BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 779
80R6063 JPL-F By: Hegar
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Current law provides that an agricultural use of land includes leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in any governmental program. As a result, the United State Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) rice base allotment remains with the land, even after its conversion to residential use. In some urban areas where residential tracts have been subdivided from land once used for farming rice, land now used only for residential purposes is qualifying for agricultural use because the new landowner continues to receive U.S.D.A. payments for crop allotment.
As proposed, S.B. 779 requires that for idle open space land to qualify for agricultural use it must participate in a governmental deficiency payment or conservation reserve program, be used for the planting of crops, or be left idle in conjunction with normal crop or livestock rotation procedures.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 23.51(2), Tax Code, to redefine "agricultural use" to include a governmental deficiency payment or conservation reserve program, and planting cover crops or leaving land idle in conjunction with normal crop or livestock rotation procedure. Deletes existing text providing that any governmental program constitutes "agricultural use."
SECTION 2. Provides that this Act applies only to an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. Effective date: January 1, 2008.