By: Lewis H.B. No. 3423
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the ad valorem tax appraisal of qualified timber land.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 23.71, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(2) "Net to land" means the average net income that
would have been earned by a category of land over the preceding five
years by a person using ordinary prudence in the management of the
land and the timber produced on the land. The net income for each
year is determined by multiplying the land's potential average
annual growth, expressed in cords or board feet of wood, by the
average stumpage value, taking into consideration the three general
types of timber as produced on the four different soil types, as
determined by using information from the U.S. Forest Service, U.S.
Geological Survey, the Soil Conservation Service, the Texas Forest
Service, and colleges and universities within this state, and, in
addition, any income received from hunting or recreational leases,
and by subtracting from the product reasonable management costs and
other reasonable expenses directly attributable to the production
of the timber.
SECTION 2. (a) This act takes effect January 1, 2004.
(b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to the
appraisal of qualified timber land for ad valorem tax purposes for a
tax year that begins on or after the effective date of this Act. The
appraisal of qualified timber land for ad valorem tax purposes for a
tax year that began before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the appraisal of the land was
made, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.