83R21422 TJB-D
By: Rodriguez of Travis, Bohac, et al. H.B. No. 1306
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1306:
By: White C.S.H.B. No. 1306
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, 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; producing fruits and vegetables; 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 to
raise or keep bees for pollination or for the production of human
food or other tangible products having a commercial value, provided
that the land used is not less than 5 or more than 20 acres. The term
also includes the use of land for a nonprofit community garden.
(9) "Nonprofit community garden" means land owned or
leased by a nonprofit entity, as defined by Section 1.002, Business
Organizations Code, and gardened by a cooperative group of people
residing in a neighborhood or community for the purpose of
providing without profit fresh produce for the benefit of the
residents of the neighborhood or community.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 23.5215 to read as follows:
Sec. 23.5215. GUIDELINES FOR QUALIFICATION OF SMALL TRACTS
AND NONPROFIT COMMUNITY GARDENS. (a) This subsection applies only
to land located in a taxing unit that is located wholly or partly in
a county with a population of one million or more. The comptroller
shall develop guidelines for determining whether land under 10
acres in size used for the production of fruits, vegetables,
poultry, hogs, sheep, or goats qualifies for appraisal under this
subchapter.
(b) The comptroller, in consultation with the Texas A&M
AgriLife Extension Service and individuals selected by the
comptroller who are nonprofit community garden stakeholders, shall
develop guidelines consistent with the definition provided by
Section 23.51(9) for determining whether land qualifies as a
nonprofit community garden for appraisal under this subchapter.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than September 1, 2014, the
comptroller shall develop guidelines required by Section
23.5215(a), Tax Code, as added by this Act, and shall distribute
those guidelines to each appraisal district.
(b) Not later than September 1, 2014, the comptroller, in
consultation with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and
individuals selected by the comptroller who are nonprofit community
garden stakeholders, shall develop guidelines required by Section
23.5215(b), Tax Code, as added by this Act, and shall distribute
those guidelines to each appraisal district.
SECTION 4. This Act applies only to the appraisal of land
for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year that begins on or after
January 1, 2015.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.