| 1 | 1 | | By: Murr H.B. No. 4253 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the eligibility of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax |
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| 7 | 7 | | purposes as qualified open-space land on the basis of its use for |
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| 8 | 8 | | wildlife management. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 23.51, Tax Code, is amended by adding |
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| 11 | 11 | | Subdivisions (9), (10), and (11) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (9) "Predator control" includes predation management |
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| 13 | 13 | | activities conducted by a local predation management organization |
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| 14 | 14 | | or by Texas Wildlife Services in cooperation with the organization. |
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| 15 | 15 | | The landowner must: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (A) be a member in good standing of the local |
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| 17 | 17 | | predation management organization and be current in the payment of |
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| 18 | 18 | | the organization's membership dues; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | (B) allow the local predation management |
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| 20 | 20 | | organization or Texas Wildlife Services acting in cooperation with |
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| 21 | 21 | | the organization reasonable access to the land to conduct at least |
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| 22 | 22 | | one of the approved predation management activities. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (10) "Local predation management organization" means |
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| 24 | 24 | | an organization that: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (A) conducts predation management activities in |
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| 26 | 26 | | a defined geographical region; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | (B) expends at least 70 percent of the |
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| 28 | 28 | | organization's annual budget conducting predation management |
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| 29 | 29 | | activities or making contributions to Texas Wildlife Services. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (11) "Texas Wildlife Services" includes any of the |
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| 31 | 31 | | Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Wildlife Services Program's |
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| 32 | 32 | | cooperative partners as authorized by Chapter 825, Health and |
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| 33 | 33 | | Safety Code, or any successor program having a substantially |
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| 34 | 34 | | similar predator control purpose. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 2. Section 23.521, Tax Code, is amended by adding |
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| 36 | 36 | | Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) The Parks and Wildlife Department, with the assistance |
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| 38 | 38 | | of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, shall develop a |
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| 39 | 39 | | definition of "predation management activities" for purposes of |
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| 40 | 40 | | Section 23.51. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (f) The Parks and Wildlife Department, with the assistance |
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| 42 | 42 | | of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, shall develop a |
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| 43 | 43 | | membership form and instructions for using the form to be issued by |
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| 44 | 44 | | a local predation management organization to a landowner. A |
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| 45 | 45 | | landowner may present the form to a local appraisal office to prove |
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| 46 | 46 | | membership in the organization. The form shall include a |
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| 47 | 47 | | certification by the organization that the organization is a local |
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| 48 | 48 | | predation management organization. |
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| 49 | 49 | | (g) The comptroller by rule shall adopt the definition |
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| 50 | 50 | | described by Subsection (e) and membership form described by |
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| 51 | 51 | | Subsection (f) and include them among the rules distributed to each |
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| 52 | 52 | | appraisal district as provided by Subsection (a). |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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