Enrolled Bill Summary

            The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission operates a voluntary cleanup program that targets locations contaminated by pollutant wastes, other than those listed as federal or state Superfund sites. Senate Bill 1596 applies to property that is the subject of a voluntary cleanup agreement with the commission, is situated in a reinvestment zone but not in an improvement project financed by tax increment bonds, and is devalued because of the contamination. The act amends the Tax Code to authorize a city to grant a property tax abatement of up to four years on the property, subject to a sliding scale. A city may cancel or modify an abatement if the land use changes from that specified in the certificate and the new use presents an increased risk to human health or the environment. A school district may not participate in a voluntary cleanup program abatement, and such an abatement cannot be combined with a separate city tax abatement on the property.