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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the appraisal of open-space land devoted principally to |
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agricultural use. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 23.51(2), Tax Code, is amended to read as |
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follows: |
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(2) "Agricultural use" includes but is not limited to |
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the following activities: cultivating the soil, producing crops for |
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human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production of |
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fibers; floriculture, viticulture, and horticulture; raising or |
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keeping livestock; raising or keeping exotic animals for the |
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production of human food or of fiber, leather, pelts, or other |
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tangible products having a commercial value; [and] planting cover |
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crops or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in a |
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[any] governmental deficiency payment or conservation reserve |
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program; and planting cover crops or leaving land idle in |
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conjunction with [or] normal crop or livestock rotation procedure. |
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The term also includes the use of land to produce or harvest logs |
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and posts for the use in constructing or repairing fences, pens, |
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barns, or other agricultural improvements on adjacent qualified |
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open-space land having the same owner and devoted to a different |
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agricultural use. The term also includes the use of land for |
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wildlife management. |
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SECTION 2. This Act applies only to an ad valorem tax year |
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that begins on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2008. |