Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 1027 amends the Development Corporation Act of 1979 and the Government Code, Tax Code, and Water Code to allow the use of certain financial incentives for the cleanup of contaminated property by industrial development corporations and businesses. The bill authorizes the Texas Department of Economic Development, with the assistance of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), to encourage the cleanup of contaminated property by development corporations through the use of sales and use tax proceeds, provided that the use of tax proceeds by a corporation for the purpose of cleaning up contaminated property is approved at an election by the voters of the political subdivision that authorized the corporation. The bill requires the General Services Commission and other state agencies to give preference when making purchasing decisions to goods produced at a facility for which the owner has received a certificate of completion from the TNRCC executive director for the cleanup of a contaminated property, and it excludes individuals whose place of employment is located on such a property from consideration in determining the unemployment rate in the area in order to meet certain criteria for designation as an enterprise zone. The bill also authorizes the TNRCC to encourage the cleanup of contaminated property through the use of supplemental environmental projects.