Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3111 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R10999 JD-D
2	2	By: Villarreal H.B. No. 3111
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to authorizing Bexar County to issue bonds or notes to
8	8	finance the acquisition of real property and the construction of a
9	9	building or facility on the property for use by an institution of
10	10	higher education and to pledge for repayment of those bonds or notes
11	11	increases in revenues from ad valorem taxes imposed by the county
12	12	and other political subdivisions on property located in a
13	13	designated area of the county.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 3, Tax Code, is amended by
16	16	adding Chapter 311A to read as follows:
17	17	CHAPTER 311A. BEXAR COUNTY TAX INCREMENT FINANCING ACT
18	18	Sec. 311A.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
19	19	Bexar County and real property in that county.
20	20	Sec. 311A.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
21	21	(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
22	22	reinvestment zone.
23	23	(2) "Commissioners court" means the commissioners
24	24	court of Bexar County.
25	25	(3) "County" means Bexar County.
26	26	(4) "Taxing unit" has the meaning assigned by Section
27	27	1.04.
28	28	Sec. 311A.003. PROCEDURE FOR CREATING REINVESTMENT ZONE.
29	29	(a) The commissioners court by order may designate a contiguous
30	30	geographic area in the jurisdiction of the county to be a
31	31	reinvestment zone.
32	32	(b) The designated area must include land that the county
33	33	owns or proposes to acquire and on which the county proposes to
34	34	construct a building or facility for use by an institution of higher
35	35	education selected by the county.
36	36	Sec. 311A.004. CONTENTS OF REINVESTMENT ZONE ORDER. The
37	37	order designating an area as the reinvestment zone must:
38	38	(1) describe the boundaries of the zone with
39	39	sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable
40	40	certainty the territory included in the zone;
41	41	(2) create a board of directors for the zone and
42	42	specify the number of directors of the board;
43	43	(3) provide that the zone take effect immediately on
44	44	adoption of the order;
45	45	(4) provide a date for termination of the zone;
46	46	(5) specify the powers of the county that are
47	47	delegated to the board for the zone; and
48	48	(6) establish a tax increment fund for the zone.
49	49	Sec. 311A.005. POWERS OF COUNTY. The county may acquire
50	50	real property by purchase, condemnation, or other means and
51	51	construct a building or facility for use by an institution of higher
52	52	education selected by the commissioners court.
53	53	Sec. 311A.006. COMPOSITION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The
54	54	board of directors of the reinvestment zone consists of at least
55	55	five and not more than 15 members, unless more than 15 members are
56	56	required to satisfy the requirements of this subsection. Each
57	57	taxing unit other than the county that levies taxes on real property
58	58	in the zone may appoint one member of the board. A unit may waive
59	59	its right to appoint a director.
60	60	(b) Members of the board are appointed for terms of two
61	61	years. Terms of members may be staggered.
62	62	(c) A vacancy on the board is filled for the unexpired term
63	63	by appointment of the governing body of the taxing unit that
64	64	appointed the director who served in the vacant position.
65	65	(d) To be eligible for appointment to the board, an
66	66	individual must:
67	67	(1) be a qualified voter of the county; or
68	68	(2) be at least 18 years of age and own real property
69	69	in the zone, regardless of whether the individual resides in the
70	70	county.
71	71	(e) Each year the commissioners court shall appoint one
72	72	member of the board to serve as presiding officer for a term of one
73	73	year that begins on January 1 of the following year. The board may
74	74	elect an assistant presiding officer to preside in the absence of
75	75	the presiding officer or when there is a vacancy in the office of
76	76	presiding officer. The board may elect other officers as it
77	77	considers appropriate.
78	78	(f) A member of the board is not a public official by virtue
79	79	of that position.
80	80	Sec. 311A.007. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a)
81	81	The board shall make recommendations to the commissioners court
82	82	concerning the administration of this chapter in the reinvestment
83	83	zone.
84	84	(b) The board may exercise any power delegated to the board
85	85	in the order designating the reinvestment zone.
86	86	Sec. 311A.008. PROJECT AND FINANCING PLANS. (a) The board
87	87	shall prepare and adopt a project plan and a reinvestment zone
88	88	financing plan for the zone and submit the plans to the
89	89	commissioners court.
90	90	(b) The project plan must include:
91	91	(1) a map showing existing uses of real property in the
92	92	zone and a map showing the proposed building or facility; and
93	93	(2) a statement of a method of relocating persons to be
94	94	displaced as a result of implementing the plan.
