By: Watson S.B. No. 1934
(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2009; March 24, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
April 8, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 8, 2009,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1934 By: Watson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain governmental entities to
receive local sales tax information.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 151.027, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) This section does not prohibit:
(1) the examination of information, if authorized by
the comptroller, by another state officer or law enforcement
officer, by a tax official of another state, by a tax official of
the United Mexican States, or by an official of the United States if
a reciprocal agreement exists;
(2) the delivery to a taxpayer, or a taxpayer's
authorized representative, of a copy of a report or other paper
filed by the taxpayer under this chapter;
(3) the publication of statistics classified to
prevent the identification of a particular report or items in a
particular report;
(4) the use of records, reports, or information
secured, derived, or obtained by the attorney general or the
comptroller in an action under this chapter against the same
taxpayer who furnished the information;
(5) the delivery to a successor, receiver, executor,
administrator, assignee, or guarantor of a taxpayer of information
about items included in the measure and amounts of any unpaid tax or
amounts of tax, penalties, and interest required to be collected;
(6) the delivery of information to an eligible
municipality in accordance with Section 321.3022 or an eligible
transit or transportation authority or emergency services district
in accordance with Section 322.2022; or
(7) the release of information in or derived from a
record, report, or other instrument required to be furnished under
this chapter by a governmental body, as that term is defined in
Section 552.003, Government Code.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 322, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 322.2022 to read as follows:
Sec. 322.2022. TAX INFORMATION. (a) Except as otherwise
provided by this section, the comptroller on request shall provide
to a taxing entity that is a rapid transit authority created under
Chapter 451, Transportation Code, a regional transportation
authority created under Chapter 452, Transportation Code, or an
emergency services district created under Chapter 775 or 776,
Health and Safety Code, that has adopted a tax under the law
authorizing the creation of the entity:
(1) information relating to the amount of tax paid to
the entity under this chapter during the preceding or current
calendar year by each person doing business in the area included in
the entity who annually remits to the comptroller state and local
sales tax payments of more than $25,000; and
(2) any other information as provided by this section.
(b) The comptroller on request shall provide to a taxing
entity to which this section applies information relating to the
amount of tax paid to the entity under this chapter during the
preceding or current calendar year by each person doing business in
an area included in the entity, as defined by the entity, that is
part of:
(1) an interlocal agreement;
(2) a revenue sharing agreement;
(3) any other agreement similar to those listed in
Subdivisions (1) and (2); or
(4) any area defined by the entity for the purpose of
economic forecasting.
(c) The comptroller shall provide the information under
Subsection (b) as an aggregate total for all persons doing business
in the defined area without disclosing individual tax payments.
(d) If the request for information under Subsection (b)
involves not more than three persons doing business in the defined
area who remit taxes under this chapter, the comptroller shall
refuse to provide the information to the taxing entity unless the
comptroller receives permission from each of the persons allowing
the comptroller to provide the information to the entity as
requested.
(e) A separate request for information under this section
must be made in writing by the taxing entity each year.
(f) Information received by a taxing entity under this
section is confidential, is not open to public inspection, and may
be used only for the purpose of economic forecasting, for internal
auditing of a tax paid to the entity under this chapter, or for the
purpose described by Subsection (g).
(g) Information received by a taxing entity under
Subsection (b) may be used by the entity to assist in determining
revenue sharing under a revenue sharing agreement or other similar
agreement.
(h) The comptroller may set and collect from a taxing entity
reasonable fees to cover the expense of compiling and providing
information under this section.
(i) Notwithstanding Chapter 551, Government Code, the
governing body of a taxing entity is not required to confer with one
or more employees or a third party in an open meeting to receive
information or question the employees or third party regarding the
information received by the entity under this section.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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