Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB748 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R17070 TJB-F
2	2	By: Nelson S.B. No. 748
3	3	(Geren)
4	4	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 748: No.
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the use of certain tax revenue to enhance and upgrade
10	10	convention center facilities, multipurpose arenas, venues, and
11	11	related infrastructure in certain municipalities.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 351, Tax Code, is amended
14	14	by adding Section 351.1015 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 351.1015. CERTAIN QUALIFIED PROJECTS. (a) In this
16	16	section:
17	17	(1) "Base year amount" means the amount of
18	18	hotel-associated revenue collected in a project financing zone
19	19	during the calendar year in which a municipality designates the
20	20	zone.
21	21	(2) "Hotel-associated revenue" means the sum of:
22	22	(A) state tax revenue collected in a project
23	23	financing zone from all hotels located in the zone that would be
24	24	available to the owners of qualified hotel projects under Section
25	25	151.429(h) if the hotels were qualified hotel projects, excluding
26	26	the amount of that revenue received by a municipality under Section
27	27	351.102(c) for a hotel project described by Section 351.102(b) and
28	28	located in the zone that exists on the date the municipality
29	29	designates the zone; and
30	30	(B) tax revenue collected from all permittees
31	31	under Chapter 183 at hotels located in the zone, excluding revenue
32	32	disbursed by the comptroller under Section 183.051(b).
33	33	(3) "Incremental hotel-associated revenue" means the
34	34	amount in any calendar year by which hotel-associated revenue,
35	35	including hotel-associated revenue from hotels built in the project
36	36	financing zone after the year in which a municipality designates
37	37	the zone, exceeds the base year amount.
38	38	(4) "Project financing zone" means an area within a
39	39	municipality:
40	40	(A) that the municipality by ordinance or by
41	41	agreement under Chapter 380, Local Government Code, designates as a
42	42	project financing zone;
43	43	(B) the boundaries of which are within a
44	44	three-mile radius of the center of a qualified project;
45	45	(C) the designation of which specifies the
46	46	longitude and latitude of the center of the qualified project; and
47	47	(D) the designation of which expires not later
48	48	than the 30th anniversary of the date of designation.
49	49	(5) "Qualified project" means:
50	50	(A) a convention center facility; or
51	51	(B) a multipurpose arena or venue that includes a
52	52	livestock facility and is located within or adjacent to a
53	53	recognized cultural district, and any related infrastructure, that
54	54	is:
55	55	(i) located on land owned by a municipality
56	56	or by the owner of the venue;
57	57	(ii) partially financed by private
58	58	contributions that equal not less than 40 percent of the project
59	59	costs; and
60	60	(iii) related to the promotion of tourism
61	61	and the convention and hotel industry.
62	62	(6) "Venue" and "related infrastructure" have the
63	63	meanings assigned by Section 334.001, Local Government Code.
64	64	(b) This section applies only to a qualified project located
65	65	in a municipality with a population of at least 650,000 but less
66	66	than 750,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census.
67	67	(c) In addition to the uses provided by Section 351.101,
68	68	revenue from the municipal hotel occupancy tax may be used to fund a
69	69	qualified project.
70	70	(d) A municipality may pledge the revenue derived from the
71	71	tax imposed under this chapter from a hotel located in the project
72	72	financing zone for the payment of bonds or other obligations issued
73	73	or incurred to acquire, lease, construct, improve, enlarge, and
74	74	equip the qualified project.
75	75	(e) A municipality may pledge for the payment of bonds or
76	76	other obligations described by Subsection (d) the local revenue
77	77	from eligible tax proceeds as defined by Section 2303.5055(e),
78	78	Government Code, from hotels located in a project financing zone
79	79	that would be available to the owners of qualified hotel projects
80	80	under that section if the hotels were qualified hotel projects,
81	81	excluding any amount received by the municipality for a hotel
82	82	project described by Section 351.102(b) and located in the zone
83	83	that exists on the date the municipality designates the zone.
84	84	(f) A municipality shall notify the comptroller of the
85	85	municipality's designation of a project financing zone not later
86	86	than the 30th day after the date the municipality designates the
87	87	zone. Notwithstanding other law, the municipality is entitled to
88	88	receive the incremental hotel-associated revenue from the project
89	89	financing zone for the period beginning on the first day of the year
90	90	after the year in which the municipality designates the zone and
91	91	ending on the last day of the month during which the designation
92	92	expires. The municipality may pledge the revenue for the payment of
93	93	bonds or other obligations described by Subsection (d).
94	94	(g) The comptroller shall deposit incremental
95	95	hotel-associated revenue collected by or forwarded to the
96	96	comptroller in a separate suspense account to be held in trust for
97	97	the municipality that is entitled to receive the revenue. The
98	98	suspense account is outside the state treasury, and the comptroller
99	99	may make a payment authorized by this section from the account
100	100	without the necessity of an appropriation. The comptroller shall
101	101	begin making payments from the suspense account to the municipality
102	102	for which the money is held on the date the qualified project in the
103	103	project financing zone is commenced. If the qualified project is
104	104	not commenced by the fifth anniversary of the first deposit to the
105	105	account, the comptroller shall transfer the money in the account to
106	106	the general revenue fund and cease making deposits to the account.
107	107	(h) The comptroller may estimate the amount of incremental
108	108	hotel-associated revenue that will be deposited to a suspense
109	109	account under Subsection (g) during each calendar year. The
110	110	comptroller may make deposits to the account and the municipality
111	111	may request disbursements from the account on a monthly basis based
112	112	on the estimate. At the end of each calendar year, the comptroller
113	113	shall adjust the deposits and disbursements to reflect the amount
114	114	of revenue actually deposited to the account during the calendar
115	115	year.
116	116	(i) A municipality shall notify the comptroller if the
117	117	qualified project in the project financing zone is abandoned. If
118	118	the qualified project is abandoned, the comptroller shall transfer
119	119	to the general revenue fund the amount of money in the suspense
120	120	account that exceeds the amount required for the payment of bonds or
121	121	other obligations described by Subsection (d).
122	122	SECTION 2. Section 351.1065(a), Tax Code, is amended to
123	123	read as follows:
124	124	(a) An eligible central municipality shall use the amount of
125	125	revenue from the tax that is derived from the application of the tax
126	126	at a rate of more than seven percent of the cost of a room only for:
127	127	(1) the construction of an expansion of an existing
128	128	convention center facility; [and]
129	129	(2) a qualified project to which Section 351.1015
130	130	applies; and
131	131	(3) pledging payment of revenue bonds and revenue
132	132	refunding bonds issued under Subchapter A, Chapter 1504, Government
133	133	Code, for the construction or qualified project [of the expansion].
134	134	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.