Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1879 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1990 CJD-D
2	2	By: Simmons H.B. No. 1879
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a franchise tax credit for entities that establish a
10	10	grocery store or healthy corner store in a food desert.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 171, Tax Code, is amended by adding
13	13	Subchapter N to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER N. TAX CREDIT FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF FOOD STORE IN FOOD
15	15	DESERT
16	16	Sec. 171.701. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
17	17	(1) "Corner store" means a store that has fewer than
18	18	2,000 square feet of retail space.
19	19	(2) "Department" means the Texas Department of Housing
20	20	and Community Affairs.
21	21	(3) "Food desert" means a geographic area in this
22	22	state determined by the department to be an area that:
23	23	(A) has limited access to healthy food retailers
24	24	and is located in a low-income or high-poverty area; or
25	25	(B) otherwise has serious healthy food access
26	26	limitations.
27	27	(4) "Grocery store" means a store that has at least:
28	28	(A) 66 percent of the store's retail space
29	29	reserved for the sale of food products;
30	30	(B) 50 percent of the store's food retail space
31	31	reserved for the sale of non-prepared foods or foods intended for
32	32	home preparation and consumption; and
33	33	(C) 30 percent of the store's food retail space
34	34	reserved for the sale of perishable foods, including dairy
35	35	products, fresh produce, fresh meats, poultry, and fish, and frozen
36	36	foods.
37	37	(5) "Healthy corner store" means a corner store that:
38	38	(A) offers a wide variety of fresh produce for
39	39	sale; and
40	40	(B) allocates at least 20 percent of the store's
41	41	retail space to fresh produce and other perishable foods, including
42	42	dairy products.
43	43	(6) "Supplemental nutrition assistance program" means
44	44	the nutritional assistance program operated under Chapter 33, Human
45	45	Resources Code, and formerly referred to as the food stamp program.
46	46	(7) "WIC program" means the federal special
47	47	supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children
48	48	authorized by 42 U.S.C. Section 1786.
49	49	Sec. 171.702. ENTITLEMENT TO CREDIT. A taxable entity is
50	50	entitled to a credit in the amount and under the conditions provided
51	51	by this subchapter against the tax imposed under this chapter.
52	52	Sec. 171.703. QUALIFICATION. A taxable entity qualifies
53	53	for a credit under this subchapter if, on or after January 1, 2026,
54	54	the taxable entity opens a grocery store or healthy corner store:
55	55	(1) located in a food desert;
56	56	(2) located in a low or moderate income area, as
57	57	determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
58	58	Development, or that serves a customer base living in a low or
59	59	moderate income area;
60	60	(3) that begins accepting benefits under the WIC
61	61	program and the supplemental nutrition assistance program not later
62	62	than the 90th day after the date the store opens; and
63	63	(4) that is open year-round.
64	64	Sec. 171.704. CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY. (a) Before
65	65	claiming a credit under this subchapter, a taxable entity must
66	66	request from the department a certificate of eligibility on which
67	67	the department certifies that the taxable entity qualifies for a
68	68	credit under Section 171.703. The taxable entity must include with
69	69	the taxable entity's request information required by the department
70	70	to determine whether the taxable entity meets the requirements of
71	71	Section 171.703.
72	72	(b) The department shall issue a certificate of eligibility
73	73	to a taxable entity that qualifies for a credit under Section
74	74	171.703.
75	75	(c) The taxable entity must forward the certificate of
76	76	eligibility and the following documentation to the comptroller to
77	77	claim the credit:
78	78	(1) an audited cost report issued by a certified
79	79	public accountant, as defined by Section 901.002, Occupations Code,
80	80	that itemizes the taxable entity's expenditures to which Section
81	81	171.705 applies;
82	82	(2) the date the grocery store or healthy corner store
83	83	first opened for business and evidence of that opening; and
84	84	(3) an attestation of the total amount of the taxable
85	85	entity's expenditures to which Section 171.705 applies.
86	86	(d) For purposes of approving a credit under this
87	87	subchapter, the comptroller may rely on the audited cost report
88	88	provided by the taxable entity applying for the credit.
89	89	Sec. 171.705. AMOUNT OF CREDIT. (a) A taxable entity may
90	90	claim a credit for each store described by Section 171.703 equal to
91	91	five percent of the amount the taxable entity spends to establish
92	92	the store during the earliest 12-month period:
93	93	(1) in which the taxable entity makes an expenditure
94	94	to which this section applies; and
95	95	(2) that includes the date the store opens for
96	96	business.
97	97	(b) Subsection (a) applies to amounts spent to:
98	98	(1) purchase or lease the land or building for the
99	99	store;
100	100	(2) construct or remodel the store; and
101	101	(3) furnish and equip the store.
102	102	(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to amounts spent to
103	103	acquire inventory for the store.
104	104	Sec. 171.706. LIMITATIONS. (a) The total credit a taxable
105	105	entity may claim under this subchapter on a report, including the
106	106	amount of any credit carryforward under Section 171.708, may not
107	107	exceed 50 percent of the amount of franchise tax due after applying
108	108	all other applicable credits.
109	109	(b) A taxable entity may not convey, assign, or transfer a
110	110	credit under this subchapter to another entity unless substantially
111	111	all of the assets of the taxable entity are conveyed, assigned, or
112	112	transferred in the same transaction.
113	113	Sec. 171.707. PERIOD FOR WHICH CREDIT MAY BE CLAIMED.
114	114	Subject to Section 171.708, a taxable entity may claim a credit
115	115	under this subchapter on a report only for an expenditure made
116	116	during the period on which the report is based.
117	117	Sec. 171.708. CARRYFORWARD. (a) If a taxable entity is
118	118	eligible for a credit that exceeds the limitation under Section
119	119	171.706(a), the taxable entity may carry the unused credit forward
120	120	for not more than five consecutive reports.
121	121	(b) Credits, including credit carryforwards, are considered
122	122	to be used in the following order:
123	123	(1) a credit carryforward under this section; and
124	124	(2) a credit for the period on which the report is
125	125	based.
126	126	Sec. 171.709. APPLICATION FOR CREDIT. A taxable entity
127	127	must apply for a credit under this subchapter on or with the report
128	128	for the period for which the credit is claimed. The comptroller may
129	129	prescribe an application form for the credit under this subchapter.
130	130	Sec. 171.710. RULES. (a) The department may adopt rules
131	131	governing the requirements to qualify for a credit under Section
132	132	171.703, including rules governing the stores that qualify as
133	133	grocery stores or healthy corner stores and the areas that qualify
134	134	as food deserts.
135	135	(b) The comptroller may adopt any rules necessary to
136	136	administer this subchapter other than rules described by Subsection
137	137	(a).
138	138	SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a report originally due
139	139	on or after the effective date of this Act.
140	140	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.