82R5991 SMH-D
By: Miles H.B. No. 2998
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to ad valorem tax relief for urban farms and green roofs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 3, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 50E to read as follows:
CHAPTER 50E. URBAN FARMS AND GREEN ROOFS
Sec. 50E.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Community garden" means land gardened by a
cooperative group of people residing in a neighborhood or community
for the purpose of providing fresh produce for the benefit of the
residents of the neighborhood or community.
(2) "Green roof" means a roof of a structure that
includes a growth medium consisting of two to four inches of soil,
drainage material, and a vegetation layer two to four inches high
consisting of drought-resistant and hardy plant species that is
designed to provide maximum ground cover, water retention, erosion
resistance, and respirative transpiration of moisture.
(3) "Urban farm" means land used to cultivate,
process, and distribute food in or near an urban area. The term
includes a food plot in a community garden, on an inner-city lot, or
on the property of a school, a fish farm, a municipal composting
facility, an apiary, a garden that provides food for local
restaurants, or an orchard in the yard of a residence.
Sec. 50E.002. STANDARDS FOR URBAN FARMS AND GREEN ROOFS.
(a) The department shall develop standards for determining
whether:
(1) an urban farm qualifies for ad valorem tax
appraisal as qualified open-space land under Subchapter D, Chapter
23, Tax Code;
(2) an urban farm or green roof qualifies for an ad
valorem tax credit under Section 31.038, Tax Code; or
(3) an urban farm or green roof qualifies for an
abatement of ad valorem taxes under Chapter 312, Tax Code.
(b) The comptroller by rule shall adopt the standards
developed by the department and distribute those rules to each
appraisal district.
(c) The standards developed under Subsection (a) in
connection with a green roof must include:
(1) standards for the design of a green roof,
including standards regarding the plant material that may be used
based on height, growth rate, drought tolerance, root systems,
irrigation or nutritional requirements, maintenance requirements,
production of seeds likely to invade nearby landscapes, generation
of allergens, necessity for remedial air filtration, and other
factors considered relevant by the department;
(2) procedures and criteria for inspection and
certification of the plans for a green roof before the roof is
installed;
(3) procedures and criteria for inspection and
certification of a green roof after the roof is installed,
including the testing of runoff water for environmentally
unacceptable chemical fertilizers; and
(4) standards for environmentally acceptable chemical
fertilizers to be used in the maintenance of a green roof.
Sec. 50E.003. EDUCATION PROGRAM. The department shall
implement a program to inform:
(1) the public about the department's standards
regarding urban farms and green roofs; and
(2) commercial installers about the department's
standards regarding green roofs.
Sec. 50E.004. CERTIFICATION OF URBAN FARMS AND GREEN ROOFS.
(a) The department shall implement a program to certify urban farms
and green roofs as meeting the standards adopted under Section
50E.002.
(b) The department may authorize a municipality or county to
issue a certification under Subsection (a) if the municipality or
county notifies the department that it wants to issue the
certifications. The department may impose conditions on the
authorization as determined by the department.
SECTION 2. Section 23.19(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(g) A tax bill or a separate statement accompanying the tax
bill to a cooperative housing corporation for which interests of
stockholders are separately appraised under this section must
state, in addition to the information required by Section 31.01,
the appraised value and taxable value of each interest separately
appraised. Each exemption claimed as provided by this title by a
person entitled to the exemption shall also be deducted from the
total appraised value of the property of the corporation. Each
credit for the costs of constructing or installing a green roof
claimed as provided by Section 31.038 by a person entitled to the
credit shall be deducted from the taxes imposed by a taxing unit on
the property of the corporation. The total tax imposed by a school
district, county, municipality, or junior college district shall be
reduced by any amount that represents an increase in taxes
attributable to separately appraised interests of the real property
and improvements that are subject to the limitation of taxes
prescribed by Section 11.26 or 11.261. The corporation shall
apportion among its stockholders liability for reimbursing the
corporation for property taxes according to the relative taxable
values of their interests.
SECTION 3. Section 23.51(2), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(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; 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 as an urban farm if the urban farm
is certified under Section 50E.004, Agriculture Code, as meeting
the standards for urban farms adopted by the comptroller under
Section 50E.002 of that code.
SECTION 4. Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 31.038 to read as follows:
Sec. 31.038. TAX CREDIT FOR URBAN FARM OR GREEN ROOF
CONSTRUCTION OR INSTALLATION COSTS. (a) In this section,
"community garden," "green roof," and "urban farm" have the
meanings assigned by Section 50E.001, Agriculture Code.
