81R10999 JD-D
By: Villarreal H.B. No. 3111
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to authorizing Bexar County to issue bonds or notes to
finance the acquisition of real property and the construction of a
building or facility on the property for use by an institution of
higher education and to pledge for repayment of those bonds or notes
increases in revenues from ad valorem taxes imposed by the county
and other political subdivisions on property located in a
designated area of the county.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 3, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 311A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 311A. BEXAR COUNTY TAX INCREMENT FINANCING ACT
Sec. 311A.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
Bexar County and real property in that county.
Sec. 311A.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
reinvestment zone.
(2) "Commissioners court" means the commissioners
court of Bexar County.
(3) "County" means Bexar County.
(4) "Taxing unit" has the meaning assigned by Section
1.04.
Sec. 311A.003. PROCEDURE FOR CREATING REINVESTMENT ZONE.
(a) The commissioners court by order may designate a contiguous
geographic area in the jurisdiction of the county to be a
reinvestment zone.
(b) The designated area must include land that the county
owns or proposes to acquire and on which the county proposes to
construct a building or facility for use by an institution of higher
education selected by the county.
Sec. 311A.004. CONTENTS OF REINVESTMENT ZONE ORDER. The
order designating an area as the reinvestment zone must:
(1) describe the boundaries of the zone with
sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable
certainty the territory included in the zone;
(2) create a board of directors for the zone and
specify the number of directors of the board;
(3) provide that the zone take effect immediately on
adoption of the order;
(4) provide a date for termination of the zone;
(5) specify the powers of the county that are
delegated to the board for the zone; and
(6) establish a tax increment fund for the zone.
Sec. 311A.005. POWERS OF COUNTY. The county may acquire
real property by purchase, condemnation, or other means and
construct a building or facility for use by an institution of higher
education selected by the commissioners court.
Sec. 311A.006. COMPOSITION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The
board of directors of the reinvestment zone consists of at least
five and not more than 15 members, unless more than 15 members are
required to satisfy the requirements of this subsection. Each
taxing unit other than the county that levies taxes on real property
in the zone may appoint one member of the board. A unit may waive
its right to appoint a director.
(b) Members of the board are appointed for terms of two
years. Terms of members may be staggered.
(c) A vacancy on the board is filled for the unexpired term
by appointment of the governing body of the taxing unit that
appointed the director who served in the vacant position.
(d) To be eligible for appointment to the board, an
individual must:
(1) be a qualified voter of the county; or
(2) be at least 18 years of age and own real property
in the zone, regardless of whether the individual resides in the
county.
(e) Each year the commissioners court shall appoint one
member of the board to serve as presiding officer for a term of one
year that begins on January 1 of the following year. The board may
elect an assistant presiding officer to preside in the absence of
the presiding officer or when there is a vacancy in the office of
presiding officer. The board may elect other officers as it
considers appropriate.
(f) A member of the board is not a public official by virtue
of that position.
Sec. 311A.007. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a)
The board shall make recommendations to the commissioners court
concerning the administration of this chapter in the reinvestment
zone.
(b) The board may exercise any power delegated to the board
in the order designating the reinvestment zone.
Sec. 311A.008. PROJECT AND FINANCING PLANS. (a) The board
shall prepare and adopt a project plan and a reinvestment zone
financing plan for the zone and submit the plans to the
commissioners court.
(b) The project plan must include:
(1) a map showing existing uses of real property in the
zone and a map showing the proposed building or facility; and
(2) a statement of a method of relocating persons to be
displaced as a result of implementing the plan.
(c) The reinvestment zone financing plan must include:
(1) a detailed list describing the estimated cost of
the proposed building or facility;
(2) a statement describing the proposed building or
facility and specifying the institution of higher education for
which the proposed building or facility is to be constructed;
(3) the estimated amount of bonded indebtedness to be
incurred;
(4) the time when related costs or monetary
obligations are to be incurred;
(5) a description of the methods of financing the
acquisition of land and the construction of the building or
facility, including the percentage of tax increment to be derived
from the property taxes of each taxing unit that levies taxes on
real property in the zone;
(6) the current total appraised value of taxable real
property in the zone;
(7) the estimated captured appraised value of the zone
during each year of its existence; and
(8) the duration of the zone.
(d) The commissioners court by order must approve the
project plan or reinvestment zone financing plan after its adoption
by the board if the commissioners court finds that the plan is
feasible.
Sec. 311A.009. DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF TAX INCREMENT.
(a) The amount of a taxing unit's tax increment for a year is the
amount of property taxes levied and collected by the unit for that
year on the captured appraised value of real property taxable by the
unit and located in the reinvestment zone.
(b) The captured appraised value of real property taxable by
a taxing unit for a year is the total appraised value of all real
property taxable by the unit and located in the reinvestment zone
for that year less the tax increment base of the unit.
(c) The tax increment base of a taxing unit is the total
appraised value of all real property taxable by the unit and located
in the reinvestment zone for the year in which the zone was
designated.
Sec. 311A.010. COLLECTION AND DEPOSIT OF TAX INCREMENTS.
(a) Each taxing unit that taxes real property located in the
reinvestment zone shall provide for the collection of its taxes in
the zone as for any other property taxed by the unit.
(b) Each taxing unit shall pay into the tax increment fund
for the zone an amount equal to the tax increment produced by the
unit.
(c) A taxing unit shall make a payment required by
Subsection (b) not later than the 90th day after the delinquency
date for the unit's property taxes. A delinquent payment incurs a
penalty of five percent of the amount delinquent and accrues
interest at an annual rate of 10 percent.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), a taxing unit is not
required to pay into the tax increment fund the applicable portion
of a tax increment attributable to delinquent taxes until those
taxes are collected.
Sec. 311A.011. TAX INCREMENT FUND. (a) In addition to the
deposits required by Section 311A.010, all revenues from the sale
of tax increment bonds or notes and other revenues to be used in the
reinvestment zone shall be deposited in the tax increment fund.
(b) Money may be disbursed from the fund only to satisfy
claims of holders of tax increment bonds or notes issued for the
zone, to pay project costs for the zone, or to repay other
obligations incurred for the zone.
(c) Subject to an agreement with the holders of tax
increment bonds or notes, money in a tax increment fund may be
temporarily invested in the same manner as other funds of the
county.
(d) After all project costs, all tax increment bonds or
notes issued for a reinvestment zone, and any other obligations
incurred for the zone have been paid, and subject to any agreement
with bondholders, any money remaining in the tax increment fund
shall be paid to the county and all other taxing units levying taxes
on property in the zone in proportion to the county's and each other
unit's respective share of the total amount of tax increments
derived from taxable real property in the zone that were deposited
in the fund during the fund's existence.
Sec. 311A.012. TAX INCREMENT BONDS AND NOTES. In relation
to tax increment bonds and notes, the county has the same authority
as a municipality under Section 311.015, and that section applies
to tax increment bonds and notes issued under this chapter.
Sec. 311A.013. TERMINATION OF REINVESTMENT ZONE. The
reinvestment zone terminates on the earlier of:
(1) the termination date designated in the order
designating the zone or an earlier termination date designated by
an order adopted subsequent to that order; or
(2) the date on which all costs, tax increment bonds
and interest on those bonds, and other obligations have been paid in
full.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010, but only
if the constitutional amendment authorizing Bexar County to issue
bonds or notes to finance the acquisition of real property and the
construction of a building or facility on the property for use by an
institution of higher education and to pledge for repayment of
those bonds or notes increases in revenues from ad valorem taxes
imposed by the county and other political subdivisions on property
located in a designated area of the county is approved by the
voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act
has no effect.