S.B. No. 719
 
 
 
AN ACT
relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of property owned
by a charitable organization that provides services related to the
placement of a child in a foster or adoptive home.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 11.18(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
       (d)  A charitable organization must be organized exclusively
to perform religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or
educational purposes and, except as permitted by Subsections (h)
and (l), engage exclusively in performing one or more of the
following charitable functions:
             (1)  providing medical care without regard to the
beneficiaries' ability to pay, which in the case of a nonprofit
hospital or hospital system means providing charity care and
community benefits in accordance with Section 11.1801;
             (2)  providing support or relief to orphans, delinquent
or[,] dependent[, or handicapped] children in need of residential
care, children with disabilities in need of residential care,
abused or battered spouses or children in need of temporary
shelter, the impoverished, or victims of natural disaster without
regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay;
             (3)  providing support without regard to the
beneficiaries' ability to pay to:
                   (A)  elderly persons, including the provision of:
                         (i)  recreational or social activities; and
                         (ii)  facilities designed to address the
special needs of elderly persons; or
                   (B)  persons with disabilities [the handicapped],
including training and employment:
                         (i)  in the production of commodities; or
                         (ii)  in the provision of services under 41
U.S.C. Sections 8501-8506;
             (4)  preserving a historical landmark or site;
             (5)  promoting or operating a museum, zoo, library,
theater of the dramatic or performing arts, or symphony orchestra
or choir;
             (6)  promoting or providing humane treatment of
animals;
             (7)  acquiring, storing, transporting, selling, or
distributing water for public use;
             (8)  answering fire alarms and extinguishing fires with
no compensation or only nominal compensation to the members of the
organization;
             (9)  promoting the athletic development of boys or
girls under the age of 18 years;
             (10)  preserving or conserving wildlife;
             (11)  promoting educational development through loans
or scholarships to students;
             (12)  providing halfway house services pursuant to a
certification as a halfway house by the parole division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice;
             (13)  providing permanent housing and related social,
health care, and educational facilities for persons who are 62
years of age or older without regard to the residents' ability to
pay;
             (14)  promoting or operating an art gallery, museum, or
collection, in a permanent location or on tour, that is open to the
public;
             (15)  providing for the organized solicitation and
collection for distributions through gifts, grants, and agreements
to nonprofit charitable, education, religious, and youth
organizations that provide direct human, health, and welfare
services;
             (16)  performing biomedical or scientific research or
biomedical or scientific education for the benefit of the public;
             (17)  operating a television station that produces or
broadcasts educational, cultural, or other public interest
programming and that receives grants from the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting under 47 U.S.C. Section 396, as amended;
             (18)  providing housing for low-income and
moderate-income families, for unmarried individuals 62 years of age
or older, for [handicapped] individuals with disabilities, and for

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Tax Code 11.18 (Tax Code 11)
Senate Committee Report: Tax Code 11.18 (Tax Code 11)
Engrossed: Tax Code 11.18 (Tax Code 11)
House Committee Report: Tax Code 11.18 (Tax Code 11)
Enrolled: Tax Code 11.18 (Tax Code 11)