LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE 75th Regular Session April 9, 1997 TO: Honorable Tom Craddick, Chair IN RE: House Bill No. 2044 Committee on Ways & Means By: Smith House Austin, Texas FROM: John Keel, Director In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB2044 ( Relating to notice that a municipality must provide before holding a public hearing on the adoption of an ad valorem tax increase.) this office has detemined the following: Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB2044-As Introduced No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. FISCAL ANALYSIS The bill would amend Chapter 26 of the Tax Code to require municipalities to mail a notice of hearing on a municipal tax increase to the household of each person who voted in the most recent general election for municipal officers. Municipalities also would be required to publish a notice of the public hearing in the newspaper of general circulation that had the highest subscription rate in the municipality. Current law requires a municipality and other taxing units to publish notices and to hold hearings if a proposed tax rate exceeds the lower of the effective tax rate times 1.03, or the rollback rate. Taxing units may either deliver notice by mail to each property owner in the unit, or publish the notice in a general interest newspaper published at least once a week and distributed within the taxing unit. This bill would take effect January 1, 1998. LOCAL The mailing and publication requirements would increase mailing and publication costs to cities seeking to increase their tax rates in excess of the lower of the effective tax rate times 1.03, or the rollback rate. However, no significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. Source: Agencies: 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK ,RR ,BR