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.