LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  March 3, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Tom Craddick, Chair            IN RE:  House Bill No. 137
          Committee on Ways & Means                By: West, George "Buddy"
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB137 ( Relating 
to the qualifications of certain charitable organizations for 
an exemption from ad valorem taxation.) this office has detemined 
the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB137-As Introduced
         
Section 403.302, Government Code, requires the Comptroller to 
conduct a property value study to determine the total taxable 
value for each school district.  Total taxable value is an element 
in the state's school funding formula.  Passage of the bill 
could cause a reduction in school district taxable values reported 
to the Commissioner of Education by the Comptroller.  A reduction 
in school district taxable values could increase the state's 
cost of public education based on current law funding formulas.
         

         
 
The bill would exempt organizations providing support to the 
elderly and handicapped under Section 11.18 (d) (3) and (13) 
of the Property Tax Code from the requirement that they be organized 
as nonprofit corporations in order to qualify as charitable 
organizations. 

The bill would remove one requirement for 
certain organizations to qualify as charitable organizations. 
 Some undetermined number of organizations could qualify for 
property tax exemptions that they would not be qualified for 
under current law.  The property owned by such charitable organizations 
would become eligible for exemption after January 1, 1998.
          
To the extent that additional organizations would qualify for 
property tax exemptions for which they could not currently qualify, 
there would be a reduction in local tax levies.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,RR ,BR