The bill would amend the Agriculture Code, regarding the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority, to adjust the composition and size of the board of directors and require an annual study of plant disease and pest outbreaks in Texas among other issues impacting agricultural producers.
The bill would remove limits on the maximum allowable aggregate loan amounts to a single business for boll weevil eradication. The bill would also increase the maximum allowable loan in the Farmer Interest Rate Reduction Program, formerly the Young Farmer Interest Rate Reduction Program, from $500,000 to $1,000,000 as well as increase the maximum allowable grant under the Agriculture Grant Program, formerly the Young Farmer Grant Program, from $20,000 to $500,000.
Based on analysis of the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to the number and amounts of loans and grants that would be provided under the increased maximum amounts allowed by the bill and the resulting interest earnings to the Texas Agricultural Fund No. 683 being unknown.
Based on information provided by the Department of Agriculture, the Animal Health Commission, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and the Texas A&M University System Administration, it is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.
The bill would take effect immediately upon enactment, assuming it received the requisite two-thirds majority votes in both houses of the Legislature. Otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2025.
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.