81R27266 JE-D
By: Kolkhorst H.B. No. 1274
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1274:
By: Hartnett C.S.H.B. No. 1274
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the availability and reporting of certain information
regarding applications under the Texas Economic Development Act to
the public and the state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 313.025, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(a-1) If the school district maintains a generally
accessible Internet website, the district shall post on that site
each application received under Subsection (a) and any information
in the possession of the district that relates to an application.
The application must be posted before the 15th day after the date
the application was received. Information relating to an
application must be posted before the 15th day after the date the
information was received or created by the district. This
subsection does not require a school district to post information
that is confidential business information under Section 313.028.
(f) The governing body may approve an application only if:
(1) the comptroller recommends approval of the
application in the economic impact evaluation provided under
Subsection (b);
(2) in the event that the school district maintains a
generally accessible Internet website, the district has posted on
that site, for at least 30 consecutive days, each document or item
of information designated by the comptroller under Sections
313.0265(d)(1), (2), and (4);
(3) the comptroller has posted on the comptroller's
Internet website, for at least 30 consecutive days, each document
or item of information designated by the comptroller under Sections
313.0265(d)(1), (2), and (4); and
(4) the governing body:
(A) finds that the information in the application
is true and correct;
(B) [,] finds that the applicant is eligible for
the limitation on the appraised value of the person's qualified
property; and
(C) [, and] determines that granting the
application is in the best interest of the school district and this
state.
SECTION 2. Sections 313.026(a) and (b), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The economic impact evaluation of the application must
include the following:
(1) the recommendations of the comptroller;
(2) the name of the school district;
(3) the name of the applicant;
(4) the general nature of the applicant's investment;
(5) [(2)] the relationship between the applicant's
industry and the types of qualifying jobs to be created by the
applicant to the long-term economic growth plans of this state as
described in the strategic plan for economic development submitted
by the Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission
under Section 481.033, Government Code, as that section existed
before February 1, 1999;
(6) [(3)] the relative level of the applicant's
investment per qualifying job to be created by the applicant;
(7) the number of qualifying jobs to be created by the
applicant;
(8) [(4)] the wages, salaries, and benefits to be
offered by the applicant to qualifying job holders;
(9) [(5)] the ability of the applicant to locate or
relocate in another state or another region of this state;
(10) [(6)] the impact the added infrastructure will
have on the region, including:
(A) revenue gains that would be realized by the
school district; and
(B) subsequent economic effects on the local and
regional tax bases;
(11) [(7)] the economic condition of the region of the
state at the time the person's application is being considered;
(12) [(8)] the number of new facilities built or
expanded in the region during the two years preceding the date of
the application that were eligible to apply for a limitation on
appraised value under this subchapter; [and]
(13) [(9)] the effect of the applicant's proposal, if
approved, on the number or size of the school district's
instructional facilities, as defined by Section 46.001, Education
Code;
(14) the projected market value of the qualified
property of the applicant as determined by the comptroller;
(15) the proposed limitation on appraised value for
the qualified property of the applicant;
(16) the projected dollar amount of the taxes that
would be imposed on the qualified property, for each year of the
agreement, if the property does not receive a limitation on
appraised value with assumptions of the projected appreciation or
depreciation of the investment and projected tax rates clearly
stated;
(17) the projected dollar amount of the taxes that
would be imposed on the qualified property, for each tax year of the
agreement, if the property receives a limitation on appraised value
with assumptions of the projected appreciation or depreciation of
the investment and projected tax rates clearly stated;
(18) the projected effect on Foundation School Program
payments to the district for each year of the agreement;
(19) the projected future tax credits if the applicant
also applies for school tax credits under Section 313.103; and
(20) the total amount of taxes projected to be lost or
gained by the district over the life of the agreement computed by
subtracting the projected taxes stated in Subdivision (17) from the
projected taxes stated in Subdivision (16).
(b) The comptroller's recommendations shall be based on the
criteria listed in Subsections (a)(2)-(20) [(a)(2)-(9)] and on any
other information available to the comptroller, including
information provided by the governing body of the school district
under Section 313.025(b).
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 313, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 313.0265 to read as follows:
Sec. 313.0265. DISCLOSURE OF APPRAISED VALUE LIMITATION
INFORMATION. (a) If a school district maintains a generally
accessible Internet website, the district shall post each document
or item of information concerning appraised value limitations under
this subchapter and school tax credits under Subchapter D that the
comptroller designates as substantive before the 15th day after the
date the document or item of information was received or created.
(b) Each document or item of information posted under
Subsection (a) must continue to be posted until the appraised value
limitation expires or the school district no longer maintains the
website.
(c) The comptroller shall post on the comptroller's
Internet website each document or item of information the
comptroller designates as substantive before the 15th day after the
date the document or item of information was received or created.
Each document or item of information must continue to be posted
until the appraised value limitation expires. The posting must be
on a web page that is not more than three mouse clicks from the
comptroller's home page.
(d) The comptroller shall designate the following as
substantive:
(1) each application requesting a limitation on
appraised value;
(2) the economic impact evaluation made in connection
with the application;
(3) all information provided by the owner of the
property to the school district and the comptroller under Section
313.027(f)(3-c); and
(4) each application requesting school tax credits
under Section 313.103.
