By Brimer                                             H.B. No. 1710
         77R6270 CBH-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the financing of certain economic development projects.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Section 4B(a-3)(1), Development Corporation Act of
 1-5     1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7                 (1)  A city that creates or has created a corporation
 1-8     governed by this section may submit to the voters of the city, at a
 1-9     separate election to be held on a uniform election date or at an
1-10     election held under another provision of this Act, including the
1-11     election at which the proposition to initially authorize the
1-12     collection of a sales and use tax for the benefit of the
1-13     corporation is submitted, a ballot proposition that authorizes the
1-14     corporation to use the sales and use tax, including any amount
1-15     previously authorized and collected, for a specific sports venue
1-16     project, including related infrastructure, or for a specific
1-17     category of sports venue projects, including related
1-18     infrastructure.  Prior approval of a specific sports venue project
1-19     at an election or completion of a specific sports venue project
1-20     approved at an election does not prohibit a city from seeking voter
1-21     approval of an additional project or category of projects under
1-22     this subsection to be funded from the same sales and use tax that
1-23     is used to fund the previously approved sports venue project.  This
1-24     subsection does not affect the authority of a municipality to call
 2-1     an election under this section to levy a sales and use tax for any
 2-2     purpose authorized by this section after the sales and use tax
 2-3     described by this subsection is no longer collected as provided by
 2-4     Subsection (i) of this section.
 2-5           SECTION 2. Section 4B(h), Development Corporation Act of 1979
 2-6     (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
 2-7     as follows:
 2-8           (h)  Bonds or other obligations having a maturity not longer
 2-9     than 30 years and issued to pay the costs of projects of the types
2-10     added to the definition of that term by Subsection (a) of this
2-11     section may be made payable from any source of funds available to
2-12     the corporation, including the proceeds of a sales and use tax
2-13     imposed under this section.  [The principal amount of bonds and
2-14     other obligations that by their terms are payable in whole or in
2-15     part from the sales and use tax, together with the amount of the
2-16     costs of the projects, other than interest on bonds and other
2-17     obligations, for which payment is made in cash directly from the
2-18     proceeds of the tax, may not, in the aggregate, exceed $135
2-19     million.]  The bonds or other obligations that by their terms are
2-20     payable from the tax may not be paid in whole or in part from any
2-21     property taxes raised or to be raised by the eligible city and are
2-22     not a debt of and do not give rise to a claim for payment against
2-23     the eligible city except as to sales and use tax revenue held by a
2-24     city and required under this section to be paid over to the
2-25     corporation.
2-26           SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.