TX HB43

Restructures the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority board from 11 to 9 members, with the commissioner of agriculture, 2 commissioner-appointed members knowledgeable about agricultural lending, and 6 governor-appointed members representing agricultural entities, young farmers/ranchers, and family farm/ranch operators

Expands the definition of "agricultural business" to include nonprofit organizations maintaining agricultural land use, while removing recreational businesses and general rural businesses from eligibility

Renames the "Young Farmer Interest Rate Reduction Program" to "Farmer Interest Rate Reduction Program," removing the age requirement (previously 18-45), increasing maximum loan amount from $500,000 to $1 million, and reducing the maximum lending rate markup from 4% to 1% above the linked deposit rate

Renames the "Young Farmer Grant Program" to "Agriculture Grant Program," removing age eligibility requirements, increasing maximum grant from $20,000 to $500,000, and reducing matching fund requirements from 100% to 10% of grant money received

Creates a new Pest and Disease Control and Depredation Program providing financial assistance to Texas Animal Health Commission, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, or Texas A&M AgriLife Research to control agriculture-related pests, diseases, or depredating animals

Requires the authority to submit annual activity reports to the Legislative Budget Board, including revenues and expenditures for each program administered