Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1623 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Louderback H.B. No. 1623
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the eligibility of certain foreign individuals or
9	9	entities for a limitation on the taxable value of property for
10	10	school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax purposes
11	11	under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation Act.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 403.602, Government Code, as added by
14	14	Chapter 377 (H.B. 5), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
15	15	Session, 2023, is amended by adding Subdivisions (7-a) and (10-a)
16	16	to read as follows:
17	17	(7-a) "Designated country" means a country identified
18	18	by the United States Director of National Intelligence as a country
19	19	that poses a risk to the national security of the United States in
20	20	each of the three most recent Annual Threat Assessments of the U.S.
21	21	Intelligence Community issued pursuant to Section 108B, National
22	22	Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. Section 3043b).
23	23	(10-a) "Governing authority," "governing person," and
24	24	"organization" have the meanings assigned by Section 1.002,
25	25	Business Organizations Code.
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 403.606, Government Code, as added by
27	27	Chapter 377 (H.B. 5), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
28	28	Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:
29	29	Sec. 403.606. CERTAIN PERSONS INELIGIBLE. (a) For
30	30	purposes of this section, an organization is under the control of an
31	31	individual or another organization if the controlling individual or
32	32	organization owns at least 50 percent of the voting ownership
33	33	interest of the controlled organization necessary to elect a
34	34	governing person or governing authority of that organization.
35	35	(b) A person is not eligible to submit an application to the
36	36	comptroller or enter into an agreement under this subchapter if:
37	37	(1) the person is a company that is listed as
38	38	ineligible to receive a state contract or investment under Chapter
39	39	808, 809, 2270, 2271, [or] 2274, 2275, or 2276; or
40	40	(2) the person is:
41	41	(A) a governmental entity of a designated
42	42	country;
43	43	(B) an organization that is:
44	44	(i) headquartered in a designated country;
45	45	(ii) directly or indirectly under the
46	46	control of the government of a designated country; or
47	47	(iii) owned by or under the control of one
48	48	or more individuals who are citizens of a designated country;
49	49	(C) an organization that is owned by or under the
50	50	control of an organization described by Paragraph (B); or
51	51	(D) an individual who is a citizen of a
52	52	designated country [as added by Chapters 529 (S.B. 13), 530 (S.B.
53	53	19), and 975 (S.B. 2116), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
54	54	Session, 2021].
55	55	SECTION 3. Section 403.607(e), Government Code, as added by
56	56	Chapter 377 (H.B. 5), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
57	57	Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:
58	58	(e) The comptroller may request that an applicant provide
59	59	any additional information the comptroller reasonably determines
60	60	is necessary to complete the comptroller's evaluation of the
61	61	application, including information necessary to determine whether
62	62	the applicant is eligible under Section 403.606 to submit the
63	63	application. The comptroller may require an applicant to submit
64	64	the additional information by a certain date and may extend that
65	65	deadline on a showing of good cause. The comptroller is not
66	66	required to take any further action on an application until it is
67	67	complete.
68	68	SECTION 4. Section 403.609(b), Government Code, as added by
69	69	Chapter 377 (H.B. 5), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
70	70	Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:
71	71	(b) The comptroller may not recommend an application for
72	72	approval unless the comptroller finds that:
73	73	(1) the proposed project that is the subject of the
74	74	application is an eligible project;
75	75	(2) the proposed project is reasonably likely to
76	76	generate, before the 20th anniversary of the first day of the
77	77	construction period, state or local tax revenue, including ad
78	78	valorem tax revenue attributable to the effect of the project on the
79	79	economy of this state, in an amount sufficient to offset the school
80	80	district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax revenue lost as
81	81	a result of the agreement;
82	82	(3) the agreement is a compelling factor in a
83	83	competitive site selection determination and that, in the absence
84	84	of the agreement, the applicant would not make the proposed
85	85	investment in this state; [and]
86	86	(4) if the application indicates that the eligible
87	87	project is proposed to be located in a qualified opportunity zone,
88	88	the project is located in the zone; and
89	89	(5) the content of the sworn affidavit submitted by
90	90	the applicant with the application under Section 403.607(d)(5) is
91	91	true and correct and the applicant is eligible under Section
92	92	403.606 to submit the application.
