Sec. 2.003. POLICY

(a) The agricultural policy of this state must consider and address:

(1) water availability issues, including planning for water supplies and drought preparedness and response, by ensuring that a high priority is assigned to the agricultural use of water;

(2) transportation issues, by ensuring an efficient and well-maintained farm-to-market road system and intermodal transportation to provide adequate transportation for agricultural products at competitive rates;

(3) state regulatory issues, by ensuring the efficiency and profitability of agricultural enterprises while at the same time protecting the health, safety, and welfare of agricultural workers and citizens of this state;

(4) state tax policy, by encouraging tax policy that promotes the agriculture industry, including production and processing;

(5) the availability of capital, including state loans or grants authorized by Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution, by facilitating access to capital through loans and grants authorized by the Texas Constitution for agricultural producers who have established or intend to establish agricultural operations in Texas;

(6) the promotion of Texas agricultural products, by promoting the orderly and efficient marketing of agricultural commodities and enhancing and expanding sales of Texas raw and processed agricultural products in local, domestic, and foreign markets;

(7) eradication, control, or exclusion of:

(A) injurious pests and diseases that affect crops and livestock; and

(B) noxious plant and brush species;

(8) research and education efforts, including financial risk management, consumer education, and education in the public schools, by encouraging promotional and educational programs involving all segments of agriculture and maintaining a solid foundation of stable and long-term support for food and agricultural research while improving accountability and gathering public input concerning research;

(9) promotion of efficient utilization of soil and water resources, by encouraging efforts to sustain the long-term productivity of landowners by conserving and protecting the basic resources of agriculture, including soil, water, and air, while working within federal mandates relating to natural resources;

(10) rural economic and infrastructure development, by enhancing, protecting, and encouraging the production of food and other agricultural products;

(11) protection of property rights and the right to farm, by promoting and protecting agricultural activities that are established before nonagricultural activities located near the agricultural activities and are reasonable and consistent with good agricultural practices;

(12) preservation of farmland, ranchland, timberland, and other land devoted to agricultural purposes, by encouraging the development and improvement of the land for the production of food and other agricultural products consistent with the philosophy of a private property rights state;

(13) food safety, by continuing to support production of the safest food in the world with regulations based on sound scientific evidence;

(14) efforts to participate in the formulation of federal programs and policies, by actively addressing the development of federal policy that affects this state;

(15) promotion of rural fire service, by seeking opportunities to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of rural fire service for the protection of the general public and natural resources; and

(16) promotion of value-added agricultural enterprises, by promoting efforts to increase the value of Texas agricultural products through processing, management practices, or other procedures that add consumer benefits to agricultural goods.

(b) For the purposes of Subsection (a)(11), an agricultural activity is presumed to be:

(1) reasonable and not a nuisance; and

(2) a good agricultural practice not adversely affecting public health and safety if the activity is undertaken in conformity with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 301, Sec. 2, eff. May 29, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 3, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 87 , Sec. 2.001, eff. September 1, 2009.