Location
Proposition 11
Topics
Description
In 1988, members of the Texas Wildlife Association (David Langford, Steve Lewis, and Garner Fuller), a banker (Lee Tackett), a Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist (Carl Frentress), a freshman legislator (Clyde Alexander), and others began efforts to equalize the tax treatment of land used for raising wildlife and that used in agriculture. They believed that marginally productive lands were farmed and grazed, often with damage to habitat and wildlife, only in order to qualify for the agricultural ad valorem tax exemption. These concerns led to the passage of HB 1298 in 1991, and in turn to public approval of Proposition 11 to resolve constitutional concerns about the bill. In 2001, HB 3123 established rules to prevent abuse of the program, and ensure revenue neutrality, active management, and inclusion of all wildlife species.
Location Notes
The statewide effort to provide tax relief for wildlife management, similar to that for agriculture, could be commemorated with a marker at the Creslenn Ranch, a tract owned by Clyde Alexander's family. State Representative Alexander played a key role in authoring and passing the enabling legislation, and his family's property in the Trinity River bottoms, south of Trinidad, was an early enrollee in the wildlife management tax valuation program.