
agricultural use continuously for the preceding three [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 three [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 the individual's or government's [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. Section 31.01(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(d) Each tax bill shall also state the amount of penalty, if
any, imposed pursuant to Sections 23.431, [23.54,] 23.541, 23.75,
23.751, 23.87, 23.97, and 23.9804.
SECTION 5. Sections 23.54(h), (i), and (j), Tax Code, are
repealed.
SECTION 6. This Act applies only to the appraisal of land
for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year that begins on or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2012.