By Hinojosa H.B. No. 3064
76R7800 JD-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the requirement that the governing body of a taxing
1-3 unit that imposes ad valorem taxes provide property owners with
1-4 certain information before the governing body adopts a new tax
1-5 rate.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Section 26.04(e), Tax Code, is amended to read as
1-8 follows:
1-9 (e) By August 7 or as soon thereafter as practicable, the
1-10 designated officer or employee shall submit the rates to the
1-11 governing body. The designated officer or employee [He] shall
1-12 deliver by mail to each property owner in the unit or publish in a
1-13 newspaper in the form prescribed by the comptroller:
1-14 (1) the effective tax rate, the rollback tax rate, and
1-15 an explanation of how they were calculated;
1-16 (2) a statement that the governing body may not adopt
1-17 a tax rate that if applied to the total taxable value of property
1-18 in the taxing unit would impose an amount of taxes that exceeds
1-19 last year's tax levy unless the governing body holds a public
1-20 hearing on the proposed tax rate and otherwise complies with the
1-21 public notice and hearing requirements under Section 26.06;
1-22 (3) the estimated amount of interest and sinking fund
1-23 balances and the estimated amount of maintenance and operation or
1-24 general fund balances remaining at the end of the current fiscal
2-1 year that are not encumbered with or by corresponding existing debt
2-2 obligation, except that for a school district, estimated funds
2-3 necessary for the operation of the district prior to the receipt of
2-4 the first state education aid payment in the succeeding school year
2-5 shall be subtracted from the estimated fund balances;
2-6 (4) [(3)] a schedule of the unit's debt obligations
2-7 showing:
2-8 (A) the amount of principal and interest that
2-9 will be paid to service the unit's debts in the next year from
2-10 property tax revenue, including payments of lawfully incurred
2-11 contractual obligations providing security for the payment of the
2-12 principal of and interest on bonds and other evidences of
2-13 indebtedness issued on behalf of the unit by another political
2-14 subdivision and, if the unit is created under Section 52, Article
2-15 III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, payments on
2-16 debts that the unit anticipates to incur in the next calendar year;
2-17 (B) the amount by which taxes imposed for debt
2-18 are to be increased because of the unit's anticipated collection
2-19 rate; and
2-20 (C) the total of the amounts listed in
2-21 Paragraphs (A)-(B), less any amount collected in excess of the
2-22 previous year's anticipated collections certified as provided in
2-23 Subsection (b);
2-24 (5) [(4)] the amount of additional sales and use tax
2-25 revenue anticipated in calculations under Section 26.041;
2-26 (6) [(5)] in the year that a taxing unit calculates an
2-27 adjustment under Subsection (i) or (j), the unit shall publish a
3-1 schedule that includes the following elements:
3-2 (A) the name of the unit discontinuing the
3-3 department, function, or activity;
3-4 (B) the amount of property tax revenue spent by
3-5 the unit listed under Paragraph (A) to operate the discontinued
3-6 department, function, or activity in the 12 months preceding the
3-7 month in which the calculations required by this chapter are made;
3-8 and
3-9 (C) the name of the unit that operates a
3-10 distinct department, function, or activity in all or a majority of
3-11 the territory of a taxing unit that has discontinued operating the
3-12 distinct department, function, or activity; and
3-13 (7) [(6)] in the year following the year in which a
3-14 taxing unit raised its rollback rate as required by Subsection (j),
3-15 the taxing unit shall publish a schedule that includes the
3-16 following elements:
3-17 (A) the amount of property tax revenue spent by
3-18 the unit to operate the department, function, or activity for which
3-19 the taxing unit raised the rollback rate as required by Subsection
3-20 (j) for the 12 months preceding the month in which the calculations
3-21 required by this chapter are made; and
3-22 (B) the amount published by the unit in the
3-23 preceding tax year under Subdivision (6)(B) [(5)(B)].
3-24 SECTION 2. Section 26.05(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
3-25 follows:
3-26 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the governing body
3-27 of each taxing unit before September 1 or as soon thereafter as
4-1 practicable shall adopt a tax rate for the current tax year and
4-2 shall notify the assessor for the unit of the rate adopted. The
4-3 tax rate consists of two components, each of which must be approved
4-4 separately. The components are:
4-5 (1) the rate that, if applied to the total taxable
4-6 value, will impose the total amount published under Section
4-7 26.04(e)(4)(C) [26.04(e)(3)(C) of this code], less any amount of
4-8 additional sales and use tax revenue that will be used to pay debt
4-9 service; and
4-10 (2) the rate that, if applied to the total taxable
4-11 value, will impose the amount of taxes needed to fund maintenance
4-12 and operation expenditures of the unit for the next year.
4-13 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2000, and
4-14 applies only to a tax year that begins on or after that date.
4-15 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.