(b) This section applies only to property located in:
(1) the corporate limits or extraterritorial
jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of at least one
million; and
(2) an area designated as a reinvestment zone under
Chapter 312.
(c) A person who develops the person's property as an urban
farm is entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed on the
property by each taxing unit that taxes the property if the urban
farm is certified under Section 50E.004, Agriculture Code, as
meeting the standards for urban farms adopted by the comptroller
under Section 50E.002 of that code. The amount of the credit is
equal to the amount computed by multiplying the greater of 55
percent of the costs of developing the property as an urban farm or
$8,000 by a fraction the numerator of which is the amount of taxes
imposed on the property by the taxing unit and the denominator of
which is the total amount of taxes imposed on the property by all of
the taxing units that tax the property.
(d) A person who constructs or installs a green roof on the
person's residence homestead is entitled to a credit against the
taxes imposed on the property by each taxing unit that taxes the
property if the green roof is certified under Section 50E.004,
Agriculture Code, as meeting the standards for green roofs adopted
by the comptroller under Section 50E.002 of that code. The amount
of the credit is equal to the amount computed by multiplying the
greater of 55 percent of the costs of constructing or installing the
green roof or $5,000 by a fraction the numerator of which is the
amount of taxes imposed on the property by the taxing unit and the
denominator of which is the total amount of taxes imposed on the
property by all of the taxing units that tax the property.
(e) Costs for which a credit may be given under Subsection
(d) include costs for:
(1) architectural and engineering services, including
services related to the development of plans directly related to
the construction or installation of the green roof;
(2) materials, including irrigation systems; and
(3) labor related to on-site preparation, assembly,
and installation of the green roof.
(f) Costs for which a credit may be given under Subsection
(c) or (d) may not include:
(1) interest or other finance charges; and
(2) costs that were paid from any federal, state, or
local grant received by the property owner that was not considered
to be income of the property owner for federal income tax purposes.
(g) If a person who qualifies for a credit as provided by
this section is not the sole owner of the property to which the
credit applies, the credit to which the person is entitled is
reduced in proportion to the share of the costs incurred under
Subsection (c) or (d) in connection with the property that were paid
by the person.
(h) Except as provided by Subsection (i), a person may
receive a credit under this section only in the first tax year after
the year in which the person:
(1) developed the person's property as an urban farm;
or
(2) constructed or installed a green roof on the
person's residence homestead.
(i) If the amount of the credit to which a person is entitled
under this section in any tax year exceeds the amount of tax imposed
on the property in that tax year, the excess amount may be carried
forward and credited against the taxes imposed in the following tax
year, except that the credit may not be carried forward for more
than five tax years.
(j) To receive a credit under this section, a person must
file an application with the chief appraiser of the appraisal
district in which the property is located. The application must
include:
(1) the costs incurred by the person in:
(A) developing the person's property as an urban
farm; or
(B) constructing or installing a green roof on
the person's residence homestead; and
(2) a certification under Section 50E.004,
Agriculture Code, that:
(A) the urban farm meets the standards for urban
farms adopted by the comptroller under Section 50E.002, Agriculture
Code; or
(B) the green roof meets the standards for green
roofs adopted by the comptroller under Section 50E.002, Agriculture
Code.
(k) The chief appraiser shall forward a copy of the
application to the assessor for each taxing unit that taxes the
property. The assessors for the taxing units shall consult with one
another as necessary to compute the amount of the credit to be
granted by each taxing unit.
(l) A credit provided by this section, once allowed, need
not be claimed in subsequent years and applies to the property
regardless of any subsequent change in ownership of the property.
SECTION 5. Section 312.204, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (i) to read as follows:
(i) The governing body of a municipality eligible to enter
into tax abatement agreements under Section 312.002 may agree in
writing with the owner of taxable real property that is located in a
reinvestment zone to exempt from taxation a portion of the value of
the real property as provided by this section on the condition that
the owner of the property:
(1) develop the person's property as an urban farm that
is certified under Section 50E.004, Agriculture Code, as meeting
the standards for urban farms adopted by the comptroller under
Section 50E.002 of that code; or
(2) if the property is a residence homestead, install
or construct a green roof on the property that is certified under
Section 50E.004, Agriculture Code, as meeting the standards for
green roofs adopted by the comptroller under Section 50E.002 of
that code.
SECTION 6. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed
for a tax year beginning on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2012.