BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1257

By: Birdwell

Ways & Means

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There have been calls 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. It has been suggested that requiring chief appraisers to provide the comptroller of public accounts with certain general information about proposed improvements to property in connection with a tax abatement agreement under the act would allow the comptroller to more easily compile information related to property use for categorization and record keeping. S.B. 1257 establishes such a requirement.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1257 amends the Tax Code to require the chief appraiser of an appraisal district that appraises property for a taxing unit that has designated a reinvestment zone or executed a tax abatement agreement under the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act to include in the report delivered by the appraiser to the comptroller of public accounts for purposes of the central registry of such zones and agreements the kind, number, and location of all proposed improvements of property in connection with each tax abatement agreement to which a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district is a party.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.