HBA-EDN H.B. 612 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 612
By: Maxey
Ways & Means
2/26/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, municipalities and other taxing units granting property
tax abatements are required to submit a report of tax abatements to the
comptroller of public accounts, who maintains a central registry of
abatement agreements, guidelines, and criteria.  However, tax increment
financing agreements are replacing tax abatements as a means for local
governments to encourage business investments, which are not reported to
the comptroller or maintained in a central registry.  As a result, there is
no specific source of information on the impact of such financing
agreements.  House Bill 612 requires municipalities to submit reports of
tax increment financing agreements to the comptroller.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 612 amends the Tax Code to require a municipality to send a copy
of the municipality's  annual report regarding reinvestment zones to the
comptroller of public accounts.   The bill requires the comptroller to
submit a report, no later than December 31 of each even-numbered year, to
the legislature and to the governor on reinvestment zones, and on project
plans and reinvestment zone financing plans.  The bill provides that a
report submitted by the comptroller must include, for each reinvestment
zone, a summary of tax information reported in the municipality's annual
report. 

H.B. 612 requires the comptroller to maintain a central registry of :

_reinvestment zones;

_project plans and reinvestment zone financing plans; and 

_annual reports submitted by municipalities regarding reinvestment zones.

Under this bill a municipality that designates a reinvestment zone or
approves a project plan or reinvestment zone financing plan is required to
deliver to the comptroller, before April 1 of the year following the year
in which the zone is designated or the plan is approved, a report
containing a general description of each zone, a copy of each plan adopted,
and any other information required by the comptroller.  Additionally, a
municipality is required to deliver to the comptroller a copy of any
amendments or modifications to the plans before April 1 of the year
following the year in which the plan was amended or modified. 

Each municipality that designated a reinvestment zone or approved a project
plan or reinvestment zone financing plan before January 1, 2001, is
required to deliver to the comptroller, no later than April 1, 2002, a
report containing a general description of each zone, a copy of each plan
adopted, and any other information required by the comptroller.  This
provision expires January 1, 2003. 

 The Texas Department of Economic Development and the comptroller are
authorized to provide assistance upon request to a municipality relating to
the administration or execution of these provisions. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage.