Call or email your State Senator to urge him or her to:

• Support HB 1900, the fair taxes for small farmers bill
• Support HB 91, the raw milk bill

HB 1900, by Representative Eddie Rodriguez, would help small farmers get fair treatment under our property tax laws. Although Texas law provides for "agricultural valuation" of land used primarily for raising food, many farmers across the state have experienced problems in qualifying for such valuation due to bias against sustainable farming methods, urban farms, and produce farmers.  

HB 1900 clarifies the Tax Code by:

1. Specifying that fruit and vegetable production qualify as "agricultural uses." There have been multiple cases of county tax assessors asserting that growing vegetables isn't agriculture.
2. Directing tax appraisers to consider the type of production used, including organic and sustainable methods such as rotational grazing, in determining the degree of intensity of use necessary to qualify. 
3. Directing the Comptroller, in consultation with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, tax appraisal districts, and representatives of affected farmers, to develop guidelines to address under what conditions community gardens, small tracts, and diversified farms qualify for agricultural valuation. These guidelines would limit who is eligible and protect against abuses.

The landowner would still have to show that the land is devoted principally to agricultural use, and has been for at least five of the preceding seven years. The landowner would also remain subject to five years of rollback taxes if the property ceases to be used for agricultural purposes.

This proposal does not seek to increase the number of landowners who are entitled to open-space valuation; rather, it merely ensures that people who should already qualify for agricultural valuation under the Texas Constitution are not inappropriately excluded by local authorities. 

HB 91 would legalize the sale of raw milk by licensed farmers directly to consumers at farmers markets, and allow farmers and consumers to agree to delivery arrangements. 

• Raw milk is already legal in Texas, but regulations require consumers to drive to the farm every time they want to buy milk. This unfair marketing restriction burdens both farmers and consumers.
• Only 6 illnesses have been reported linked to raw milk in Texas in the last 17 years, out of an estimated ¾ million Texans who drink raw milk.
• Texas Grade A Raw for Retail dairies are subject to regulations that meet or exceed all regulatory standards for pasteurized milk. 
• HB 91 simply would allow licensed farmers to sell raw milk at farmers' markets and through delivery arrangements. Sales are limited to direct farm-to-consumer and will NOT be allowed in grocery stores.
• HB 91 would improve the safety of raw dairy by allowing producers to transport it to consumers under safe conditions, rather than relying on consumers to remember to take coolers and ice.
• By allowing a farmer to make a single trip to serve multiple customers, rather than having each customer drive to the farm, the bill would reduce vehicle miles, benefiting air quality, traffic congestion, and public safety.
• HB 91 would benefit rural economies because direct farm-to-consumer sales of raw milk can mean the difference between a net loss on the farm and a reasonable income for the farm family.