83S10236 CJC-D
By: Rodriguez of Travis H.B. No. 40
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
Subdivisions (1) and (2) and adding Subdivision (9) 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 five of the preceding 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 consider the cumulative effect of all
agricultural uses of a tract of land, including producing fruits
and vegetables and raising or keeping livestock, and not each use in
isolation. 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.
(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) 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 on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.