83R1947 CJC-D
By: Anchia H.B. No. 1173
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed on
property on which certain water conservation systems have been
installed.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 31.038 to read as follows:
Sec. 31.038. TAX CREDIT FOR CERTAIN WATER CONSERVATION
SYSTEMS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Drip irrigation system" means a low pressure, low
volume irrigation system that delivers water to the roots or base of
a plant through surface or subsurface lines, tubes, and emitters.
(2) "Rainwater harvesting system" means a system for
the capture and storage of rainwater for subsequent use. For the
purposes of this section, a rainwater harvesting system must store
water in cisterns capable of holding 400 or more gallons of water.
(b) A person who installs a drip irrigation system or a
rainwater harvesting system on the person's property is entitled to
a credit against the taxes imposed on the property by a taxing unit
that taxes the property if the credit is adopted by the governing
body of the taxing unit in the manner provided by law for official
action.
(c) The amount of the credit under this section to which a
person is entitled against the taxes imposed on the property by a
taxing unit described by Subsection (b) is computed by:
(1) dividing the amount of taxes imposed on the
property by the taxing unit by the total amount of taxes imposed on
the property by all of the taxing units described by Subsection (b);
and
(2) multiplying the amount computed under Subdivision
(1) by the following amount, as applicable:
(A) for a drip irrigation system, an amount equal
to the lesser of:
(i) 25 percent of the total cost to the
person for installation of the system; or
(ii) $2,500; or
(B) for a rainwater harvesting system, an amount
equal to the least of:
(i) $1 for each gallon of storage capacity
provided by the system;
(ii) 50 percent of the total cost to the
person for installation of the system; or
(iii) $5,000.
(d) A person may receive a credit under this section only in
the first tax year after the year in which the person installed the
drip irrigation system or rainwater harvesting system on the
person's property, except that if the amount of the credit to which
the person is entitled under this section in any tax year exceeds
the amount of tax imposed on the property in that tax year, the
excess amount may be carried forward and credited against the taxes
imposed in the following tax year.
(e) To receive a credit under this section against the taxes
imposed by a taxing unit on the person's property, a person must
file an application with the chief appraiser of the appraisal
district in which the property is located. The application must
include:
(1) the installation costs incurred by the person if
the credit is based on installation of a drip irrigation system; or
(2) the installation costs incurred by the person and
the total volume of the storage capacity provided by the system if
the credit is based on the installation of a rainwater harvesting
system.
(f) The chief appraiser shall forward a copy of the
application to the assessor for each taxing unit described by
Subsection (b). The assessors for the taxing units shall consult
with one another as necessary to compute the amount of the credit to
be granted by each taxing unit.
(g) A credit provided by this section, once allowed, need
not be claimed in subsequent years and applies to the property
regardless of any subsequent change in ownership of the property.
SECTION 2. Section 403.302(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) For the purposes of this section, "taxable value" means
the market value of all taxable property less:
(1) the total dollar amount of any residence homestead
exemptions lawfully granted under Section 11.13(b) or (c), Tax
Code, in the year that is the subject of the study for each school
district;
(2) one-half of the total dollar amount of any
residence homestead exemptions granted under Section 11.13(n), Tax
Code, in the year that is the subject of the study for each school
district;
(3) the total dollar amount of any exemptions granted
before May 31, 1993, within a reinvestment zone under agreements
authorized by Chapter 312, Tax Code;
(4) subject to Subsection (e), the total dollar amount
of any captured appraised value of property that:
(A) is within a reinvestment zone created on or
before May 31, 1999, or is proposed to be included within the
boundaries of a reinvestment zone as the boundaries of the zone and
the proposed portion of tax increment paid into the tax increment
fund by a school district are described in a written notification
provided by the municipality or the board of directors of the zone
to the governing bodies of the other taxing units in the manner
provided by former Section 311.003(e), Tax Code, before May 31,
1999, and within the boundaries of the zone as those boundaries
existed on September 1, 1999, including subsequent improvements to
the property regardless of when made;
(B) generates taxes paid into a tax increment
fund created under Chapter 311, Tax Code, under a reinvestment zone
financing plan approved under Section 311.011(d), Tax Code, on or
before September 1, 1999; and
(C) is eligible for tax increment financing under
Chapter 311, Tax Code;
(5) the total dollar amount of any captured appraised
value of property that:
(A) is within a reinvestment zone:
(i) created on or before December 31, 2008,
by a municipality with a population of less than 18,000; and
(ii) the project plan for which includes
the alteration, remodeling, repair, or reconstruction of a
structure that is included on the National Register of Historic
Places and requires that a portion of the tax increment of the zone
be used for the improvement or construction of related facilities
or for affordable housing;
(B) generates school district taxes that are paid
into a tax increment fund created under Chapter 311, Tax Code; and
(C) is eligible for tax increment financing under
Chapter 311, Tax Code;
(6) the total dollar amount of any exemptions granted
under Section 11.251 or 11.253, Tax Code;
(7) the difference between the comptroller's estimate
of the market value and the productivity value of land that
qualifies for appraisal on the basis of its productive capacity,
except that the productivity value estimated by the comptroller may
not exceed the fair market value of the land;
(8) the portion of the appraised value of residence
homesteads of individuals who receive a tax limitation under
Section 11.26, Tax Code, on which school district taxes are not
imposed in the year that is the subject of the study, calculated as
if the residence homesteads were appraised at the full value
required by law;
(9) a portion of the market value of property not
otherwise fully taxable by the district at market value because of:
(A) action required by statute or the
constitution of this state that, if the tax rate adopted by the
district is applied to it, produces an amount equal to the
difference between the tax that the district would have imposed on
the property if the property were fully taxable at market value and
the tax that the district is actually authorized to impose on the
property, if this subsection does not otherwise require that
portion to be deducted; or
(B) action taken by the district under Subchapter
B or C, Chapter 313, Tax Code, before the expiration of the
subchapter;
(10) the market value of all tangible personal
property, other than manufactured homes, owned by a family or
individual and not held or used for the production of income;
(11) the appraised value of property the collection of
delinquent taxes on which is deferred under Section 33.06, Tax
Code;
(12) the portion of the appraised value of property
the collection of delinquent taxes on which is deferred under
Section 33.065, Tax Code; [and]
(13) the amount by which the market value of a
residence homestead to which Section 23.23, Tax Code, applies
exceeds the appraised value of that property as calculated under
that section; and
(14) an amount equal to the taxable value required to
generate revenue, when taxed at the school district's tax rate in
the year that is the subject of the study, in an amount that is equal
to the total amount of the credits provided by the district under
Section 31.038, Tax Code, in that year.
SECTION 3. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed
for a tax year beginning on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.