Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB977 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R4576 SHH-F
2	2	By: Bettencourt, Middleton S.B. No. 977
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the definition of debt for the purposes of calculating
8	8	certain ad valorem tax rates of a taxing unit.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 26.012(7), Tax Code, is amended to read
11	11	as follows:
12	12	(7) "Debt" means[:
13	13	[(A)] a bond, warrant, certificate of
14	14	obligation, or other evidence of indebtedness owed by a taxing unit
15	15	that has been approved at an election and[:
16	16	[(i)] is payable from property taxes in
17	17	installments over a period of more than one year, not budgeted for
18	18	payment from maintenance and operations funds, and secured by a
19	19	pledge of property taxes,[; and
20	20	[(ii) meets one of the following
21	21	requirements:
22	22	[(a) has been approved at an election;
23	23	[(b) includes self-supporting debt;
24	24	[(c) evidences a loan under a state or
25	25	federal financial assistance program;
26	26	[(d) is issued for designated
27	27	infrastructure;
28	28	[(e) is a refunding bond;
29	29	[(f) is issued in response to an
30	30	emergency under Section 1431.015, Government Code;
31	31	[(g) is issued for renovating,
32	32	improving, or equipping existing buildings or facilities;
33	33	[(h) is issued for vehicles or
34	34	equipment; or
35	35	[(i) is issued for a project under
36	36	Chapter 311, Tax Code, or Chapter 222, Transportation Code, that is
37	37	located in a reinvestment zone created under one of those
38	38	chapters;] or
39	39	[(B)] a payment made under contract to secure
40	40	indebtedness of a similar nature issued by another political
41	41	subdivision on behalf of the taxing unit.
42	42	SECTION 2. Sections 26.012(9), (18-a), and (18-b), Tax
43	43	Code, are repealed.
44	44	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
45	45	a bond, warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
46	46	indebtedness for which the ordinance, order, or resolution
47	47	authorizing the issuance is adopted by the governing body of a
48	48	taxing unit on or after the effective date of this Act and for which
49	49	the taxing unit has not entered into a binding agreement before the
50	50	effective date of this Act that contemplates the issuance of the
51	51	debt. The changes in law made by this Act do not apply to a bond,
52	52	warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
53	53	indebtedness for which the ordinance, order, or resolution
54	54	authorizing the issuance was adopted by the governing body of a
55	55	taxing unit before the effective date of this Act or for which the
56	56	taxing unit has entered into a binding agreement before the
57	57	effective date of this Act that contemplates the issuance of such
58	58	debt, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
59	59	For the purposes of this section, "binding agreement" includes a
60	60	development agreement, ordinance, order, or resolution that
61	61	authorizes or delegates to an appropriate officer of a taxing unit
62	62	the execution of a binding agreement at a later date.
63	63	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.