Senate Bill 3071

AN ACT TO PROVIDE AN INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR CERTAIN TAXPAYERS WHO INCUR COSTS FOR CERTAIN PRACTICES TO CONVERT VARIOUS KINDS OF LAND INTO PASTURE LAND SUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF SUCH INCOME TAX CREDIT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Cost-share assistance" means partial financial payment for pasture conversion practices from the state or federal government.

(b) "Eligible lands" means nonindustrial private lands owned by an eligible owner.

(c) "Eligible owner" means a private individual, group or association, but the term shall not mean private corporations which manufacture products or provide public utility services of any type or any subsidiary of such corporations.

(d) "Nutrient management" means the use of fertilizer, lime or other soil amendments to establish permanent grazing forages for livestock.

(e) "Pasture conversion practices" means practices for establishing, from fallow, shrub-covered, cut-over, forest or other nonagricultural lands, pasture land suitable for agricultural production, as defined in Section 69-28-3. Pasture conversion practices include, but are not limited to, clearing and grubbing, mulching, disking, leveling, seeding, erosion control and nutrient management for agricultural crops. Pasture conversion practices do not include planting grass for sod or for recreational activities.

(f) "Pasture conversion prescription or plan" means a written description of the pasture conversion practices that the eligible owner plans to use and includes a legal description and map of the area to be converted to pasture, together with the site preparation practices that will be utilized.

(2) Subject to the limitations provided in subsection (3) of this section, upon submission to the department of the written verification provided for in subsection (5) of this section and such other documentation as the department may require, any eligible owner who incurs costs for pasture conversion practices on eligible lands shall be allowed a credit, in an amount equal to the lesser of fifty percent (50%) of the actual costs of the pasture conversion practices, against the taxes imposed pursuant to this chapter for the tax year in which the costs are incurred.

(3) The maximum amount of the credit provided for in subsection (2) of this section that may be utilized in any one (1) taxable year shall not exceed the lesser of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or the amount of income tax imposed upon the eligible owner for the taxable year reduced by the sum of all other credits allowable to the eligible owner under this chapter, except credit for tax payments made by or on behalf of the eligible owner. Any unused portion of the credit may be carried forward for succeeding tax years. The maximum dollar amount of the credit provided for in subsection (2) of this section that an eligible owner may utilize during his lifetime shall be Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) in the aggregate.

(4) If an eligible owner receives any state or federal cost-share assistance funds to defray the cost of a pasture conversion practice, the cost of that practice on the same acre or acres within the same tax year is not eligible for the credit provided in this section unless the eligible owner's adjusted gross income is less than the federal earned income credit level.

(5) To be eligible for the tax credit, an eligible owner must have a pasture conversion prescription or plan prepared for the eligible lands by a county agent or by an agent of the National Resource Conservation Service, who must verify in writing that the pasture conversion practices were completed and that the pasture conversion prescription or plan was followed.

SECTION 2. Section 1 of this act shall be codified as a new section in Title 27, Chapter 7, Mississippi Code of 1972.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2024.