Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-372 Page: 1 of 8
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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF TEXAS
JOHN CORNYN
April 27, 2001
Mr. Robert J. Huston Opinion No. JC-0372
Chair, Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission Re: Whether certain types of property at new
P.O. Box 13087 facilities qualify for a tax exemption as
Austin, Texas 78711-3087 pollution-control property under section
11.31 of the Tax Code (RQ-330-JC)
Dear Mr. Huston:
Section 11.31 of the Tax Code provides that a person is entitled to a tax exemption for all or
part of real or personal property "used wholly or partly as a facility, device, or method for the control
of air, water, or land pollution." TEX. TAX CODE ANN. 11.31(a) (Vernon Supp. 2001). You ask
whether pollution-control devices and methods of production that limit pollution at new facilities
qualify for a tax exemption under this provision.' We conclude that they do, but that the Texas
Natural Resource Conservation Commission ("TNRCC") must administer the tax exemption to grant
exemptions to only that portion of property that actually controls pollution.
Before addressing your specific questions, we briefly review the legal framework. In 1993,
the legislature proposed an amendment to the Texas Constitution, which the voters approved,
providing for an exemption from ad valorem taxation for real and personal property used to control
pollution.2 That constitutional provision, article VIII, section 1-1, provides as follows:
(a) The legislature by general law may exempt from ad
valorem taxation all or part of real and personal property used,
constructed, acquired, or installed wholly or partly to meet or exceed
rules or regulations adopted by any environmental protection agency
of the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state
for the prevention, monitoring, control, or reduction of air, water, or
land pollution.
'See Letter from Robert J. Huston, Chair, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, to Honorable
John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General (Dec. 22, 2000) (on file with Opinion Committee) [hereinafter Request Letter].2See Tex. H.J. Res. 86, 73d Leg., R.S., 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 5576 (adopted Nov. 2, 1993).
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-372, text, April 27, 2001; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274681/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.