H.B. No. 1869
AN ACT
relating to the definition of debt for the purposes of calculating
certain ad valorem tax rates of a taxing unit.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.012, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subdivision (7) and adding Subdivisions (9), (18-a), and (18-b) to
read as follows:
(7) "Debt" means:
(A) a bond, warrant, certificate of obligation,
or other evidence of indebtedness owed by a taxing unit that:
(i) is payable [solely] from property taxes
in installments over a period of more than one year, not budgeted
for payment from maintenance and operations funds, and secured by a
pledge of property taxes; and
(ii) meets one of the following
requirements:
(a) has been approved at an election;
(b) includes self-supporting debt;
(c) evidences a loan under a state or
federal financial assistance program;
(d) is issued for designated
infrastructure;
(e) is a refunding bond;
(f) is issued in response to an
emergency under Section 1431.015, Government Code;
(g) is issued for renovating,
improving, or equipping existing buildings or facilities;
(h) is issued for vehicles or
equipment; or
(i) is issued for a project under
Chapter 311, Tax Code, or Chapter 222, Transportation Code, that is
located in a reinvestment zone created under one of those
chapters;[,] or
(B) a payment made under contract to secure
indebtedness of a similar nature issued by another political
subdivision on behalf of the taxing unit.
(9) "Designated infrastructure" means infrastructure,
including a facility, equipment, rights-of-way, or land, for the
following purposes:
(A) streets, roads, highways, bridges,
sidewalks, parks, landfills, parking structures, or airports;
(B) telecommunications, wireless
communications, information technology systems, applications,
hardware, or software;
(C) cybersecurity;
(D) as part of any utility system, water supply
project, water plant, wastewater plant, water and wastewater
distribution or conveyance facility, wharf, dock, or flood control
and drainage project;
(E) police stations, fire stations, or other
public safety facilities, jails, juvenile detention facilities, or
judicial facilities, and any facilities that are physically
attached to the facilities described by this paragraph;
(F) as part of any school district; or
(G) as part of any hospital district created by
general or special law that includes a teaching hospital.
(18-a) "Refunding bond" means a bond or other
obligation issued for refunding or refinancing purposes under
Chapter 1207 or 1371, Government Code.
(18-b) "Self-supporting debt" means the portion of a
bond, warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
indebtedness described by Subdivision (7)(A)(i) designated by the
governing body of a political subdivision as being repaid from a
source other than property taxes.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a bond, warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
indebtedness for which the ordinance, order, or resolution
authorizing the issuance is adopted by the governing body of a
taxing unit on or after the effective date of this Act and for which
the taxing unit has not entered into a binding agreement before the
effective date of this Act that contemplates the issuance of the
debt. The changes in law made by this Act do not apply to a bond,
warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
indebtedness for which the ordinance, order, or resolution
authorizing the issuance was adopted by the governing body of a
taxing unit before the effective date of this Act or for which the
taxing unit has entered into a binding agreement before the
effective date of this Act that contemplates the issuance of such
debt, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
For the purposes of this section, "binding agreement" includes a
development agreement, ordinance, order, or resolution that
authorizes or delegates to an appropriate officer of a taxing unit
the execution of a binding agreement at a later date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1869 was passed by the House on May 5,
2021, by the following vote: Yeas 111, Nays 29, 2 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 1869 on May 28, 2021, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 1869 on May 30, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 72,
Nays 67, 3 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1869 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays
10, 1 present, not voting; at the request of the House, the Senate
appointed a conference committee to consider the differences
between the two houses; and that the Senate adopted the conference
committee report on H.B. No. 1869 on May 29, 2021, by the following
vote: Yeas 20, Nays 10, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor