bill editing the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program

The text as introduced · 512 words

89R4158 MP-F

By: Hinojosa of Nueces
S.B. No. 2970

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program.

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

SECTION 1. Section 84.002(1), Parks and Wildlife Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(1) "Agricultural conservation easement" means a

conservation easement in qualified land that is designed to

maintain the land's agricultural use potential and accomplish one

or more of the following additional purposes:

(A) conserving water quality or quantity;

(B) conserving native wildlife species through

protection of their habitat;

(C) conserving rare or sensitive plant species;

or

(D) conserving large tracts of qualified

open-space land that are threatened with fragmentation or

development.

SECTION 2. Section 84.009(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) The council may:

(1) adopt rules necessary to perform program duties

under this chapter;

(2) request, accept, and use gifts, loans, donations,

aid, appropriations, guaranties, subsidies, grants, or

contributions of any item of value for the furtherance of any

purposes of this chapter;

(3) establish, charge, and collect fees, charges, and

penalties in connection with the programs, services, and activities

provided for by this chapter;

(4) make, enter into, and enforce contracts and

agreements, and take other actions as may accomplish any of the

purposes of this chapter;

(5) seek ways to coordinate and leverage public and

private sources of funding;

(6) adopt best practices and enforcement standards for

the evaluation of easements purchased through grants from the fund;

(7) establish a protocol for the purchase of

agricultural conservation easements and for the distribution of

funds to approved applicants;

(8) administer grants awarded to successful

applicants;

(9) ensure that agricultural conservation easements

purchased under this chapter are not inconsistent with :

(A) the preservation of open space ;

(B) the maintenance of the land's agricultural

use potential; and

(C) the conservation of wildlife habitat or

water; and

(10) approve the termination of easements and take any

other action necessary to further the goals of the program.

SECTION 3. Section 84.010, Parks and Wildlife Code, is

amended to read as follows:

Sec. 84.010. CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GRANTS. The council

shall:

(1) give priority to applications that protect and

maintain the agricultural use potential of lands that are

susceptible to development, including subdivision and

fragmentation; and

(2) adopt a scoring process to be used in evaluating

applications that considers the following:

(A) maintenance of landscape and watershed

integrity to conserve water and natural resources;

(B) protection of habitats for native plant and

animal species, including habitats for endangered, threatened,

rare, or sensitive species;

(C) potential for leveraging state money

allocated to the program with additional public or private money;

(D) proximity of the subject property to other

protected lands;

(E) the term of the proposed easement, whether

perpetual or for a term of 30 years;

(F) the land's agricultural productivity; and

(G) [ (F) ] a resource management plan agreed to by

both parties and approved by the council.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.