Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 1880 adds a new Agriculture Code chapter, the Agricultural Development District Act, authorizing a new type of conservation and reclamation district to increase economic opportunities, including value-added operations, and thereby retain agriculture as a vital force in the Texas economy. An agricultural development district, which may be created by a petition and confirmation election process, has specified economic development and agricultural development powers, including but not limited to the promotion or operation of agricultural enterprises, the pursuit of agricultural research and innovation, and the development or expansion of transportation resources for agricultural purposes. With the approval of the Texas Department of Agriculture and the commissioners court in each relevant county, a district may designate projects relating to agricultural development and the preservation and conservation of soil and water. The act confers powers to issue bonds and to impose assessments on real property or on an agricultural product produced from that property. Bonds secured by assessments must be acceptable to affected property owners. A district may apply for and receive Texas Agricultural Finance Authority assistance, and with county approval and cooperation it may benefit from the use of tax increment financing through reinvestment zone establishment. A district may not include territory inside municipal boundaries unless approved by the municipality, and district creation requires a pledge to make county and school district payments in lieu of taxes. District powers, except for assessment imposition and the power of eminent domain, may reach outside district boundaries.