Floor Packet Page No. 355
      Amend CSHB 4 in Article 21 of the bill, on page 388, line 26,
through page 393, line 21, by striking Section 21.01 and
substituting the following:
      SECTION 21.01.  Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 31.011 to read as follows:
      Sec. 31.011.  NOTICE OF TAX SAVINGS TO TENANTS OF RESIDENTIAL
RENTAL PROPERTY.  (a)  This section applies only to a dwelling unit
included in a property on which school district property taxes were
imposed in both 1996 and 1997.
      (b)  Not later than March 1, 1998, each landlord shall give
written notice to each tenant residing on that date in a dwelling
unit rented or leased by the landlord of the landlord's 1997 school
tax savings for that dwelling unit.  The 1997 school tax savings
for each dwelling unit is determined by apportioning the 1997
school tax savings for the property to all dwelling units included
in the property in proportion to the rent charged for each dwelling
unit as of January 1, 1998, or the most recent date before January
1, 1998, on which the dwelling unit was occupied.  The 1997 school
tax savings for each property is equal to the difference between
the school district taxes imposed on the property in 1996 and those
imposed in 1997, if the taxes imposed in 1997 are less than those
imposed in 1996.  If the taxes imposed in 1997 are equal to or
greater than those imposed in 1996, this section does not apply to
dwelling units contained in that property. 
      (c)  The assessor for each school district shall include a
statement of the amount of each property's 1997 school tax savings
in each school district tax bill prepared for 1997 taxes imposed on
residential property.  If portions of the property are used for
commercial purposes unrelated to the residential use of the
dwelling units, the landlord may subtract the fair market value of
that portion of the property from the 1997 school tax savings for
the property before apportioning the school tax savings for the
property to the dwelling units.
      (d)  The comptroller shall prescribe the form of a notice to
be provided under Subsection (b).  The collector shall include that
information in a document accompanying each 1997 school district
tax bill for residential property.
      (e)  A landlord who fails to provide a notice to a tenant as
required by this section is liable to the state for a civil penalty
of not more than $20 for each day the landlord fails to provide the
notice, not to exceed $1,000 for each dwelling unit to which the
penalty applies.  The attorney general or a county or district
attorney may sue to collect the penalty.
      (f)  In this section:
            (1)  "Dwelling unit" means a structure or separately
secured  portion of a structure designed or used for human
habitation by an individual or group of individuals constituting a
single household.
            (2)  "Landlord" means a person who owns property
containing one or more dwelling units held for rent or lease,
except that a person who leases property containing more than one
dwelling unit from the owner of the property and leases the
dwelling units without direct supervision or control by the owner
is considered the owner of the property.
            (3)  "Rent" includes the total amount charged by a
landlord or by another person on the landlord's behalf for the use
and occupancy of a dwelling unit, not including refundable property
deposits.
            (4)  "Tenant" means a person who rents or leases a
dwelling unit.
      (g)  This section expires January 1, 2000.