H.B. No. 2308
AN ACT
relating to nuisance actions and other actions against agricultural
operations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 251.001, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 251.001. POLICY. Food security being essential, it
[It] is the policy of this state to conserve, protect, and encourage
the development and improvement of its agricultural land for the
production of food and other agricultural products. It is the
purpose of this chapter to reduce the loss to the state of its
agricultural resources by limiting the circumstances under which
agricultural operations may be legally threatened, subject to suit,
regulated, or otherwise declared [considered] to be a nuisance.
SECTION 2. Section 251.002(1), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(1) "Agricultural operation" includes the following
activities:
(A) cultivating the soil;
(B) producing crops or growing vegetation for
human food, animal feed, livestock forage, forage for wildlife
management, planting seed, or fiber;
(C) floriculture;
(D) viticulture;
(E) horticulture;
(F) silviculture;
(G) wildlife management;
(H) raising or keeping livestock or poultry,
including veterinary services; and
(I) planting cover crops or leaving land idle for
the purpose of participating in any governmental program or normal
crop or livestock rotation procedure.
SECTION 3. Sections 251.003, 251.004, and 251.006,
Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.003. ESTABLISHED DATE OF OPERATION. For purposes
of this chapter, the established date of operation is the date on
which an agricultural operation commenced agricultural operations
[operation. If the physical facilities of the agricultural
operation are subsequently expanded, the established date of
operation for each expansion is a separate and independent
established date of operation established as of the date of
commencement of the expanded operation, and the commencement of
expanded operation does not divest the agricultural operation of a
previously established date of operation].
Sec. 251.004. NUISANCE OR OTHER ACTIONS. (a) No nuisance
action or other action to restrain an agricultural operation may be
brought against an agricultural operation that has lawfully been in
operation and substantially unchanged for one year or more prior to
the date on which the action is brought. A person who brings a
nuisance action or other action to restrain an agricultural
operation that is not prohibited by this section must establish
each element of the action by clear and convincing evidence [, if
the conditions or circumstances complained of as constituting the
basis for the nuisance action have existed substantially unchanged
since the established date of operation]. This subsection does not
restrict or impede the authority of this state or a political
subdivision to [protect the public health, safety, and welfare or
the authority of a municipality to] enforce state law, including an
enforcement action by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality. For the purposes of this subsection, a substantial change
to an agricultural operation means a material alteration to the
operation of or type of production at an agricultural operation
that is substantially inconsistent with the operational practices
since the established date of operation.
(b) A person who brings a nuisance action or other action to
restrain an agricultural operation and seeks [for] damages or
injunctive relief against an agricultural operation that has
existed for one year or more prior to the date that the action is
instituted or who violates the provisions of Subsection (a) [of
this section] is liable to the agricultural operator for:
(1) all costs and expenses incurred in defense of the
action, including [but not limited to] attorney's fees, court
costs, travel, and other related incidental expenses incurred in
the defense; and
(2) any other damages found by the trier of fact.
(c) This section does not affect or defeat the right of any
person to recover for injuries or damages sustained because of an
agricultural operation or portion of an agricultural operation that
is conducted in violation of a federal, state, or local statute or
governmental requirement that applies to the agricultural
operation or portion of an agricultural operation.
Sec. 251.006. AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS. (a) An owner,
lessee, or occupant of agricultural land is not liable to the state,
a governmental unit, or the owner, lessee, or occupant of other
agricultural land for the construction or maintenance on the land
of an agricultural improvement if the construction is not expressly
prohibited by statute or a governmental requirement adopted in
accordance with Section 251.005 in effect at the time the
improvement is constructed. Such an improvement does not
constitute a nuisance and is not otherwise subject to suit or
injunction.
(b) [This section does not apply to an improvement that
obstructs the flow of water, light, or air to other land.] This
section does not prevent the enforcement of a state or federal
statute [or governmental requirement to protect public health or
safety].
(c) In this section:
(1) "Agricultural land" includes:
(A) any land the use of which qualifies the land
for appraisal based on agricultural use as defined under Subchapter
D, Chapter 23, Tax Code; and
(B) any other land on which agricultural
operations exist or may take place.
(2) "Agricultural improvement" includes pens, barns,
fences, arenas, and other improvements designed for:
(A) the sheltering, restriction, or feeding of
animal or aquatic life;
(B) [, for] storage of produce or feed; [,] or
(C) [for] storage or maintenance of:
(i) implements used for management
functions; or
(ii) equipment necessary to carry out
agricultural operations.
SECTION 4. Chapter 251, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Section 251.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 251.008. CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAW. If there is a
conflict between this chapter and other law, this chapter prevails.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of
this Act. A cause of action that accrued before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2308 was passed by the House on April
11, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 1, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2308 on May 8, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, 1
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2308 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 4, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor