Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB878 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Birdwell S.B. No. 878
2		-
3		-
	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed January 22, 2025; February 13, 2025,
	3	+	read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
	4	+	March 26, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5,
	5	+	Nays 0; March 26, 2025, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
4	7
5	8
6	9		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	10		AN ACT
8	11		relating to limitations on the use of public money under certain
9	12		economic development agreements or programs adopted by certain
10	13		political subdivisions.
11	14		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	15		SECTION 1. Chapter 380, Local Government Code, is amended
13	16		by adding Sections 380.005, 380.006, 380.007, 380.008, and 380.009
14	17		to read as follows:
15	18		Sec. 380.005. PROHIBITION ON AD VALOREM TAX RELIEF UNDER
16	19		THIS CHAPTER. (a) A municipality may not grant an exemption or
17	20		other relief from ad valorem taxation under this chapter.
18	21		(b) This section does not limit the authority of a
19		-	municipality to:
20		-	(1) make a loan or grant under this chapter:
21		-	(A) to a recipient who enters into a tax
22		-	abatement agreement with the municipality under Chapter 312, Tax
23		-	Code; or
24		-	(B) in conjunction with a tax abatement agreement
25		-	entered into by the municipality under Chapter 312, Tax Code; or
26		-	(2) use revenue in a tax increment fund created under
27		-	Chapter 311, Tax Code, to pay for a project that is part of an
28		-	agreement authorized by this chapter.
	22	+	municipality to make a loan or grant under this chapter:
	23	+	(1) to a recipient who enters into a tax abatement
	24	+	agreement with the municipality under Chapter 312, Tax Code; or
	25	+	(2) in conjunction with a tax abatement agreement
	26	+	entered into by the municipality under Chapter 312, Tax Code.
29	27		Sec. 380.006. PUBLIC MEETING AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. (a)
30	28		Before a municipality may make a loan or grant under this chapter,
31	29		the governing body of the municipality must hold a public hearing
32	30		regarding the proposed loan or grant at which members of the public
33	31		are given the opportunity to be heard.
34	32		(b) A municipality that maintains an Internet website shall
35	33		post the current version of the proposed loan or grant under this
36	34		chapter on the website.
37	35		(c) In addition to any other requirement of law, the public
38	36		notice of a meeting at which the governing body of a municipality
39	37		will consider the adoption of a proposed loan or grant under this
40	38		chapter must contain:
41	39		(1) the name of the recipient of the loan or grant;
42	40		(2) a general description of the public purpose for
43	41		which the loan or grant is provided; and
44	42		(3) the amount of and period of time for the loan or
45	43		grant.
46	44		(d) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a
47	45		municipality must give the notice of a meeting required by this
48	46		section in the manner provided by Chapter 551, Government Code.
49	47		(e) A municipality must give notice of a meeting required by
50	48		this section not less than 15 business days but not more than 30
51	49		business days before the meeting.
52	50		(f) If a municipality postpones a meeting required by this
53	51		section to a later date, the municipality must hold the postponed
54	52		meeting not more than 10 business days after the date for which the
55	53		meeting was originally scheduled. If the postponement would result
56	54		in the meeting being held more than 30 business days after the date
57	55		the municipality gave notice of the meeting, the municipality must
58	56		give a new notice of the meeting as provided by Subsection (e).
59	57		Sec. 380.007. PERFORMANCE METRICS REQUIREMENT. (a) An
60	58		agreement for a loan or grant under this chapter must include
61	59		appropriate performance metrics relating to the goals of an
62	60		economic development program established under this chapter.
63	61		(b) An agreement for a loan or grant under this chapter may
64	62		not be renewed under Section 380.008(b) unless the municipality
65	63		determines that the performance metrics under the agreement have
66	64		been met.
67	65		Sec. 380.008. PERIOD OF AGREEMENT; RENEWAL. (a) Except as
68	66		otherwise provided by this section, a municipality may not enter
69	67		into an agreement to make a loan or grant under this chapter for a
70	68		period exceeding 10 years.
71	69		(b) A municipality may, subject to Section 380.007(b),
72	70		renew an agreement under this chapter. An agreement may be renewed
73	71		no more than three times, and each renewal period may not exceed
74	72		five years.
75	73		(c) The total combined period for an agreement under this
76	74		chapter, including the initial agreement and renewal periods, may
77	75		not exceed 25 years.
78	76		Sec. 380.009. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.
79	77		Information that is provided to a municipality in connection with
80	78		an application or request for a loan or grant under this chapter and
81	79		that describes the specific processes or business activities to be
82	80		conducted or the equipment or other property to be located on the
83	81		property for which a loan or grant is sought is confidential and not
84	82		subject to public disclosure until the loan or grant agreement is
85	83		executed. Information that is in the custody of a municipality
86	84		after an agreement has been executed is not confidential under this
87	85		section.
88	86		SECTION 2. Chapter 381, Local Government Code, is amended
89	87		by adding Sections 381.006, 381.007, 381.008, 381.009, and 381.010
90	88		to read as follows:
91	89		Sec. 381.006. PROHIBITION ON AD VALOREM TAX RELIEF UNDER
92	90		THIS CHAPTER. (a) A county may not grant an exemption or other
93	91		relief from ad valorem taxation under this chapter.
