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.