| 1 | 1 | | 88R4437 SHH-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Bailes H.B. No. 3409 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the treatment for ad valorem tax purposes of exotic |
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| 8 | 8 | | animals raised or kept for agricultural use. |
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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 11.16(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as |
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| 11 | 11 | | follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (c) For purposes of this exemption, the following |
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| 13 | 13 | | definitions apply: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Exotic animal" has the meaning assigned by |
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| 15 | 15 | | Section 23.51. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2) "Farm products" include livestock, poultry, |
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| 17 | 17 | | exotic animals, and timber. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (3) [(2)] "In the hands of the producer," for |
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| 19 | 19 | | livestock, poultry, [and] eggs, and exotic animals, means under the |
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| 20 | 20 | | ownership of the person who is financially providing for the |
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| 21 | 21 | | physical requirements of such livestock, poultry, [and] eggs, and |
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| 22 | 22 | | exotic animals on January 1 of the tax year and, for timber, means |
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| 23 | 23 | | standing timber or timber that has been harvested and, on January 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | of the tax year, is located on the real property on which it was |
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| 25 | 25 | | produced and is under the ownership of the person who owned the |
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| 26 | 26 | | timber when it was standing. |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 2. Section 23.51(2), Tax Code, is amended to read as |
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| 28 | 28 | | follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) "Agricultural use" includes but is not limited to |
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| 30 | 30 | | the following activities: cultivating the soil, producing crops for |
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| 31 | 31 | | human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production of |
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| 32 | 32 | | fibers; floriculture, viticulture, and horticulture; raising or |
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| 33 | 33 | | keeping livestock; raising or keeping exotic animals [for the |
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| 34 | 34 | | production of human food or of fiber, leather, pelts, or other |
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| 35 | 35 | | tangible products having a commercial value]; planting cover crops |
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| 36 | 36 | | or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in a |
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| 37 | 37 | | governmental program, provided the land is not used for residential |
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| 38 | 38 | | purposes or a purpose inconsistent with agricultural use; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | planting cover crops or leaving land idle in conjunction with |
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| 40 | 40 | | normal crop or livestock rotation procedure. The term also |
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| 41 | 41 | | includes the use of land to produce or harvest logs and posts for |
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| 42 | 42 | | the use in constructing or repairing fences, pens, barns, or other |
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| 43 | 43 | | agricultural improvements on adjacent qualified open-space land |
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| 44 | 44 | | having the same owner and devoted to a different agricultural use. |
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| 45 | 45 | | The term also includes the use of land for wildlife management. The |
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| 46 | 46 | | term also includes the use of land to raise or keep bees for |
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| 47 | 47 | | pollination or for the production of human food or other tangible |
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| 48 | 48 | | products having a commercial value, provided that the land used is |
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| 49 | 49 | | not less than 5 or more than 20 acres. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 51 | 51 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 52 | 52 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 53 | 53 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 54 | 54 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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