1-1 By: Sims, Lucio S.B. No. 699
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 22, 1995; February 23, 1995,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
1-4 March 2, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 2, 1995,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 699 By: Lucio
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the farm and ranch finance program.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Section 59.024, Agriculture Code, is amended to
1-13 read as follows:
1-14 Sec. 59.024. APPLICATION; Eligibility. (a) To borrow money
1-15 from the fund, a person must submit an application to the authority
1-16 that contains an acceptable agricultural business plan for the land
1-17 proposed to be purchased that assures the authority that the
1-18 applicant intends to use the land for the primary purpose of
1-19 farming or ranching.
1-20 (b) To be eligible to borrow money from the fund, a person,
1-21 at the time of application, must provide evidence to the authority
1-22 that demonstrates that the person has at least three years of
1-23 experience relevant to the person's agricultural business plan for
1-24 the land proposed to be purchased and<:>
1-25 <(1) be a member of a household that has derived at
1-26 least 25 percent of its gross income from a farm or ranch for the
1-27 preceding three years; and>
1-28 <(2)> have a net worth of less than $500,000
1-29 <$250,000>.
1-30 SECTION 2. Section 59.025, Agriculture Code, is amended to
1-31 read as follows:
1-32 Sec. 59.025. MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF LOAN <DOWNPAYMENT>. <(a)> A
1-33 loan under this chapter may not exceed the lesser of:
1-34 (1) $150,000; or
1-35 (2) an amount equal to 95 percent of the lesser of the
1-36 purchase price of the land or the land's appraised value under
1-37 Section 59.028<, less the down payment required under this
1-38 subsection. If the purchase price of land purchased with financial
1-39 assistance under this chapter is $150,000 or less, the minimum down
1-40 payment is equal to five percent of the purchase price. If the
1-41 purchase price exceeds $150,000, the minimum down payment is an
1-42 amount equal to the sum of five percent of the purchase price plus
1-43 the amount equal to the difference between the purchase price and
1-44 $150,000.>
1-45 <(b) The authority shall provide by rule for the period
1-46 during which and the manner in which the down payment provided for
1-47 under Subsection (a) of this section shall be paid to the
1-48 authority.>
1-49 <(c) If the sale is not consummated, the authority shall
1-50 refund the down payment to the borrower>.
1-51 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act does not
1-52 affect a loan made under Chapter 59, Agriculture Code, before the
1-53 effective date of this Act, without regard to whether the sale of
1-54 land for which the loan was made is consummated before the
1-55 effective date of this Act.
1-56 (b) If a down payment is paid to the Texas Agricultural
1-57 Finance Authority under Section 59.025, Agriculture Code, before
1-58 the effective date of this Act, and the sale of land for which the
1-59 down payment was paid is not consummated, the authority shall
1-60 refund the down payment to the borrower in accordance with
1-61 Subsection (c), Section 59.025, Agriculture Code, before its
1-62 amendment by this Act, and the former law is continued in effect
1-63 for this purpose.
1-64 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
1-65 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
1-66 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-67 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-68 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-1 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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