By: Guillen, Pacheco (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 1544
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 13, 2021;
  April 14, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Finance; May 11, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 2;
  May 11, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1544 By:  West
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the eligibility of land to continue to be appraised for
  ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land if the land is
  temporarily used for sand mining operations; authorizing a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
  adding Section 23.527 to read as follows:
         Sec. 23.527.  TEMPORARY CESSATION OF AGRICULTURAL USE FOR
  SAND MINING OPERATION. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
  Environmental Quality.
               (2)  "Executive director" means the executive director
  of the commission.
               (3)  "Marketable material" means sand mined and
  processed for sale.
               (4)  "Sand mining operation" means an aggregate
  production operation registered under Chapter 28A, Water Code, at
  which sand is removed or extracted. 
               (5)  "Unmarketable material" means material excavated
  or mined other than marketable material and includes surface soil,
  unmarketable sand, and overburden and interburden encountered
  during mining and processing operations.
         (b)  This section applies only to a sand mining operation
  that overlies the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer and is located within:
               (1)  30 miles of the boundary of a municipality with a
  population of more than 500,000; or
               (2)  one mile of a building in use as a single-family or
  multifamily residence.
         (c)  The measurement of distance for purposes of Subsection
  (b) shall be taken from the point on the sand mining operation that
  is nearest to the municipal boundary or residence toward the point
  on the municipal boundary or residence that is nearest to the sand
  mining operation.
         (d)  The eligibility of land for appraisal under this
  subchapter does not end because the land ceases to be devoted
  principally to agricultural use to the degree of intensity
  generally accepted in the area if:
               (1)  the owner of the land intends that the use of the
  land in that manner and to that degree of intensity be resumed;
               (2)  the land is used for a sand mining operation; and
               (3)  the land is reclaimed according to the standard
  best practices adopted under this section not later than the first
  anniversary of the date sand mining operations began on the land.
         (e)  The owner of land to which this section applies must
  notify the appraisal office in writing not later than the 30th day
  after the date sand mining operations begin on the land that the
  owner intends to ensure that the requirements of Subsection (d) are
  met.
         (f)  The commission by rule shall adopt standard best
  practices for reclamation of land used for a sand mining operation
  to be used for the purposes of this section.  The standards must:
               (1)  provide for the protection of surface water,
  groundwater, agricultural land, wildlife habitat, and wetlands;
               (2)  require reclamation to:
                     (A)  occur concurrently with sand mining
  operations by managing the movement of marketable and unmarketable
  material encountered during the operations; and
                     (B)  incorporate best practices adopted by the
  Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States
  Department of Agriculture;
               (3)  include post-mining reclamation grade standards;
               (4)  establish slope stabilization requirements,
  including by grading perpendicular to the gradient;
               (5)  require unmarketable material from the land to be
  stockpiled on the land and used as backfill for site restoration;
               (6)  prohibit the inclusion of material not excavated
  from the land in the backfill used for site restoration;
               (7)  prohibit the stockpiling of unmarketable material
  at a horizontal to vertical slope greater than a 3 to 1 ratio;
               (8)  require surface soil removed during sand mining
  operations to be used as the uppermost layer of the final
  reclamation grade;
               (9)  require a reclaimed area to be left for successive
  vegetation growth after final reclamation grade standard best
  practices have been satisfied; and
               (10)  encourage the construction of ponds to catch
  runoff in locations that are outside critical runoff zones for
  rivers.
         (g)  The commission shall establish a process to allow an
  owner of land who submits a notice under Subsection (e) to obtain
  from the executive director a letter determining whether the land
  that is the subject of the notice was reclaimed according to the
  standard best practices adopted under this section in the time
  frame required under Subsection (d).  The owner must apply to the
  executive director for the determination not later than the 90th
  day after the first anniversary of the date sand mining operations
  began on the land.
         (h)  The executive director shall:
               (1)  send notice by regular mail or by electronic means
  to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district for the county in
  which the land is located that the owner has applied for a
  determination letter for the land;
               (2)  issue a letter to the owner stating the executive
  director's determination of whether the land has been reclaimed
  according to the standard best practices adopted under this section
  in the time frame required under Subsection (d); and
               (3)  send a copy of the determination letter by regular
  mail or by electronic means to the chief appraiser of the appraisal
  district for the county in which the land is located.
         (i)  Not later than the 20th day after the date of receipt of
  the letter issued by the executive director, the owner seeking the
  determination or the chief appraiser may appeal the executive
  director's determination to the commission. The commission shall
  consider the appeal at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the
  commission for which adequate notice may be given. The owner
  seeking the determination and the chief appraiser may testify at
  the meeting. The commission may remand the matter to the executive
  director for a new determination or deny the appeal and affirm the
  executive director's determination. On issuance of a new
  determination, the executive director shall issue a letter to the
  owner seeking the determination and provide a copy to the chief
  appraiser as provided by Subsection (h). A new determination of the
  executive director may be appealed to the commission in the manner
  provided by this subsection. A proceeding under this subsection is
  not a contested case for purposes of Chapter 2001, Government Code.
         (j)  The executive director shall issue a determination
  letter required by Subsection (h) to the owner seeking the
  determination, and the commission shall take final action on the
  initial appeal under Subsection (i) if an appeal is made, not later
  than the first anniversary of the date the executive director
  receives the request from the owner for the determination.
         (k)  The commission may charge an owner seeking a
  determination letter under this section a fee not to exceed its
  administrative costs for making the determination and issuing the
  letter required by this section.
         (l)  The chief appraiser shall accept a final determination
  by the executive director as conclusive evidence that land was
  reclaimed according to the standard best practices adopted under
  this section in the time frame required under Subsection (d).
         SECTION 2.  (a)  This section applies only to land on which a
  sand mining operation began before the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 23.527(e), Tax Code, as added
  by this Act, the eligibility of the land for appraisal under
  Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, does not end because the land
  ceases to be devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree
  of intensity generally accepted in the area if:
               (1)  the owner of the land provides the notice required
  by Section 23.527(e), Tax Code, as added by this Act, not later than
  the 90th day after the effective date of this Act; and
               (2)  the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in
  which the land is located has not, as of the effective date of this
  Act, made a determination under Section 23.55, Tax Code, that a
  change in use of the land has occurred.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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