Sec. 23.45.  APPLICATION CONFIDENTIAL.  (a)  An application for agricultural designation filed with a chief appraiser is confidential and not open to public inspection.  The application and the information it contains about specific property or a specific owner may not be disclosed to anyone other than an employee of the appraisal office who appraises property except as authorized by Subsection (b) of this section.
(b)  Information made confidential by this section may be disclosed:
(1)  in a judicial or administrative proceeding pursuant to a lawful subpoena;
(2)  to the person who filed the application or to his representative authorized in writing to receive the information;
(3)  to the comptroller and his employees authorized by him in writing to receive the information or to an assessor or a chief appraiser if requested in writing;
(4)  in a judicial or administrative proceeding relating to property taxation to which the person who filed the application is a party;
(5)  for statistical purposes if in a form that does not identify specific property or a specific property owner;  or
(6)  if and to the extent the information is required to be included in a public document or record that the appraisal office is required to prepare or maintain.
(c)  A person who legally has access to an application for agricultural designation or who legally obtains the confidential information the application contains commits a Class B misdemeanor if he knowingly:
(1)  permits inspection of the application by a person not authorized to inspect it by Subsection (b) of this section;  or
(2)  discloses confidential information contained in the report to a person not authorized to receive the information by Subsection (b) of this section.
Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2256, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982.  Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 141, ch. 13, Sec. 65, eff. Jan. 1, 1982;  Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 6, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.