SRC-VRA S.B. 1364 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1364
78R4532 JD-FBy: Staples
Finance
4/6/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, property under agriculture exemption has never been subject to
a rollback tax on specific amounts of land claimed as part of the owner's
resident homestead.  There have always been provisions to exclude rollback
on portions of land owned and used by a religious organization.  As
proposed, S.B. 1364 provides the same exclusions to the rollback tax to
ensure that all open-space land, whether agricultural or timber, is
treated in an equal and uniform manner.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 23.76, Tax Code, by adding Subsections (h)-(k),
as follows: 

(h)  Provides that the use of land does not change for the purposes of
Subsection (a) solely because the owner of the land claims it as part of
the owner's residence homestead for purposes of Section 11.13. 

(i)  Provides the sanctions provided by Subsection (a) do not apply to
land owned by an organization that qualifies as a religious organization
under Section 11.20(c) if the organization converts the land to a use for
which the land is eligible for an exemption under Section 11.20 within
five years.  

(j)  Provides that the sanctions provided by Subsection (a) do not apply
to a change in the use of land if certain conditions are met. 

 (k)  Defines "cemetery," "cemetery organization," and "cemetery purpose."

SECTION 2.(a)  Effective date:  September 1, 2003.
  (b)  Makes application of this Act prospective.