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House Bill 2826 |
House Author: Murphy et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Huffman |
The Texas Economic Development Act allows a school district to offer a temporary limitation on the property value of certain new projects for school district property tax purposes. House Bill 2826 amends the Tax Code to provide for the application of the act to a single unified project that is located in two or three school districts, each of which is contiguous to another school district in which the project is located. The bill also requires the comptroller of public accounts to verify a random sample of the data submitted as part of the report on compliance with agreements under the act using information from sources the comptroller considers reliable and establishes information provided in connection with the report as confidential and not subject to disclosure under state public information law or tax collection law.
Reason Given for Veto: "Chapter 313 of the Tax Code allows for certain businesses to negotiate with school districts for lower appraisal valuations and, as a result, lower school property taxes. While the program may sometimes have a positive impact on local economic development, serious concerns exist about its oversight, its transparency, and its value to the taxpayers. According to a 2013 report by the Comptroller's Office, Chapter 313 cost the taxpayers $341,363 for every new job created by the program. The Comptroller estimates that House Bill 2826 will ultimately cost State taxpayers $100 million per biennium. I cannot support expansion of an incentive program that has not been proven to deliver the value taxpayers deserve."