Amend CSHB 1239 by adding the following appropriately
numbered sections as follows and renumbering the existing sections
of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subchapter B, Chapter 312, Tax Code, is
amended by adding Section 312.211 to read as follows:
Sec. 312.211. AGREEMENT BY MUNICIPALITY RELATING TO PROPERTY
SUBJECT TO VOLUNTARY CLEANUP AGREEMENT. (a) This section applies
only to:
(1) real property:
(A) that is located in a reinvestment zone;
(B) that is not in an improvement project
financed by tax increment bonds;
(C) that is the subject of a voluntary cleanup
agreement under Section 361.606, Health and Safety Code; and
(D) the value of which is adversely affected by
the release of a hazardous substance or contaminant according to
the two preceding appraisals by the appraisal office; and
(2) tangible personal property located on the real
property.
(b) The governing body of a municipality eligible to enter
into a tax abatement agreement under Section 312.002 may agree in
writing with the owner of property described by Subsection (a) to
exempt from taxation a portion of the value of the property for a
period not to exceed four years. The agreement takes effect on
January 1 of the next tax year after the date the owner receives a
certificate of completion for the property under Section 361.609,
Health and Safety Code. The agreement may exempt from taxation:
(1) not more than 100 percent of the value of the
property in the first year covered by the agreement;
(2) not more than 75 percent of the value of the
property in the second year covered by the agreement;
(3) not more than 50 percent of the value of the
property in the third year covered by the agreement; and
(4) not more than 25 percent of the value of the
property in the fourth year covered by the agreement.
(c) A property owner may not receive a tax abatement under
this section for the first tax year covered by the agreement unless
the property owner includes with the application for an exemption
under Section 11.28 filed with the chief appraiser of the appraisal
district in which the property has situs a copy of the certificate
of completion for the property.
(d) A property owner who files a copy of the certificate of
completion for property for the first tax year covered by the
agreement is not required to refile the certificate in a subsequent
tax year to receive a tax abatement under this section for the
property for that tax year.
(e) The chief appraiser shall accept a certificate of
completion filed under Subsection (c) as conclusive evidence of the
facts stated in the certificate.
(f) The governing body of the municipality may cancel or
modify the agreement if:
(1) the use of the land is changed from the use
specified in the certificate of completion; and
(2) the governing body determines that the new use may
result in an increased risk to human health or the environment.
(g) A municipality may enter into a tax abatement agreement
covering property described by Subsection (a) under this section or
under Section 312.204, but not under both sections. Section
312.204 applies to an agreement entered into under this section
except as otherwise provided by this section.
(h) A school district may not enter into a tax abatement
agreement under this section.
SECTION _____. Subsection (a), Section 312.002, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A taxing unit may not enter into a tax abatement
agreement under this chapter and the governing body of a
municipality or county may not designate an area as a reinvestment
zone unless the governing body has established guidelines and
criteria governing tax abatement agreements by the taxing unit and
a resolution stating that the taxing unit elects to become eligible
to participate in tax abatement. The guidelines applicable to
property other than property described by Section 312.211(a) must
provide for the availability of tax abatement for both new
facilities and structures and for the expansion or modernization of
existing facilities and structures.
SECTION _____. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 312.201, Tax
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) Area of a reinvestment zone designated for residential
tax abatement or commercial-industrial tax abatement may be
included in an overlapping or coincidental residential or
commercial-industrial zone. In that event, the zone in which the
property is considered to be located for purposes of executing an
agreement under Section 312.204 or 312.211 is determined by the
comprehensive zoning ordinance, if any, of the municipality.
(d) The governing body may not adopt an ordinance
designating an area as a reinvestment zone until the governing body
has held a public hearing on the designation and has found that the
improvements sought are feasible and practical and would be a
benefit to the land to be included in the zone and to the
municipality after the expiration of an agreement entered into
under Section 312.204 or 312.211, as applicable. At the hearing,
interested persons are entitled to speak and present evidence for
or against the designation. Not later than the seventh day before
the date of the hearing, notice of the hearing must be:
(1) published in a newspaper having general
circulation in the municipality; and
(2) delivered in writing to the presiding officer of
the governing body of each taxing unit that includes in its
boundaries real property that is to be included in the proposed
reinvestment zone.
SECTION _____. Subsection (a), Section 312.2041, Tax Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the seventh day before the date on which
a municipality enters into an agreement under Section 312.204 or
312.211, the governing body of the municipality or a designated
officer or employee of the municipality shall deliver to the
presiding officer of the governing body of each other taxing unit
in which the property to be subject to the agreement is located a
written notice that the municipality intends to enter into the
agreement. The notice must include a copy of the proposed
agreement.
