TX water conservation bill heads to governor

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas lawmakers gave final approval Saturday to offering land owner tax breaks for water conservation, an incentive plan little-seen nationwide that comes as much of the state struggles through a punishing drought.

The bipartisan measure offers property tax reductions for those who set aside open-space land for water conversation. The more-productive those conservation efforts are, the greater the tax breaks.

The Texas House approved the plan Saturday, sending it to Gov. Rick Perry.

Supporters said the tax breaks would encourage water conservation without forcing state government, which is already facing deep spending cuts, to doll out more money. According to a legislative analysis of the measure, 90 percent of Texas water flows either through or under privately owned land.

Opponents of the bill argue that Texas land owners already enjoy several tax breaks, and that some of the bill's language overlaps with existing tax incentives for protecting the state's wildlife. However, the legislative analysis determined that the new program would encourage water preservation that specifically benefits aquatic ecosystems and species, unlike existing wildlife tax incentives that focus on land-based wildlife.

The few states that offer similar conservation tax breaks have focused primarily on credits or deductions to income tax, rather than property tax. Texas doesn't have a state income tax.

And only a handful of states have offered tax incentives focused directly on water conservation, said Vanessa Martin of the Nature Conservancy.

In Arkansas, state income tax breaks are given for water users who engage in certain conservation practices, particularly those related to groundwater, Martin said. Arkansas law also allows an income tax credit to any taxpayer engaged in the development or restoration of wetlands and riparian zones.

Under New Mexico's income tax provisions, taxpayers can claim income tax credits for eligible improvements in irrigation systems or water management methods designed to conserve water on agricultural land. Minnesota exempts from property tax wetlands and any personal property used for pollution control, according to the Nature Conservancy.

Drought is gripping nearly all of Texas. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday, more than 97 percent of Texas is in at least moderate drought — and 47.5 percent of the state is in exceptional drought, the most severe level. The state just finished its driest seven-month period on record.

The statewide rainfall average between October and April was 5.82 inches, 0.03 of an inch less than the previous record set at the end of March 1918. The dry conditions are the result of a La Nina weather pattern that ranks as the sixth-strongest since 1949.