88R4576 SHH-F
By: Bettencourt, Middleton S.B. No. 977
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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(7), Tax Code, is amended 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 has been approved at an election and[:
[(i)] is payable 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.
SECTION 2. Sections 26.012(9), (18-a), and (18-b), Tax
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.