88R13162 DRS-F
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2427
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. Sections 23.51(1) and (7), Tax Code, are amended
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 and that has been used principally in
that manner by a college or university for five of the preceding
seven years. 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. In addition, notwithstanding the other
provisions of this subdivision, land qualifies for appraisal as
qualified open-space land under this subchapter if the land:
(A) is currently devoted principally to wildlife
management as defined by Subdivision (7)(A) to the degree of
intensity generally accepted in the area and has been devoted
principally to agricultural use or to the production of timber or
forest products for three of the preceding five years; or
(B) is currently devoted principally to raising
or keeping bees for pollination or for the production of human food
or other tangible products having a commercial value to the degree
of intensity generally accepted in the area and has been devoted
principally to agricultural use or to the production of timber or
forest products for three of the preceding five years.
(7) "Wildlife management" means:
(A) actively using land [that at the time the
wildlife-management use began was appraised as qualified
open-space land under this subchapter or as qualified timber land
under Subchapter E] in at least three of the following ways to
propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating, or wintering
population of indigenous wild animals for human use, including
food, medicine, or recreation:
(i) habitat control;
(ii) erosion control;
(iii) predator control;
(iv) providing supplemental supplies of
water;
(v) providing supplemental supplies of
food;
(vi) providing shelters; and
(vii) making of census counts to determine
population;
(B) actively using land to protect federally
listed endangered species under a federal permit if the land is:
(i) included in a habitat preserve and is
subject to a conservation easement created under Chapter 183,
Natural Resources Code; or
(ii) part of a conservation development
under a federally approved habitat conservation plan that restricts
the use of the land to protect federally listed endangered species;
or
(C) actively using land for a conservation or
restoration project to provide compensation for natural resource
damages pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et
seq.), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. Section 2701 et
seq.), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section
1251 et seq.), or Chapter 40, Natural Resources Code.
SECTION 2. Section 23.52(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(g) The category of land that qualifies under Section
23.51(7) is:
(1) the category of the land under this subchapter or
Subchapter E, as applicable, before the wildlife-management use
began; or
(2) if Subdivision (1) does not apply, the native
pasture category.
SECTION 3. This Act applies only to the appraisal of land
for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year that begins on or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.