TEMPORARY CESSATION OF AGRICULTURAL USE DUE TO QUARANTINE FOR TICKS

(a) The eligibility of land for appraisal under this subchapter does not end because the land ceases to be devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area for the period prescribed by Subsection (b) if the land: (1) is subject to a temporary quarantine established at any time during the tax year by the Texas Animal Health Commission for the purpose of regulating the handling of livestock and eradicating ticks or exposure to ticks under Chapter 167, Agriculture Code; (2) is appraised under this subchapter primarily on the basis of the livestock located in the area subject to quarantine in the tax year; and (3) otherwise continues to qualify for appraisal under this subchapter. (b) Subsection (a) applies to land eligible for appraisal under this subchapter only during the period that begins on the date the land is designated as a tick eradication area and that ends on the date the land is released from quarantine by the Texas Animal Health Commission. (c) The owner of land to which this section applies must, not later than the 30th day after the date the land is designated as a tick eradication area, notify in writing the chief appraiser for each appraisal district in which the land is located that the land is located in a tick eradication area. (d) The owner of land to which this section applies must, not later than the 30th day after the date the land is released from quarantine by the Texas Animal Health Commission, notify in writing the chief appraiser for each appraisal district in which the land is located that the land has been released from quarantine by the Texas Animal Health Commission.