H.B. No. 2018

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 or timber use 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 or timber use; 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 or timber productivity 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 or timber 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.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2018 was passed by the House on April 30, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2018 was passed by the Senate on May 9, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________

Date

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Governor