SECTION _____. Section 312.205, Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 312.205. SPECIFIC TERMS OF TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT.
(a) An agreement made under Section 312.204 or 312.211 must:
(1) list the kind, number, and location of all
proposed improvements of the property;
(2) provide access to and authorize inspection of the
property by municipal employees to ensure that the improvements or
repairs are made according to the specifications and conditions of
the agreement;
(3) limit the uses of the property consistent with the
general purpose of encouraging development or redevelopment of the
zone during the period that property tax exemptions are in effect;
(4) provide for recapturing property tax revenue lost
as a result of the agreement if the owner of the property fails to
make the improvements or repairs as provided by the agreement;
(5) contain each term agreed to by the owner of the
property;
(6) require the owner of the property to certify
annually to the governing body of each taxing unit that the owner
is in compliance with each applicable term of the agreement; and
(7) provide that the governing body of the
municipality may cancel or modify the agreement if the property
owner fails to comply with the agreement.
(b) An agreement made under Section 312.204 or 312.211 may
include, at the option of the governing body of the municipality,
provisions for:
(1) improvements or repairs by the municipality to
streets, sidewalks, and utility services or facilities associated
with the property, except that the agreement may not provide for
lower charges or rates than are made for other services or
properties of a similar character;
(2) an economic feasibility study, including a
detailed list of estimated improvement costs, a description of the
methods of financing all estimated costs, and the time when related
costs or monetary obligations are to be incurred;
(3) a map showing existing uses and conditions of real
property in the reinvestment zone;
(4) a map showing proposed improvements and uses in
the reinvestment zone; and
(5) proposed changes of zoning ordinances, the master
plan, the map, building codes, and city ordinances.
SECTION _____. Subsections (a) and (c), Section 312.206, Tax
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) If property taxes on property located in the taxing
jurisdiction of a municipality are abated under an agreement made
under Section 312.204 or 312.211, the governing body of each other
taxing unit eligible to enter into tax abatement agreements under
Section 312.002 in which the property is located may execute a
written agreement with the owner of the property not later than the
90th day after the date the municipal agreement is executed. The
agreement must contain terms identical to those contained in the
agreement with the municipality providing for the portion of the
property that is to be exempt from taxation under the agreement,
the duration of the agreement, and the provisions included in the
agreement under Section 312.205, even if the value of the property
at the time the agreement is executed is not the same as its value
when the municipal agreement was executed and even if improvements
or repairs have been made to the property since the municipal
agreement was executed. If the governing body of the taxing unit
by official action at any time before the execution of the
municipal agreement expresses an intent to enter into an agreement
with the owner of property under this subsection or to be bound by
the terms of the municipal agreement if the municipality enters
into an agreement under Section 312.204 or 312.211 with the owner
relating to the property, the terms of the municipal agreement
regarding the share of the property to be exempt in each year of
the municipal agreement apply to the taxation of the property by
the taxing unit. If the taxing unit that expressed its intent to
enter into an agreement or to be bound by the municipal agreement
is a county, those terms of the municipal agreement also apply to
the taxation of the property by a taxing unit in the county to
which a county tax abatement agreement would apply under Section
312.004.
(c) If the governing body of a municipality designates a
reinvestment zone that includes property in the extraterritorial
jurisdiction of the municipality, the governing body of a taxing
unit eligible to enter into tax abatement agreements under Section
312.002 in which the property is located may execute a written
agreement with the owner of the property to exempt from its
property taxes all or part of the value of the property in the same
manner and subject to the same restrictions as provided by Section
312.204 or 312.211 for a municipality. The taxing unit may execute
an agreement even if the municipality does not execute an agreement
for the property, and the terms of the agreement are not required
to be identical to the terms of a municipal agreement. However, if
the governing body of another eligible taxing unit has previously
executed an agreement to exempt all or part of the value of the
property and that agreement is still in effect, the terms of the
subsequent agreement relating to the share of the property that is
to be exempt in each year that the existing agreement remains in
effect must be identical to those of the existing agreement.
SECTION _____. Subsection (a), Section 312.402, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioners court may execute a tax abatement
agreement with the owner of taxable real property located in a
reinvestment zone designated under this subchapter. The execution,
duration, and other terms of an agreement made under this section
are governed by the provisions of Sections 312.204, <and> 312.205,
and 312.211 applicable to a municipality. Section 312.2041 applies
to an agreement made by a county under this section in the same
manner as it applies to an agreement made by a municipality under
Section 312.204 or 312.211.
SECTION ____. A tax abatement agreement under Section
312.211 applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed on or after
January 1, 1998.