Relating to the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program.
HB 2018 amends Texas law to clarify and strengthen the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program. It defines "agricultural conservation easement" to specifically include protecting water quality, wildlife habitat, rare plants, and preventing land fragmentation. The bill gives the Parks and Wildlife Council new authority to adopt rules, accept donations, establish fee structures, and create protocols for purchasing easements. It prioritizes grant applications that protect agricultural productivity on land at risk of development. The changes affect Texas farmers/ranchers seeking conservation easements and the state program administering these conservation efforts.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Mar 14, 2025
Signed May 24, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
4 edits
·
May 24, 2025
MODERATE
The bill text was reformatted from a standard legislative draft to an enrolled version with added certification signatures and dates. The substantive policy content regarding agricultural conservation easements and grant criteria remains unchanged. The primary difference is the transition from draft to final enrolled form with official signatures.
TECHNICAL
Bill header changed from draft format to enrolled version with official signatures from Senate President, House Speaker, and Governor
Added certification statements showing House passage on April 30, 2025 and Senate passage on May 9, 2025
Formatting changes including removal of line numbers and draft annotations, addition of spacing and signature lines
POLICY
All substantive policy content regarding conservation easement definitions and grant award criteria remains identical to the original draft
Floor votes · House Apr 29, 2025
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
55
Key actions
19
Committee
13
Amendments
2
May 24, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage reported
lower
May 9, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
May 1, 2025
Committee
Referred to Water, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs
upper
May 1, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
Apr 30, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
Apr 29, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (143-0-3)
house
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Transferred to Calendars Committee
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Apr 8, 2025
Committee
Recommended to be sent to Local & Consent
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
Referred to Culture, Recreation & Tourism
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
2 primary · 4 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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