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	Amend CSHB 2496 (house committee printing) by adding the 
following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill and 
renumbering subsequent SECTIONS accordingly:
	SECTION ____.  Section 11.20(j), Tax Code, is amended to 
read as follows:    
	(j)  A tract of land that is contiguous to the tract of land 
on which the religious organization's place of regular religious 
worship is located may not be exempted under Subsection (a)(6) for 
more than 15 [six] years if the tract of land does not exceed three 
acres or for more than 10 years if the tract of land exceeds three 
acres.  A tract of land that is not contiguous to the tract of land 
on which the religious organization's place of regular religious 
worship is located may not be exempted under Subsection (a)(6) for 
more than five [three] years.  For purposes of this subsection, a 
tract of land is considered to be contiguous with another tract of 
land if the tracts are divided only by a road, railroad track, 
river, or stream.
	SECTION ____.  Sections 11.201(a) and (e), Tax Code, are 
amended to read as follows:
	(a)  If land is sold or otherwise transferred to another 
person in a year in which the land receives an exemption under 
Section 11.20(a)(6), an additional tax is imposed on the land equal 
to the tax that would have been imposed on the land had the land been 
taxed for each of the seven [five] years preceding the year in which 
the sale or transfer occurs in which the land received an exemption 
under that subsection, plus interest at an annual rate of seven 
percent calculated from the dates on which the taxes would have 
become due.
	(e)  The sanctions provided by Subsection (a) do not apply if 
the sale or transfer occurs as a result of:
		(1)  a sale for right-of-way;                                                 
		(2)  a condemnation;                                                          
		(3)  a transfer of property to the state or a political 
subdivision of the state to be used for a public purpose; [or]
		(4)  a transfer of property to a religious organization 
that qualifies the property for an exemption under Section 11.20 
for the tax year in which the transfer occurs; or
		(5)  a transfer of property to an educational, 
religious, charitable, or other similar organization that is 
qualified as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3), 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.