82R6046 SMH-F
By: Watson, Estes S.B. No. 449
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of open-space
land devoted to water stewardship purposes on the basis of its
productive capacity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 23.51, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivision (9) 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 or
water stewardship.
(9) "Water stewardship" means:
(A) actively using land that at the time the
water-stewardship 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 promote and
sustain water quality and conservation of water resources:
(i) erosion control;
(ii) habitat stewardship benefiting water
quality or conservation;
(iii) restoration of native aquatic and
riparian animal and plant species;
(iv) implementation of water-efficient
irrigation practices;
(v) riparian and wetland habitat and buffer
restoration and protection;
(vi) allowance of groundwater and surface
water monitoring for data collection purposes in accordance with
state water planning or groundwater management area planning; and
(vii) invasive aquatic plant and animal
control;
(B) maintaining a water right on deposit in the
Texas Water Trust in accordance with Section 15.7031, Water Code,
if the source of supply or point of diversion is located on land
that at the time the water right was deposited was appraised as
qualified open-space land under this subchapter or as qualified
timber land under Subchapter E; or
(C) holding a water right that authorizes the use
of water for instream flows dedicated to environmental needs or bay
and estuary inflows as provided by Section 11.0237, Water Code, if
the source of supply or point of diversion is located on land that,
at the time the water right was amended to authorize that use, was
appraised as qualified open-space land under this subchapter or as
qualified timber land under Subchapter E.
SECTION 2. Section 23.52(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(g) The category of land that qualifies under Section
23.51(7) or 23.51(9) is the category of the land under this
subchapter or Subchapter E, as applicable, before the
wildlife-management use or water-stewardship use, as applicable,
began.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 23.5215 to read as follows:
Sec. 23.5215. STANDARDS FOR QUALIFICATION OF LAND FOR
APPRAISAL BASED ON WATER-STEWARDSHIP USE. (a) The State Soil and
Water Conservation Board, with the assistance of the comptroller,
shall develop standards for determining whether land qualifies
under Section 23.51(9) for appraisal under this subchapter. The
comptroller by rule shall adopt the standards developed by the
State Soil and Water Conservation Board and distribute those rules
to each appraisal district. On request of the State Soil and Water
Conservation Board, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service shall
assist the board in developing the standards.
(b) The standards adopted under Subsection (a) may require
that a tract of land be a specified minimum size or contain specific
water-related attributes or that the owner of the land hold water
rights authorizing appropriation of a specified minimum amount of
water from a source of supply or point of diversion located on the
land for the land to qualify under Section 23.51(9) for appraisal
under this subchapter, taking into consideration one or more of the
following factors:
(1) the activities listed in Section 23.51(9);
(2) the region in this state in which the land is
located; and
(3) any other factor the State Soil and Water
Conservation Board determines is relevant.
(c) The standards adopted under Subsection (a) may include
specifications for a written management plan to be developed by a
landowner if the landowner receives a request for a written
management plan from a chief appraiser as part of a request for
additional information under Section 23.57.
(d) In determining whether land qualifies under Section
23.51(9) for appraisal under this subchapter, the chief appraiser
and the appraisal review board shall apply the standards adopted
under Subsection (a) and, to the extent they do not conflict with
those standards, the appraisal manuals developed and distributed
under Section 23.52(d).
SECTION 4. Section 23.56, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 23.56. LAND INELIGIBLE FOR APPRAISAL AS OPEN-SPACE
LAND. (a) 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 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 or
water stewardship;
(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.
(b) Land is not eligible for appraisal as provided by this
subchapter on the basis of use for water stewardship if:
(1) the land was appraised as qualified open-space
land under this subchapter at the time the water-stewardship use
began and the land is developed to a degree that precludes the land
from eligibility for appraisal under this subchapter on a basis
other than use for water stewardship; or
(2) the land was appraised as qualified timber land
under Subchapter E at the time the water-stewardship use began and
the land is developed to a degree that precludes the land from
eligibility for appraisal under that subchapter.
SECTION 5. Section 23.60(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) An owner of qualified open-space land, other than land
used for wildlife management or water stewardship, on which the
Texas Animal Health Commission has established a temporary
quarantine of at least 90 days in length in the current tax year for
the purpose of regulating the handling of livestock and eradicating
ticks or exposure to ticks at any time during a tax year is entitled
to a reappraisal of the owner's land for that year on written
request delivered to the chief appraiser.
SECTION 6. (a) 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.
(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act the State Soil and Water Conservation Board, with the
assistance of the comptroller, shall develop the standards required
by Section 23.5215, Tax Code, as added by this Act. As soon as
practicable after those standards are developed, the comptroller by
rule shall adopt those standards and distribute those rules to each
appraisal district as required by that section. The rules apply
only to tax years beginning on or after the effective date of this
Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2012, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 82nd Legislature,
Regular Session, 2011, providing for the appraisal for ad valorem
tax purposes of open-space land devoted to water stewardship
purposes on the basis of its productive capacity is approved by the
voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act
has no effect.