BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1257
	By: Birdwell
	Natural Resources & Economic Development
	5/25/2021
	Enrolled

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

S.B. 1257 seeks to further increase transparency within the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act, which provides certain taxing units with the ability to provide tax abatement agreements to property owners.

S.B. 1257 will require chief appraisers to provide the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas (comptroller) with a general description of the 312 agreement, including a list of the kind, number, and location of all proposed improvements to the property.

Requiring this information to be submitted seperately to the comptroller will allow the comptroller to more easily compile information related to property use for categorization and record keeping.

S.B. 1257 amends current law relating to the information required to be provided by the chief appraiser of an appraisal district to the comptroller in connection with the comptroller's central registry of reinvestment zones designated and ad valorem tax abatement agreements executed under the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 312.005(a), Tax Code, as follows:

(a) Requires the chief appraiser of each appraisal district that appraises property for a taxing unit that has designated a reinvestment zone or executed a tax abatement agreement under Chapter 312 (Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act) to deliver to the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas (comptroller) before July 1 of the year following the year in which the zone is designated or the agreement is executed a report providing the following information:

(1) makes no changes to this subdivision;

(2) makes a nonsubstantive change to this subdivision;

(3) the information described by Section 312.205(a)(1) (relating to the requirement that a tax abatement agreement list information regarding improvements of certain property) in connection with each tax abatement agreement described by Subdivision (2) (relating to the requirement that the chief appraiser deliver to the comptroller a copy of each tax abatement agreement to which a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district is a party) of this subsection; and

(4) any other information required by the comptroller to administer Section 312.005 (State Administration), rather than Section 312.005 and Subchapter F (Tax Refund for Economic Development), Chapter 111 (Collection Procedures).

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2021.