Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB128 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R793 CBH-D
2	2	By: Ellis S.B. No. 128
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a franchise tax credit for certain investments made in
8	8	relation to sustainable commercial building projects.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 171, Tax Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter V to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER V. TAX CREDIT FOR INVESTMENTS IN SUSTAINABLE COMMERCIAL
13	13	BUILDING PROJECTS
14	14	Sec. 171.901. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
15	15	(1) "Commercial building" means a building that will
16	16	be used in connection with a trade or business.
17	17	(2) "Commercial building project" means:
18	18	(A) the construction of a new commercial
19	19	building;
20	20	(B) a renovation of an existing commercial
21	21	building that:
22	22	(i) provides additional square footage;
23	23	(ii) changes the functional use of the
24	24	building; or
25	25	(iii) begins not later than the 180th day
26	26	after the date the ownership of the building changes; or
27	27	(C) a major renovation of at least 50 percent of
28	28	the square footage of a commercial building that involves a change
29	29	in at least three of the building's systems, including the
30	30	building's envelope, space conditioning, lighting, or water
31	31	heating and process.
32	32	(3) "Sustainable commercial building project" means a
33	33	commercial building project that is designed and implemented so
34	34	that the commercial building or the renovated portion of the
35	35	commercial building achieves certification under a
36	36	high-performance building standard that:
37	37	(A) is developed and revised through a
38	38	consensus-based process;
39	39	(B) provides minimum requirements for energy
40	40	use, natural resources use, and indoor air quality;
41	41	(C) requires substantiating documentation for
42	42	certification;
43	43	(D) employs third-party, postconstruction or
44	44	postrenovation review and verification for certification; and
45	45	(E) is determined by the state energy
46	46	conservation office to be nationally recognized in the building
47	47	industry.
48	48	Sec. 171.902. ENTITLEMENT TO CREDIT. A taxable entity is
49	49	entitled to a credit in the amount and under the conditions and
50	50	limitations provided by this subchapter against the tax imposed
51	51	under this chapter.
52	52	Sec. 171.903. QUALIFICATION. Except as provided by Section
53	53	171.905, a taxable entity qualifies for a credit under this
54	54	subchapter only if:
55	55	(1) the taxable entity completes a sustainable
56	56	commercial building project to construct or renovate a commercial
57	57	building in this state that the taxable entity owns or has
58	58	contracted to purchase; and
59	59	(2) the commercial building or the renovated portion
60	60	of the commercial building to which the credit relates receives the
61	61	appropriate certification before the original due date of the first
62	62	report on which the taxable entity may claim the credit under
63	63	Section 171.904(c) or (d).
64	64	Sec. 171.904. AMOUNT; LIMITATIONS. (a) The amount of a
65	65	credit under this subchapter is equal to 35 percent of an amount
66	66	equal to the sum of:
67	67	(1) $10 per square foot for the first 10,000 square
68	68	feet added or affected by the sustainable commercial building
69	69	project;
70	70	(2) $5 per square foot for the next 40,000 square feet
71	71	added or affected by the sustainable commercial building project;
72	72	and
73	73	(3) $2 per square foot for any additional square feet
74	74	added or affected by the sustainable commercial building project.
75	75	(b) In determining the square footage that may be included
76	76	under Subsection (a), a taxable entity:
77	77	(1) may include:
78	78	(A) temperature-conditioned floor areas; and
79	79	(B) the ground-level footprint areas of parking
80	80	structures or parking structure elements of the building; and
81	81	(2) may not include:
82	82	(A) exterior square footage under overhangs,
83	83	awnings, or canopies; or
84	84	(B) walkways or unconditioned plaza areas
85	85	beneath a temperature-conditioned portion of the building.
86	86	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a taxable entity
87	87	must claim a credit under this subchapter over five consecutive
88	88	reporting periods beginning with the report based on the period
89	89	during which the sustainable commercial building project to which
90	90	the credit relates was completed. The amount of the credit a
91	91	taxable entity may claim on a report is equal to:
92	92	(1) on the first two reports for which the taxable
93	93	entity may claim the credit, 35 percent of the total amount of the
94	94	credit; and
95	95	(2) on the last three reports on which the taxable
96	96	entity may claim the credit, 10 percent of the total amount of the
97	97	credit.
98	98	(d) A taxable entity may claim the entire amount of the
99	99	credit on the report based on the period during which the
100	100	sustainable commercial building project to which the credit relates
101	101	was completed if the sum of the amounts determined under
102	102	Subsections (a)(1)-(3) does not exceed $20,000.
103	103	(e) The total credit claimed under this subchapter for a
104	104	report may not exceed the amount of franchise tax due after any
105	105	other applicable credits.
106	106	(f) A taxable entity may not carry any unused credit forward
107	107	to a subsequent report.
108	108	Sec. 171.905. SALE OF TAX CREDIT. (a) An entity that is not
109	109	a taxable entity accrues a credit under this subchapter if the
110	110	entity completes a sustainable commercial building project to
111	111	construct or renovate a commercial building in this state that the
112	112	entity owns or has contracted to purchase.
113	113	(b) An entity that accrues a credit under this section may
114	114	sell the rights to the credit to one or more taxable entities. A
115	115	taxable entity must purchase the rights with a lump-sum cash
116	116	payment after the date the entity accrues the credit but before the
117	117	original due date of the first report on which the taxable entity
118	118	may claim the credit under Section 171.904(c) or (d). The total
119	119	compensation an entity receives for the rights to a credit must be
120	120	at least equal to:
121	121	(1) 25.5 percent of the sum of the amounts determined
122	122	under Sections 171.904(a)(1)-(3) if the sum is equal to more than
123	123	$20,000; or
124	124	(2) 30.5 percent of the sum of the amounts determined
125	125	under Sections 171.904(a)(1)-(3) if the sum is equal to not more
126	126	than $20,000 and each taxable entity purchasing the rights intends
127	127	to claim the entire amount of the purchased credit on only one
128	128	report.
129	129	(c) An entity that sells the rights to an accrued credit to
130	130	more than one taxable entity may divide those rights in any manner
131	131	the entity believes is appropriate provided that:
132	132	(1) the entity sells the rights to the entire credit;
133	133	and
134	134	(2) the entity receives total compensation for that
135	135	credit that is at least equal to the appropriate amount required
136	136	under Subsection (b).
137	137	Sec. 171.906. CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY. (a) For the
138	138	initial and each succeeding report on which a credit is claimed
139	139	under this subchapter, the taxable entity must file with its
140	140	report, on a form prescribed by the comptroller, information that
141	141	sufficiently demonstrates that the taxable entity is eligible for
142	142	the credit. If the taxable entity purchases the rights to a credit
143	143	under Section 171.905, the taxable entity must also file
144	144	information that sufficiently demonstrates that the entity that
145	145	sold the credit was eligible for the credit.
146	146	(b) The burden of establishing eligibility for, entitlement
147	147	to, and the value of the credit is on the taxable entity.
148	148	Sec. 171.907. ASSIGNMENT PROHIBITED. A taxable entity may
149	149	not convey, assign, or transfer the credit allowed under this
150	150	subchapter to another entity unless all of the assets of the taxable
151	151	entity are conveyed, assigned, or transferred.
152	152	SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a report originally due
153	153	on or after the effective date of this Act.
154	154	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.