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House Bill 2853 |
House Author: Davis, John et al. |
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Effective: 6-17-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Jackson |
House Bill 2853 amends Tax Code provisions governing the use of tax increment financing by local governments. The bill expands the types of project costs that are eligible for financing under the Tax Increment Financing Act; provides for the designation of an area that is undeveloped and meets other criteria as a reinvestment zone; and eases restrictions on the percentage of residential property or the total appraised value of taxable property in a proposed reinvestment zone that otherwise preclude the area's designation as such.
House Bill 2853 removes a requirement for the governing body of a municipality or county, before officially designating a reinvestment zone, to send a copy of the completed plan to the governing body of each taxing unit that levies taxes on real property in the proposed zone and authorizes the governing body of the municipality or county that designated such a zone to extend the term of all or part of the zone after notice and hearing in the manner provided for the zone's designation. The bill exempts a taxing unit other than the municipality or county that designated the zone from required participation in the zone or part of the zone for the extended term unless the taxing unit enters into a written agreement to do so.
House Bill 2853 makes a taxing unit's appointment of a member to a reinvestment zone's board of directors contingent on the taxing unit's approval of the payment of all or part of the tax increment produced by that unit into the zone's tax increment fund. The bill clarifies the appointing authority of the municipality or county that designated the reinvestment zone based on the number of taxing units eligible to appoint members to the board and clarifies the qualifications required for an individual's appointment to the board.
House Bill 2853 authorizes the governing body of the municipality or county that designated a zone to grant its approval for the board's establishment of certain programs in a municipal ordinance or a county order, as applicable, approving a project plan or reinvestment zone financing plan or approving an amendment to such a plan. The bill amends the required content of a project plan and a reinvestment financing plan and establishes that all amounts contained in either plan are considered estimates, unless otherwise specifically provided, and do not act as a limitation on the described items.
House Bill 2853 provides for an increase or reduction in a taxing unit's tax increment base following a boundary change based on the taxable value of property added to or removed from the zone and provides for a determination of that base by the appraisal district in which the zone is located based on certain assumptions and information provided by a municipality if the municipality does not levy a property tax in the year in which it designates the zone.
House Bill 2853 authorizes a municipality designating a reinvestment zone to use the proceeds from tax increment bonds or notes to make payments under an agreement between the zone's board of directors and the governing body of the municipality dedicating, pledging, or otherwise providing for the use of revenue in the tax increment fund to pay any project costs that benefit the zone. The bill requires a tax increment bond or note to mature on or before the date by which the final payments of tax increment into the tax increment fund are due.
House Bill 2853 extends the deadline for the governing body of a municipality or county to submit a report on the status of the zone to the chief executive officer of each taxing unit that levies property taxes on property in a reinvestment zone created by the municipality or county.
House Bill 2853 establishes a conclusive presumption that a governmental act or proceeding of a municipality, county, reinvestment zone's board of directors, or local government corporation or political subdivision relating to the designation, operation, or administration of a reinvestment zone or the implementation of a project plan or reinvestment zone financing plan is valid as of the date it occurred and that it occurred in accordance with all applicable statutes and rules if the third anniversary of the effective date of the act or proceeding has expired and a lawsuit to annul or invalidate the act or proceeding has not been filed on or before the later of that second anniversary or August 1, 2011. The bill sets out certain exceptions to such a presumption of validity.