88R25618 CJC-F
By: Shine, Martinez Fischer, Kuempel, Ordaz, H.B. No. 1613
Slawson, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of state aid to certain local governments
to offset the cost of the exemption from ad valorem taxation of the
residence homestead of a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the State Economic
Reimbursement for Veterans Exemption (SERVE) Act.
SECTION 2. Sections 140.011(a)(1) and (2), Local Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(1) "Ad valorem tax [General fund] revenue" means the
dollar amount of ad valorem taxes imposed [revenue generated] by a
local government for the tax year in which the local government's
[from the following sources during a] fiscal year begins [and
deposited in the dedicated general operating fund of the local
government during that fiscal year:
[(A) ad valorem taxes;
[(B) sales and use taxes;
[(C) franchise taxes, fees, or assessments
charged for use of the local government's right-of-way;
[(D) building and development fees, including
permit and inspection fees;
[(E) court fines and fees;
[(F) other fees, assessments, and charges; and
[(G) interest earned by the local government].
(2) "Local government" means a municipality or county
[:
[(A) a municipality adjacent to a United States
military installation; and
[(B) a county in which a United States military
installation is wholly or partly located].
SECTION 3. Section 140.011, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (b), (d), (h), and (i) and adding
Subsections (j) and (k) to read as follows:
(b) To serve the state purpose of ensuring that the cost of
providing ad valorem tax relief to disabled veterans is shared
equitably among the residents of this state, a local government is
entitled to a disabled veteran assistance payment from the state
for each fiscal year that the local government is a qualified local
government. A local government is a qualified local government for
a fiscal year if the amount of lost ad valorem tax revenue
calculated under Subsection (c) for that fiscal year is [equal to
or] greater than one [two] percent of the local government's ad
valorem tax [general fund] revenue for that fiscal year.
(d) Subject to Subsection (i), a [A] disabled veteran
assistance payment made to a qualified local government for a
fiscal year is calculated by subtracting from the local
government's lost ad valorem tax revenue calculated under
Subsection (c) for that fiscal year an amount equal to one percent
of the local government's ad valorem tax [general fund] revenue for
that fiscal year.
(h) The disabled veteran local government assistance trust
fund is established as a trust fund outside the state treasury. The
fund consists of money deposited to the credit of the fund under
Section 151.801, Tax Code, and other money deposited to the credit
of the fund at the direction of the legislature. The comptroller
shall administer the fund as trustee on behalf of qualified local
governments. The comptroller shall allocate the money deposited to
the credit of the fund [transfer funds to a newly created account in
the state treasury] for the purpose of making payments to which
qualified [reimbursement of] local governments are entitled under
this section. The comptroller may make a payment from the fund to a
qualified local government without the necessity of an
appropriation.
(i) If the comptroller determines that the balance of the
disabled veteran local government assistance trust fund in a state
fiscal year is not sufficient to pay the full amount of each
disabled veteran assistance payment to qualified local governments
in that year, the comptroller shall proportionately reduce the
amount of each payment made to the qualified local governments that
year as necessary to prevent the fund from becoming insolvent.
(j) If in a state fiscal year the amount of money in the
disabled veteran local government assistance trust fund exceeds the
amount necessary to pay the full amount of each disabled veteran
assistance payment to qualified local governments in that year, the
comptroller shall transfer the excess amount to the general revenue
fund not later than the last day of that year.
(k) The comptroller shall adopt rules necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 4. Section 151.801, Tax Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(a) Except for [the] amounts otherwise allocated under this
section [Subsections (b), (c), (c-2), (c-3), and (f)], all proceeds
from the collection of the taxes imposed by this chapter shall be
deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.
(g) Each state fiscal year the comptroller shall determine
in the manner prescribed by this subsection an amount of the
proceeds from the collection of the taxes imposed by this chapter
and deposit that amount to the credit of the disabled veteran local
government assistance trust fund established under Section
140.011, Local Government Code. For the state fiscal years
beginning September 1, 2023, and September 1, 2024, the amount to be
deposited to the credit of the disabled veteran local government
assistance trust fund is $200 million. In the state fiscal year
beginning September 1, 2025, and each subsequent state fiscal year,
the amount to be deposited to the credit of the disabled veteran
local government assistance trust fund is an amount equal to the
amount deposited to the credit of the fund in the preceding state
fiscal year, adjusted by the annual rate of change in disabled
veteran assistance payments made under Section 140.011, Local
Government Code. For purposes of this subsection, the annual rate
of change in disabled veteran assistance payments is equal to the
percentage increase, if any, in the amount of disabled veteran
assistance payments made under Section 140.011, Local Government
Code, in the preceding state fiscal year as compared to the amount
of those payments made in the state fiscal year preceding that state
fiscal year. When computing the annual rate of change in disabled
veteran assistance payments for purposes of this subsection, the
comptroller may not consider the amount by which a disabled veteran
assistance payment was reduced under Section 140.011(i), Local
Government Code.
SECTION 5. Section 140.011, Local Government Code, as
amended by this Act, applies to the eligibility of a local
government to apply for, and the calculation of, a disabled veteran
assistance payment beginning with the fiscal year of the local
government that ends in the 2023 tax year.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.