88R13162 DRS-F
 
  By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2427
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the eligibility of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax
  purposes as qualified open-space land.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 23.51(1) and (7), Tax Code, are amended
  to read as follows:
               (1)  "Qualified open-space land" means land that is
  currently devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree of
  intensity generally accepted in the area and that has been devoted
  principally to agricultural use or to production of timber or
  forest products for five of the preceding seven years or land that
  is used principally as an ecological laboratory by a public or
  private college or university and that has been used principally in
  that manner by a college or university for five of the preceding
  seven years.  Qualified open-space land includes all appurtenances
  to the land.  For the purposes of this subdivision, appurtenances to
  the land means private roads, dams, reservoirs, water wells,
  canals, ditches, terraces, and other reshapings of the soil,
  fences, and riparian water rights.  Notwithstanding the other
  provisions of this subdivision, land that is currently devoted
  principally to wildlife management as defined by Subdivision (7)(B)
  or (C) to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area
  qualifies for appraisal as qualified open-space land under this
  subchapter regardless of the manner in which the land was used in
  any preceding year.  In addition, notwithstanding the other
  provisions of this subdivision, land qualifies for appraisal as
  qualified open-space land under this subchapter if the land:
                     (A)  is currently devoted principally to wildlife
  management as defined by Subdivision (7)(A) to the degree of
  intensity generally accepted in the area and has been devoted
  principally to agricultural use or to the production of timber or
  forest products for three of the preceding five years; or
                     (B)  is currently devoted principally to raising
  or keeping bees for pollination or for the production of human food
  or other tangible products having a commercial value to the degree
  of intensity generally accepted in the area and has been devoted
  principally to agricultural use or to the production of timber or
  forest products for three of the preceding five years.
               (7)  "Wildlife management" means:
                     (A)  actively using land [that at the time the
  wildlife-management use began was appraised as qualified
  open-space land under this subchapter or as qualified timber land
  under Subchapter E] in at least three of the following ways to
  propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating, or wintering
  population of indigenous wild animals for human use, including
  food, medicine, or recreation:
                           (i)  habitat control;
                           (ii)  erosion control;
                           (iii)  predator control;
                           (iv)  providing supplemental supplies of
  water;
                           (v)  providing supplemental supplies of
  food;
                           (vi)  providing shelters; and
                           (vii)  making of census counts to determine
  population;
                     (B)  actively using land to protect federally
  listed endangered species under a federal permit if the land is:
                           (i)  included in a habitat preserve and is
  subject to a conservation easement created under Chapter 183,
  Natural Resources Code; or
                           (ii)  part of a conservation development
  under a federally approved habitat conservation plan that restricts
  the use of the land to protect federally listed endangered species;
  or
                     (C)  actively using land for a conservation or
  restoration project to provide compensation for natural resource
  damages pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
  Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et
  seq.), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. Section 2701 et
  seq.), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section
  1251 et seq.), or Chapter 40, Natural Resources Code.
         SECTION 2.  Section 23.52(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (g)  The category of land that qualifies under Section
  23.51(7) is:
               (1)  the category of the land under this subchapter or
  Subchapter E, as applicable, before the wildlife-management use
  began; or
               (2)  if Subdivision (1) does not apply, the native
  pasture category.
         SECTION 3.  This Act applies only to the appraisal of land
  for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year that begins on or after
  the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.