94		-	(b) This section does not limit the authority of a county
95		-	to:
96		-	(1) make a loan or grant of county money under this
	92	+	(b) This section does not limit the authority of a county:
	93	+	(1) to make a loan or grant of county money under this
97	94		chapter to a recipient who enters into a tax abatement agreement
98		-	with the county under Chapter 312, Tax Code;
99		-	(2) use county money for a purpose authorized by this
100		-	chapter in conjunction with a tax abatement agreement entered into
101		-	by the county under Chapter 312, Tax Code; or
102		-	(3) use revenue in a tax increment fund created under
103		-	Chapter 311, Tax Code, to pay for a project that is part of an
104		-	agreement authorized by this chapter.
	95	+	with the county under Chapter 312, Tax Code; or
	96	+	(2) to use county money for a purpose authorized by
	97	+	this chapter in conjunction with a tax abatement agreement entered
	98	+	into by the county under Chapter 312, Tax Code.
105	99		Sec. 381.007. PUBLIC MEETING AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. (a)
106	100		Before a county may use county money for a purpose authorized by
107	101		this chapter, the commissioners court of the county must hold a
108	102		public hearing regarding the proposed use at which members of the
109	103		public are given the opportunity to be heard.
110	104		(b) A county shall post the current version of the proposed
111	105		use of county money under this chapter on the county's Internet
112	106		website.
113	107		(c) In addition to any other requirement of law, the public
114	108		notice of a meeting at which the commissioners court of a county
115	109		will consider the adoption of a proposed use of county money under
116	110		this chapter must contain:
117	111		(1) the name of the recipient of the county money;
118	112		(2) a general description of the public purpose for
119	113		which the county money is provided; and
120	114		(3) if applicable, the amount of and period of time for
121	115		a loan or grant of county money.
122	116		(d) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a county
123	117		must give the notice of a meeting required by this section in the
124	118		manner provided by Chapter 551, Government Code.
125	119		(e) A county must give notice of a meeting required by this
126	120		section not less than 15 business days but not more than 30 business
127	121		days before the meeting.
128	122		(f) If a county postpones a meeting required by this section
129	123		to a later date, the county must hold the postponed meeting not more
130	124		than 10 business days after the date for which the meeting was
131	125		originally scheduled. If the postponement would result in the
132	126		meeting being held more than 30 business days after the date the
133	127		county gave notice of the meeting, the county must give a new notice
134	128		of the meeting as provided by Subsection (e).
135	129		Sec. 381.008. PERFORMANCE METRICS REQUIREMENT. (a) An
136	130		agreement relating to the use of county money under this chapter
137	131		must include appropriate performance metrics relating to the goals
138	132		of an economic development program established under this chapter.
139	133		(b) An agreement under this chapter may not be renewed under
140	134		Section 381.009(b) unless the county determines that the
141	135		performance metrics under the agreement have been met.
142	136		Sec. 381.009. PERIOD OF AGREEMENT; RENEWAL. (a) Except as
143	137		otherwise provided by this section, a county may not enter into an
144	138		agreement to make a loan or grant under this chapter for a period
145	139		exceeding 10 years.
146	140		(b) A county may, subject to Section 381.008(b), renew an
147	141		agreement under this chapter. An agreement may be renewed no more
148	142		than three times, and each renewal period may not exceed five years.
149	143		(c) The total combined period for an agreement under this
150	144		chapter, including the initial agreement and renewal periods, may
151	145		not exceed 25 years.
152	146		Sec. 381.010. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.
153	147		Information that is provided to a county in connection with an
154	148		application or request for a loan or grant under this chapter and
155	149		that describes the specific processes or business activities to be
156	150		conducted or the equipment or other property to be located on the
157	151		property for which a loan or grant is sought is confidential and not
158	152		subject to public disclosure until the loan or grant agreement is
159	153		executed. Information that is in the custody of a county after an
160	154		agreement has been executed is not confidential under this section.
161	155		SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 312, Tax Code, is amended
162	156		by adding Section 312.009 to read as follows:
163	157		Sec. 312.009. LIMITATION ON TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS. In a
164	158		tax abatement agreement entered into under this chapter, a taxing
165	159		unit:
166	160		(1) may only provide an abatement of the taxing unit's
167	161		ad valorem taxes; and
168	162		(2) may not provide a loan or grant of public money
169	163		from any other source.
170	164		SECTION 4. Section 312.207, Tax Code, is amended by
171	165		amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
172	166		as follows:
173	167		(d) The notice of a meeting required by this section must be
174	168		given in the manner required by Chapter 551, Government Code,
175	169		except as otherwise provided by this section [that the notice must
176	170		be provided at least 30 days before the scheduled time of the
177	171		meeting].
178	172		(e) A municipality or other taxing unit must give notice of
179	173		a meeting required by this section not less than 15 business days
180	174		but not more than 30 business days before the meeting.
181	175		(f) If a municipality or other taxing unit postpones a
182	176		meeting required by this section to a later date, the municipality
183	177		or other taxing unit must hold the postponed meeting not more than
184	178		10 business days after the date for which the meeting was originally
185	179		scheduled. If the postponement would result in the meeting being
186	180		held more than 30 business days after the date the municipality or
187	181		other taxing unit gave notice of the meeting, the municipality or
188	182		other taxing unit must give a new notice of the meeting as provided
189	183		by Subsection (e).
190	184		SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
191	185		an agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this
192	186		Act. An agreement entered into before the effective date of this
193	187		Act is governed by the law applicable to the contract on the date
194	188		the contract was entered into, and that law is continued in effect
195	189		for that purpose.
196	190		SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
	191	+	* * * * *