93	93	SECTION 5. Section 403.612, Government Code, as added by
94	94	Chapter 377 (H.B. 5), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
95	95	Session, 2023, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (e) and
96	96	adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
97	97	(b) An agreement entered into under this section between the
98	98	governor, a school district, and an applicant pertaining to an
99	99	eligible project shall:
100	100	(1) specify the project to which the agreement
101	101	applies;
102	102	(2) specify the term of the agreement, which must:
103	103	(A) begin on the date the agreement is entered
104	104	into; and
105	105	(B) end on December 31 of the third tax year
106	106	following the end of the incentive period;
107	107	(3) specify the construction and incentive periods for
108	108	the project;
109	109	(4) specify the manner for determining the taxable
110	110	value for school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax
111	111	purposes during the incentive period under Section 403.605 for the
112	112	eligible property subject to the agreement;
113	113	(5) specify the applicable jobs and investment
114	114	requirements prescribed by Section 403.604 and require the
115	115	applicant to comply with those requirements;
116	116	(6) require that the average annual wage paid to all
117	117	persons employed by the applicant in connection with the project
118	118	used to calculate total jobs exceed 110 percent of the average
119	119	annual wage for all jobs in the applicable industry sector during
120	120	the most recent four quarters for which data is available, as
121	121	computed by the Texas Workforce Commission, with the applicant's
122	122	average annual wage being equal to the quotient of:
123	123	(A) the applicant's total wages paid, other than
124	124	wages paid for construction jobs, as reported under Section
125	125	403.616(c)(4); and
126	126	(B) the applicant's number of total jobs as
127	127	reported under Section 403.616(c)(3);
128	128	(7) require the applicant to pay a penalty prescribed
129	129	by Section 403.614 if the applicant fails to comply with an
130	130	applicable jobs or wage requirement;
131	131	(8) require the applicant to offer and contribute to a
132	132	group health benefit plan for each employee of the applicant who is
133	133	employed in a full-time job;
134	134	(9) require the applicant, at the time the applicant
135	135	executes the agreement, to execute a performance bond in an amount
136	136	the comptroller determines to be reasonable and necessary to
137	137	protect the interests of the state and the district and conditioned
138	138	on the applicant's compliance with the terms of the agreement;
139	139	(9-a) require the applicant to agree that, during the
140	140	term of the agreement, the applicant will not:
141	141	(A) be acquired by or transfer an ownership
142	142	interest in the applicant to a person ineligible under Section
143	143	403.606(b)(2) to submit an application or enter into an agreement;
144	144	or
145	145	(B) transfer an ownership interest in the
146	146	eligible project that is the subject of the agreement to a person
147	147	ineligible under Section 403.606(b)(2) to submit an application or
148	148	enter into an agreement;
149	149	(10) authorize the governor or the district to
150	150	terminate the agreement as provided by Subsection (d);
151	151	(10-a) authorize the attorney general to bring an
152	152	action to terminate the agreement as provided by Subsection (d-1);
153	153	and
154	154	(11) incorporate each relevant provision of this
155	155	subchapter.
156	156	(d-1) This subsection applies to a term described by
157	157	Subsection (b)(10-a). The agreement must provide that, if the
158	158	attorney general is made aware or independently learns of a
159	159	violation of Subsection (b)(9-a) by an applicant, the attorney
160	160	general may bring an action to terminate the agreement. The
161	161	attorney general may bring an action under this subsection in a
162	162	district court in Travis County or a district court in the county in
163	163	which a majority of the eligible project that is the subject of the
164	164	agreement is located. The comptroller shall promptly notify the
165	165	attorney general if the comptroller is made aware or independently
166	166	learns of a violation of Subsection (b)(9-a) by an applicant.
167	167	(e) An agreement terminated under Subsection (d) or (d-1) is
168	168	void, and all remaining obligations and benefits under the
169	169	agreement and this subchapter terminate on the date the agreement
170	170	is terminated.
171	171	SECTION 6. Section 403.615(a), Government Code, as added by
172	172	Chapter 377 (H.B. 5), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
173	173	Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:
174	174	(a) Each year the state auditor shall select and review at
175	175	least 10 percent of the agreements in effect in that year to
176	176	determine whether:
177	177	(1) each agreement accomplishes the purposes of this
178	178	subchapter as expressed in Section 403.601; and
179	179	(2) the terms of each agreement were executed in
180	180	compliance with the terms of this subchapter, including Section
181	181	403.606.
182	182	SECTION 7. Section 403.617, Government Code, as added by
183	183	Chapter 377 (H.B. 5), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
184	184	Session, 2023, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
185	185	follows:
186	186	(b-1) In addition to the information required under
187	187	Subsection (b), the comptroller must include the following
188	188	information in the report, if applicable:
189	189	(1) the number of agreements entered into under this
190	190	subchapter pursuant to applications submitted before September 1,
191	191	2025, and in effect during the period covered by the report to which
192	192	a person described by Section 403.606(b)(2) is a party;
193	193	(2) the number of applications submitted to the
194	194	comptroller under Section 403.607 during the period covered by the
195	195	report that the comptroller determined were submitted by a person
196	196	described by Section 403.606(b)(2); and
197	197	(3) the number of agreements terminated during the
198	198	period covered by the report as a result of an action brought by the
199	199	attorney general under Section 403.612(d-1).
200	200	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act to Subchapter
201	201	T, Chapter 403, Government Code, as added by Chapter 377 (H.B. 5),
202	202	Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, apply only to
203	203	an agreement entered into under that subchapter pursuant to an
204	204	application submitted under that subchapter on or after the
205	205	effective date of this Act. An agreement entered into under that
206	206	subchapter pursuant to an application submitted before the
207	207	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
208	208	date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued
209	209	in effect for that purpose.
210	210	SECTION 9. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
211	211	over another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,
212	212	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
213	213	codes.
214	214	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.