84R5495 SMH-D
By: Springer H.B. No. 1987
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of property for a limitation on
appraised value for school district maintenance and operations ad
valorem tax purposes under the Texas Economic Development Act.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 313.025(b), (d), and (f-1), Tax Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) The governing body of a school district is not required
to consider an application for a limitation on appraised value. If
the governing body of the school district elects to consider an
application, the governing body shall deliver a copy of the
application to the comptroller and request that the comptroller
conduct an economic impact evaluation of the investment proposed by
the application. In addition, the governing body may request that
the comptroller submit a recommendation as to whether the new jobs
creation requirement should be reduced or waived and, if reduced,
the number of new jobs that should be required to be created. The
comptroller shall conduct or contract with a third person to
conduct the economic impact evaluation, which shall be completed
and provided to the governing body of the school district, along
with the comptroller's certificate or written explanation under
Subsection (d)(1) and recommendation under Subsection (d)(2), if
requested [(d)], as soon as practicable but not later than the 90th
day after the date the comptroller receives the application. The
governing body shall provide to the comptroller or to a third person
contracted by the comptroller to conduct the economic impact
evaluation any requested information. A methodology to allow
comparisons of economic impact for different schedules of the
addition of qualified investment or qualified property may be
developed as part of the economic impact evaluation. The governing
body shall provide a copy of the economic impact evaluation to the
applicant on request. The comptroller may charge the applicant a
fee sufficient to cover the costs of providing the economic impact
evaluation. The governing body of a school district shall approve
or disapprove an application not later than the 150th day after the
date the application is filed, unless the economic impact
evaluation has not been received or an extension is agreed to by the
governing body and the applicant.
(d) Not later than the 90th day after the date the
comptroller receives the copy of the application, the comptroller
shall:
(1) issue a certificate for a limitation on appraised
value of the property and provide the certificate to the governing
body of the school district or provide the governing body a written
explanation of the comptroller's decision not to issue a
certificate; and
(2) if requested by the governing body of the school
district, submit to the governing body a recommendation as to
whether the new jobs creation requirement should be reduced or
waived and, if reduced, the number of new jobs that should be
required to be created.
(f-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter
[to the contrary, including Section 313.003(2) or 313.004(3)(A) or
(B)(iii)], the governing body of a school district may waive or
reduce the new jobs creation requirement in Section
313.021(2)(A)(iv)(b) or 313.051(b) only [and approve an
application] if the comptroller determines [governing body makes a
finding] that the jobs creation requirement exceeds the industry
standard for the number of employees reasonably necessary for the
operation of the facility of the property owner that is described in
the application and recommends waiving or reducing the requirement.
SECTION 2. Sections 313.026(a) and (b), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The economic impact evaluation of the application must
include any information the comptroller determines is necessary or
helpful to:
(1) the governing body of the school district in
determining whether to approve the application under Section
313.025; or
(2) the comptroller in determining whether to:
(A) issue a certificate for a limitation on
appraised value of the property under Section 313.025; and
(B) if requested, submit a recommendation
regarding waiver or reduction of the new jobs creation requirement
under Section 313.025.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), the
comptroller's determination whether to issue a certificate for a
limitation on appraised value under this chapter for property
described in the application and whether to, if requested, submit a
recommendation regarding waiver or reduction of the new jobs
creation requirement shall be based on the economic impact
evaluation described by Subsection (a) and on any other information
available to the comptroller, including information provided by the
governing body of the school district.
SECTION 3. Section 313.027(f), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(f) In addition, the agreement:
(1) must incorporate each relevant provision of this
subchapter and, to the extent necessary, include provisions for the
protection of future school district revenues through the
adjustment of the minimum valuations, the payment of revenue
offsets, and other mechanisms agreed to by the property owner and
the school district;
(2) may provide that the property owner will protect
the school district in the event the district incurs extraordinary
education-related expenses related to the project that are not
directly funded in state aid formulas, including expenses for the
purchase of portable classrooms and the hiring of additional
personnel to accommodate a temporary increase in student enrollment
attributable to the project;
(3) must require the property owner to maintain a
viable presence in the school district for at least five years after
the date the limitation on appraised value of the owner's property
expires;
(4) must provide for the termination of the agreement,
the recapture of ad valorem tax revenue lost as a result of the
agreement if the owner of the property fails to comply with the
terms of the agreement, and payment of a penalty or interest, or
both, on that recaptured ad valorem tax revenue;
(5) may specify any conditions the occurrence of which
will require the district and the property owner to renegotiate all
or any part of the agreement;
(6) must specify the ad valorem tax years covered by
the agreement; [and]
(7) must provide for the recapture of ad valorem tax
revenue lost as a result of the agreement if, in the first tax year
after the date the limitation on appraised value of the owner's
property expires, the market value of the property is less than 80
percent of the market value of the property in the first tax year
after the date the qualifying time period expires; and
(8) must be in a form approved by the comptroller.
SECTION 4. Chapter 313, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to an application filed under that chapter on or after
the effective date of this Act. An application filed under that
chapter before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the application was filed, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016.