89R4158 MP-F
By: Hinojosa of Nueces S.B. No. 2970
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 84.002(1), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Agricultural conservation easement" means a
conservation easement in qualified land that is designed to
maintain the land's agricultural use potential and accomplish one
or more of the following additional purposes:
(A) conserving water quality or quantity;
(B) conserving native wildlife species through
protection of their habitat;
(C) conserving rare or sensitive plant species;
or
(D) conserving large tracts of qualified
open-space land that are threatened with fragmentation or
development.
SECTION 2. Section 84.009(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The council may:
(1) adopt rules necessary to perform program duties
under this chapter;
(2) request, accept, and use gifts, loans, donations,
aid, appropriations, guaranties, subsidies, grants, or
contributions of any item of value for the furtherance of any
purposes of this chapter;
(3) establish, charge, and collect fees, charges, and
penalties in connection with the programs, services, and activities
provided for by this chapter;
(4) make, enter into, and enforce contracts and
agreements, and take other actions as may accomplish any of the
purposes of this chapter;
(5) seek ways to coordinate and leverage public and
private sources of funding;
(6) adopt best practices and enforcement standards for
the evaluation of easements purchased through grants from the fund;
(7) establish a protocol for the purchase of
agricultural conservation easements and for the distribution of
funds to approved applicants;
(8) administer grants awarded to successful
applicants;
(9) ensure that agricultural conservation easements
purchased under this chapter are not inconsistent with:
(A) the preservation of open space;
(B) the maintenance of the land's agricultural
use potential; and
(C) the conservation of wildlife habitat or
water; and
(10) approve the termination of easements and take any
other action necessary to further the goals of the program.
SECTION 3. Section 84.010, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 84.010. CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GRANTS. The council
shall:
(1) give priority to applications that protect and
maintain the agricultural use potential of lands that are
susceptible to development, including subdivision and
fragmentation; and
(2) adopt a scoring process to be used in evaluating
applications that considers the following:
(A) maintenance of landscape and watershed
integrity to conserve water and natural resources;
(B) protection of habitats for native plant and
animal species, including habitats for endangered, threatened,
rare, or sensitive species;
(C) potential for leveraging state money
allocated to the program with additional public or private money;
(D) proximity of the subject property to other
protected lands;
(E) the term of the proposed easement, whether
perpetual or for a term of 30 years;
(F) the land's agricultural productivity; and
(G) [(F)] a resource management plan agreed to by
both parties and approved by the council.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.