New Texas Agriculture Laws Part I

HB 1399 & HJR 99 (Rep. Harris, et al.) (Sen. Nichols, et al.) - Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held by the owner of the property for sale at retail.

I call this bill the Feed Store Tax Exemption.

HB 1399 amends Chapter 11 of the Texas Tax Code to allow an ad valorum tax exemption for those who sell "feed for farm and ranch animals [or] feed for animals that are held for sale in the regular course of business." Those sellers are "entitled to an exemption from ad valorum taxation of the appraised value" of the feed for sale.

HB 1399 went into effect January 1, 2026.

HJR 99 is the Constitutional Amendment paired with HB 1399. HJR 99 passed as a Constitutional Amendment. Now, the feed store tax exemption is enshrined in the Texas Constitution.

Link to HB 1399 & HJR 99

HB 2018 (Rep. Ashby & Rep. Flores) & (Sen. Hinojosa) - Relating to the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program.

HB 2018 addresses the rapid loss of nearly 3.7 million acres of Texas agricultural land since 1997, driven by population growth, rising property taxes, and increasing land values, which threaten local food production, environmental health, and wildlife habitats. 

The bill amends the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program to ensure conservation easements allow continued agricultural use, prioritizing applications that protect land susceptible to development while maintaining its agricultural or timber productivity. 

HB 2018 took effect on September 1, 2025

Link to HB 2018

SB 2601 (Sen. Blanco) (Rep. Guillen) - Relating to a border crime property damage compensation program.

SB 2601 expands the Landowner Compensation Program to include lessees (not just landowners) as those are eligible to apply for up to $75,000 of damage to real property due to trespassers engaged in a "border crime."

Sen. Blanco's bill expands on the 88th Legislative Session's SB 1133, opening it to more applicants, and making funds more accessible.

SB 2601 took effect on September 1, 2025.

Link to SB 2601

SB 503 (Sen. Perry) (Rep. Guillen) - Relating to the establishment of an electronic registry of livestock marks and brands.

Currently, those who brand their cattle register their brand with their respective county clerk, so there is a record of which brand corresponds to which ranch.

Rep. Perry bill would require the county clerk to maintain an electronic brand registry in each county. That record must be delivered to the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC). Each brand must be rerecorded in 2031, and every ten years thereafter.

Further, SB 503 creates a statewide "Electronic Registry of Marks and Brands," within TAHC. The registry will be on TAHC's website and be "publicly available and searchable." "Personal identifying information of a person associated with a recorded mark or brand" will not be provided by the Registry. The bill, however, grants TAHC the power to establish a process by which law enforcement may use the Registry to access such personal identifying information.

The bill took effect on September 1, 2025.

Link to SB 503

SB 261 (Sen. Perry) (Rep. Gerdes) - Relating to a prohibition on the offering for sale and the sale of cell-cultured protein for human consumption; providing civil and criminal penalties.

SB 261 bans "the offering for sale or sale of cell-cultured protein for human consumption within this state is unlawful and prohibited."

SB 261 took effect on September 1, 2025. 

Link to SB 261

SB 541 (Sen. Kolkhorst) (Rep. Hull) - Relating to cottage food production operations.

The version of SB 541 that made it through the legislature and was eventually signed by Gov. Abbott does the following: 

• Expands the scope of cottage food production by allowing nonprofit organizations to operate such businesses and increasing the types of permissible foods, including time and temperature control for safety foods, while excluding specific items like meat, seafood, and raw milk products;

• Raises the annual gross income cap for cottage food operations from $50,000 to $150,000, with provisions for inflation adjustments, and introduces a registration requirement for operations selling certain foods;

• Prohibits local governments from requiring licenses or permits for cottage food operations and revises labeling requirements to include a disclosure about production in unlicensed private residences and, for certain foods, the production date;

• Allows sales to cottage food vendors for resale and removes mail order as an authorized sales method, while permitting internet sales with updated delivery and labeling options; 

• Authorizes operations to provide product samples and donate non-time and temperature control foods to events, aligning with existing individual donation laws.

SB 541 took effect on September 1, 2025.

Link to SB 541

SB 1035 (Sen. Sparks) (Rep. Spiller) - Relating to equitable relief from the enforcement of certain governmental requirements that affect agricultural operations.

SB 1035 adds “teeth” to the Texas Right to Farm Act. Following the 88th Legislative Session, Governor Abbot signed into law HB 1750 which strengthened the Texas right to farm act. In short, it offered farmers and ranchers within city limits more protections from cities trying to regulate/restrict their ag practices. Texas voters also enshrined a right to farm constitutional amendment by voting in approval of Proposition 1 on the 2023 November ballot.

Despite passing this legislation, some cities and municipalities are still not going through the proper procedures to regulate and restrict farmers and ranchers within city limits. For more information on this, check out this 2024 Committee on House Agriculture and Livestock hearing.

SB 1035 allows a person to sue a municipality infringing the Texas Right to Farm Act for “declaratory and injunctive relief to block” the municipality from their regulation.

SB 1035 took effect on May 19th, 2025.

Link to SB 1035