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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of property owned |
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by a charitable organization that engages in the protection of land |
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chosen for its natural and cultural value. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 11.18(d), Tax Code, as amended by |
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Chapters 1034 (H.B. 1742) and 1341 (S.B. 1908), Acts of the 80th |
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Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is reenacted and amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(d) A charitable organization must be organized exclusively |
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to perform religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or |
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educational purposes and, except as permitted by Subsections (h) |
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and (l), engage exclusively in performing one or more of the |
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following charitable functions: |
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(1) providing medical care without regard to the |
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beneficiaries' ability to pay, which in the case of a nonprofit |
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hospital or hospital system means providing charity care and |
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community benefits in accordance with Section 11.1801; |
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(2) providing support or relief to orphans, |
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delinquent, dependent, or handicapped children in need of |
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residential care, abused or battered spouses or children in need of |
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temporary shelter, the impoverished, or victims of natural disaster |
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without regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay; |
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(3) providing support to elderly persons, including |
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the provision of recreational or social activities and facilities |
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designed to address the special needs of elderly persons, or to the |
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handicapped, without regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay; |
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(4) preserving a historical landmark or site; |
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(5) promoting or operating a museum, zoo, library, |
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theater of the dramatic or performing arts, or symphony orchestra |
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or choir; |
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(6) promoting or providing humane treatment of |
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animals; |
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(7) acquiring, storing, transporting, selling, or |
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distributing water for public use; |
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(8) answering fire alarms and extinguishing fires with |
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no compensation or only nominal compensation to the members of the |
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organization; |
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(9) promoting the athletic development of boys or |
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girls under the age of 18 years; |
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(10) preserving or conserving wildlife; |
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(11) promoting educational development through loans |
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or scholarships to students; |
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(12) providing halfway house services pursuant to a |
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certification as a halfway house by the parole [pardons and
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paroles] division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; |
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(13) providing permanent housing and related social, |
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health care, and educational facilities for persons who are 62 |
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years of age or older without regard to the residents' ability to |
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pay; |
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(14) promoting or operating an art gallery, museum, or |
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collection, in a permanent location or on tour, that is open to the |
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public; |
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(15) providing for the organized solicitation and |
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collection for distributions through gifts, grants, and agreements |
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to nonprofit charitable, education, religious, and youth |
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organizations that provide direct human, health, and welfare |
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services; |
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(16) performing biomedical or scientific research or |
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biomedical or scientific education for the benefit of the public; |
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(17) operating a television station that produces or |
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broadcasts educational, cultural, or other public interest |
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programming and that receives grants from the Corporation for |
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Public Broadcasting under 47 U.S.C. Section 396, as amended; |
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(18) providing housing for low-income and |
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moderate-income families, for unmarried individuals 62 years of age |
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or older, for handicapped individuals, and for families displaced |
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by urban renewal, through the use of trust assets that are |
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irrevocably and, pursuant to a contract entered into before |
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December 31, 1972, contractually dedicated on the sale or |
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disposition of the housing to a charitable organization that |
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performs charitable functions described by Subdivision (9); |
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(19) providing housing and related services to persons |
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who are 62 years of age or older in a retirement community, if the |
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retirement community provides independent living services, |
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assisted living services, and nursing services to its residents on |
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a single campus: |
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(A) without regard to the residents' ability to |
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pay; or |
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(B) in which at least four percent of the |
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retirement community's combined net resident revenue is provided in |
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charitable care to its residents; |
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(20) providing housing on a cooperative basis to |
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students of an institution of higher education if: |
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(A) the organization is exempt from federal |
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income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of |
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1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt entity under Section |
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501(c)(3) of that code; |
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(B) membership in the organization is open to all |
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students enrolled in the institution and is not limited to those |
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chosen by current members of the organization; |
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(C) the organization is governed by its members; |
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and |
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(D) the members of the organization share the |
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responsibility for managing the housing; |
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(21) acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved |
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real property under an urban land bank demonstration program |
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established under Chapter 379C, Local Government Code, as or on |
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behalf of a land bank; [or] |
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(22) acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved |
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real property under an urban land bank program established under |
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Chapter 379E, Local Government Code, as or on behalf of a land bank; |
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or |
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(23) protecting land chosen for its natural and |
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cultural value. |
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SECTION 2. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed |
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for a tax year beginning on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010. |