| 1 | 1 | | By: Spiller H.B. No. 3594 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to an adjustment to the voter-approval tax rate for |
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| 7 | 7 | | certain municipalities with low or decreasing debt. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 26, Tax Code, is amended by adding |
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| 10 | 10 | | Section 26.0445 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 26.0445. VOTER-APPROVAL RATE ADJUSTMENT FOR |
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| 12 | 12 | | TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING IN A LOW-DEBT |
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| 13 | 13 | | MUNICIPALIITY. (a) In the section: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Low-debt municipality" means a municipality that: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (A) adopted a tax rate in the preceding tax year |
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| 16 | 16 | | for which the debt component comprised no more than 20 percent of |
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| 17 | 17 | | the adopted rate; or |
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| 18 | 18 | | (B) for each of the preceding three tax years, |
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| 19 | 19 | | adopted a tax rate for which the debt component comprised a lower |
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| 20 | 20 | | percentage of the adopted rate than the percentage of the adopted |
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| 21 | 21 | | rate the debt component comprised in the immediately preceding tax |
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| 22 | 22 | | year. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) "Transportation infrastructure" means the building |
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| 24 | 24 | | and maintenance of highways, roads, sidewalks, airports, rail |
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| 25 | 25 | | lines, bus stations, transit facilities, or other infrastructure |
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| 26 | 26 | | designed to facilitate transportation. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (b) A low-debt municipality may direct the designated |
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| 28 | 28 | | officer or employee to add to the voter-approval tax rate the rate |
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| 29 | 29 | | that, when applied to the municipality's current total taxable |
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| 30 | 30 | | value, would impose an amount of taxes equal to the greater of: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) one percent of the preceding year's maintenance and |
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| 32 | 32 | | operations tax levy; or |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) $50,000. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (c) A municipality that makes the adjustment provided by |
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| 35 | 35 | | Subsection (b) shall place in a separate account in the municipal |
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| 36 | 36 | | treasury an amount of money equal to the amount described by |
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| 37 | 37 | | Subsection (b)(1) or (2), as applicable, that the municipality used |
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| 38 | 38 | | to calculate the adjustment. Money in the account may be used only |
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| 39 | 39 | | for transportation infrastructure costs. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 2. Section 26.0445, Tax Code, as added by this Act, |
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| 41 | 41 | | applies to the calculation of the voter-approval tax rate for a |
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| 42 | 42 | | municipality on for a tax year beginning on or after January 1, |
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| 43 | 43 | | 2024. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024. |
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