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Senate Bill 1319 |
Senate Author: Birdwell et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
House Sponsor: Murphy |
Senate Bill 1319 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the City of Laredo or Webb County, as applicable and subject to voter approval, to convert a sports and community venue sales and use tax to a sales and use tax for the benefit of a Type A or B corporation for purposes of economic development.
Senate Bill 1319 amends the Tax Code to require a county that imposes a county hotel occupancy tax to report annually to the comptroller of public accounts certain information relating to the rate of and revenue from the tax.
Governor's Reason for Veto: "The author of Senate Bill 1319 had the right idea in imposing additional reporting requirements for hotel occupancy taxes. Taxpayers deserve that kind of transparency. But the bill was amended by others to add pet projects that would allow a single county and a single city to have an existing tax, previously enacted for a particular purpose, 'converted' by election into a different tax for a different purpose. This tax 'conversion' process would have misled voters, masking the reality that such an election is for a new tax by failing to inform them that they could simply allow the existing tax to expire. I applaud the author for his original concept and look forward to approving it next session, without the counterproductive amendments."