(e) The comptroller by rule shall determine the
requirements for districts to post on their Internet websites the
documents provided under Subsection (a) and shall provide a link on
the comptroller's website to all school districts' appraised value
limitation postings.
(f) The comptroller and the Texas Education Agency shall
annually certify that districts comply with the posting
requirements of Subsection (b).
SECTION 4. Section 313.027(f), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(f) In addition, the agreement:
(1) must incorporate each relevant provision of this
subchapter and, to the extent necessary, include provisions for the
protection of future school district revenues through the
adjustment of the minimum valuations, the payment of revenue
offsets, and other mechanisms agreed to by the property owner and
the school district;
(2) must require the property owner to maintain a
viable presence in the school district for at least three years
after the date the limitation on appraised value of the owner's
property expires;
(3) must provide for the termination of the agreement,
the recapture of ad valorem tax revenue lost as a result of the
agreement if the owner of the property fails to comply with the
terms of the agreement, and payment of a penalty or interest, or
both, on that recaptured ad valorem tax revenue;
(3-a) must specify explicit performance targets for
each year of the agreement, including:
(A) the amount of qualifying investment the owner
of the property commits to expend or allocate;
(B) the number of qualifying jobs the owner of
the property commits to create; and
(C) the average wage or salary to be offered by
the owner of the property to qualifying job holders;
(3-b) must require the owner of the property to
compensate the school district for failure to attain the
performance targets specified under Subdivisions (3-a)(B) and (C);
(3-c) must require the owner of the property to
provide the school district and the comptroller with an annual
progress report containing the information compiled during the
previous calendar year regarding the attainment of each of the
performance targets specified under Subdivisions (3-a)(B) and (C);
(3-d) must prohibit the school district from assigning
any payments or benefits received from or on behalf of the property
owner to any other party;
(4) may specify any conditions the occurrence of which
will require the district and the property owner to renegotiate all
or any part of the agreement; and
(5) must specify the ad valorem tax years covered by
the agreement.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 313, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 313.0275 to read as follows:
Sec. 313.0275. COMPUTATION OF RECAPTURE OF AD VALOREM TAX
REVENUE LOST. (a) The total amount of the recapture payment to
which a school district is entitled under this section in any year
is computed by:
(1) subtracting a number equal to the number of
persons holding a qualifying job in that year created by the owner
of the property from the number of qualifying jobs the owner of the
property committed to create under Section 313.027(f)(3-a)(B) in
that year or over the life of the agreement, as applicable; and
(2) multiplying the result by the average wage or
salary the owner of the property committed to offer to qualifying
job holders under Section 313.027(f)(3-a)(C).
(b) The total amount of the recapture payment in a calendar
year may not exceed an amount computed by dividing the amount
computed under Section 313.026(a)(20) by the number of years in the
life of the agreement.
SECTION 6. Section 313.028, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 313.028. CERTAIN BUSINESS INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL.
Information provided to a school district in connection with an
application for a limitation on appraised value under this
subchapter that describes the specific processes or business
activities to be conducted or the specific tangible personal
property to be located on real property covered by the application
shall be segregated in the application from other information in
the application and is confidential and not subject to public
disclosure unless the governing body of the school district
approves the application. Other information in the custody of a
school district or the comptroller in connection with the
application, including information related to the economic impact
of a project or the essential elements of eligibility under this
chapter, such as the nature and amount of the projected investment,
employment, wages, and benefits, may not be considered confidential
business information if the governing body of the school district
agrees to consider the application. Information in the custody
of a school district or the comptroller if the governing body
approves the application is not confidential under this section.
SECTION 7. Section 313.103, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 313.103. APPLICATION. (a) An application for a tax
credit under this subchapter must be made to the governing body of
the school district to which the ad valorem taxes were paid. The
application must be:
(1) made on the form prescribed for that purpose by the
comptroller and verified by the applicant;
(2) accompanied by:
(A) a tax receipt from the collector of taxes for
the school district showing full payment of school district ad
valorem taxes on the qualified property for the applicable
qualifying time period; and
(B) any other document or information that the
comptroller or the governing body considers necessary for a
determination of the applicant's eligibility for the credit or the
amount of the credit; and
(3) filed before September 1 of the year immediately
following the applicable qualifying time period.
(b) An application for a tax credit under this subchapter or
any information provided by the school district to the Texas
Education Agency under Section 42.2515, Education Code, is not
confidential.
SECTION 8. Subchapter E, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 42.25151 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.25151. ADJUSTMENT FOR RECAPTURED TAXES LOST
ASSOCIATED WITH AGREEMENTS UNDER TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT.
(a) In this section, "recapture payment" means a payment by an
owner of property to a school district as required by Section
313.027(f)(3-b), Tax Code.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 42.2516, the commissioner shall
for any school year:
(1) reduce the amounts due to a school district under
this chapter by an amount equal to all recapture payments received
during that school year by the district; or
(2) increase the amounts necessary for a school
district to comply with the requirements of Chapter 41 by an amount
equal to all recapture payments received during that school year by
the district.
(c) A school district shall report each recapture payment
through the Public Education Information Management System
(PEIMS).
(d) The commissioner, in consultation with the comptroller,
as appropriate, may adopt rules necessary to implement this
section.
SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an application under Chapter 313, Tax Code, filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application under that chapter filed
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.