Texas House bill by Rep. Harris exempts animal feed from ad valorem taxation

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Cody Harris aims to exempt tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held for retail sale from ad valorem taxation, contingent on voter approval of a constitutional amendment, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 43 Democrats and 82 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while nine Democrats and one Republican opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, while one Democrat voted against it.

Cody Harris introduced the bill in the Texas House on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, ahead of the official start of the 89th regular legislative session on Jan. 14, 2025.

Harris graduated from Texas A&M University in 2006 with a BS.

Harris, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2019 to represent the state’s 8th House district, replacing previous state representative Byron Cook.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘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’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill proposes an exemption from ad valorem taxation for tangible personal property consisting of animal feed that is held by the owner for sale at retail, provided the feed is already exempt from sales and use taxes under specific sections of the Tax Code. The effective date for this act is January 1, 2026, contingent upon voter approval of a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to grant such an exemption. If the amendment is not approved, the bill will not take effect. This exemption would apply only to ad valorem taxes imposed for tax years beginning on or after the effective date of the act.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Trent Ashby (Republican – District 9), Rep. Steve Toth (Republican – District 15), and Rep. Brad Buckley (Republican – District 54), along with four other authors.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Friday, May 9, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday, May 24.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.