bill to give hydroponic farms the farmland tax break

The text as introduced · 406 words

89R5501 MLH-F

By: Harris Davila
H.B. No. 4759

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the treatment for ad valorem tax purposes of land and

equipment used for hydroponic farming.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 11.161, Tax Code, is amended by adding

Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) For purposes of Subsection (a), farm or ranch products

may be produced by hydroponic farming.

SECTION 2. Section 23.42(d)(1), Tax Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(1) "Agriculture" means the use of land to produce

plant or animal products, including fish or poultry products, under

natural conditions , including hydroponic farming, but does not

include the processing of plant or animal products after harvesting

or the production of timber or forest products.

SECTION 3. Section 23.51(2), Tax Code, is amended to read as

follows:

(2) "Agricultural use" includes but is not limited to

the following activities: cultivating the soil, producing crops

for human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production

of fibers; floriculture, viticulture, and horticulture; raising or

keeping livestock; raising or keeping exotic animals for the

production of human food or of fiber, leather, pelts, or other

tangible products having a commercial value; planting cover crops

or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in a

governmental program, provided the land is not used for residential

purposes or a purpose inconsistent with agricultural use; and

planting cover crops or leaving land idle in conjunction with

normal crop or livestock rotation procedure. The term also

includes the use of land to produce or harvest logs and posts for

the use in constructing or repairing fences, pens, barns, or other

agricultural improvements on adjacent qualified open-space land

having the same owner and devoted to a different agricultural use.

The term also includes the use of land for wildlife management. The

term also includes the use of land to raise or keep bees for

pollination or for the production of human food or other tangible

products having a commercial value, provided that the land used is

not less than 5 or more than 20 acres. The term also includes the

use of land for hydroponic farming.

SECTION 4. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed

for an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective

date of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.