95	95	(c) The reinvestment zone financing plan must include:
96	96	(1) a detailed list describing the estimated cost of
97	97	the proposed building or facility;
98	98	(2) a statement describing the proposed building or
99	99	facility and specifying the institution of higher education for
100	100	which the proposed building or facility is to be constructed;
101	101	(3) the estimated amount of bonded indebtedness to be
102	102	incurred;
103	103	(4) the time when related costs or monetary
104	104	obligations are to be incurred;
105	105	(5) a description of the methods of financing the
106	106	acquisition of land and the construction of the building or
107	107	facility, including the percentage of tax increment to be derived
108	108	from the property taxes of each taxing unit that levies taxes on
109	109	real property in the zone;
110	110	(6) the current total appraised value of taxable real
111	111	property in the zone;
112	112	(7) the estimated captured appraised value of the zone
113	113	during each year of its existence; and
114	114	(8) the duration of the zone.
115	115	(d) The commissioners court by order must approve the
116	116	project plan or reinvestment zone financing plan after its adoption
117	117	by the board if the commissioners court finds that the plan is
118	118	feasible.
119	119	Sec. 311A.009. DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF TAX INCREMENT.
120	120	(a) The amount of a taxing unit's tax increment for a year is the
121	121	amount of property taxes levied and collected by the unit for that
122	122	year on the captured appraised value of real property taxable by the
123	123	unit and located in the reinvestment zone.
124	124	(b) The captured appraised value of real property taxable by
125	125	a taxing unit for a year is the total appraised value of all real
126	126	property taxable by the unit and located in the reinvestment zone
127	127	for that year less the tax increment base of the unit.
128	128	(c) The tax increment base of a taxing unit is the total
129	129	appraised value of all real property taxable by the unit and located
130	130	in the reinvestment zone for the year in which the zone was
131	131	designated.
132	132	Sec. 311A.010. COLLECTION AND DEPOSIT OF TAX INCREMENTS.
133	133	(a) Each taxing unit that taxes real property located in the
134	134	reinvestment zone shall provide for the collection of its taxes in
135	135	the zone as for any other property taxed by the unit.
136	136	(b) Each taxing unit shall pay into the tax increment fund
137	137	for the zone an amount equal to the tax increment produced by the
138	138	unit.
139	139	(c) A taxing unit shall make a payment required by
140	140	Subsection (b) not later than the 90th day after the delinquency
141	141	date for the unit's property taxes. A delinquent payment incurs a
142	142	penalty of five percent of the amount delinquent and accrues
143	143	interest at an annual rate of 10 percent.
144	144	(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), a taxing unit is not
145	145	required to pay into the tax increment fund the applicable portion
146	146	of a tax increment attributable to delinquent taxes until those
147	147	taxes are collected.
148	148	Sec. 311A.011. TAX INCREMENT FUND. (a) In addition to the
149	149	deposits required by Section 311A.010, all revenues from the sale
150	150	of tax increment bonds or notes and other revenues to be used in the
151	151	reinvestment zone shall be deposited in the tax increment fund.
152	152	(b) Money may be disbursed from the fund only to satisfy
153	153	claims of holders of tax increment bonds or notes issued for the
154	154	zone, to pay project costs for the zone, or to repay other
155	155	obligations incurred for the zone.
156	156	(c) Subject to an agreement with the holders of tax
157	157	increment bonds or notes, money in a tax increment fund may be
158	158	temporarily invested in the same manner as other funds of the
159	159	county.
160	160	(d) After all project costs, all tax increment bonds or
161	161	notes issued for a reinvestment zone, and any other obligations
162	162	incurred for the zone have been paid, and subject to any agreement
163	163	with bondholders, any money remaining in the tax increment fund
164	164	shall be paid to the county and all other taxing units levying taxes
165	165	on property in the zone in proportion to the county's and each other
166	166	unit's respective share of the total amount of tax increments
167	167	derived from taxable real property in the zone that were deposited
168	168	in the fund during the fund's existence.
169	169	Sec. 311A.012. TAX INCREMENT BONDS AND NOTES. In relation
170	170	to tax increment bonds and notes, the county has the same authority
171	171	as a municipality under Section 311.015, and that section applies
172	172	to tax increment bonds and notes issued under this chapter.
173	173	Sec. 311A.013. TERMINATION OF REINVESTMENT ZONE. The
174	174	reinvestment zone terminates on the earlier of:
175	175	(1) the termination date designated in the order
176	176	designating the zone or an earlier termination date designated by
177	177	an order adopted subsequent to that order; or
178	178	(2) the date on which all costs, tax increment bonds
179	179	and interest on those bonds, and other obligations have been paid in
180	180	full.
181	181	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010, but only
182	182	if the constitutional amendment authorizing Bexar County to issue
183	183	bonds or notes to finance the acquisition of real property and the
184	184	construction of a building or facility on the property for use by an
185	185	institution of higher education and to pledge for repayment of
186	186	those bonds or notes increases in revenues from ad valorem taxes
187	187	imposed by the county and other political subdivisions on property
188	188	located in a designated area of the county is approved by the
189	189	voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act
190	190	has no effect.