By Ritter H.B. No. 3121
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3121:
By McCall C.S.H.B. No. 3121
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation for property
1-3 used to control pollution.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 11.31, Tax Code, is amended by amending
1-6 Subsections (d)-(g) and adding Subsections (h)-(j) to read as
1-7 follows:
1-8 (d) Following submission of the information required by
1-9 Subsection (c), the executive director of the Texas Natural
1-10 Resource Conservation Commission shall determine if the facility,
1-11 device, or method is used wholly or partly as a facility, device,
1-12 or method for the control of air, water, or land pollution. As
1-13 soon as practicable, the executive director shall send notice by
1-14 regular mail to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district for
1-15 the county in which the property is located that the person has
1-16 applied for a determination under this subsection. The [If the]
1-17 executive director shall issue a letter to the person stating the
1-18 executive director's determination of whether [determines that] the
1-19 facility, device, or method is used wholly or partly to control
1-20 pollution[, the director shall issue a letter to the person stating
1-21 that determination] and, if applicable, the proportion of the
1-22 property [installation] that is pollution control property. The
1-23 executive director shall send a copy of the letter by regular mail
1-24 to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district for the county in
2-1 which the property is located.
2-2 (e) Not later than the 20th day after the date of receipt of
2-3 the letter issued by the executive director, the person seeking the
2-4 exemption or the chief appraiser may appeal the executive
2-5 director's determination to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
2-6 Commission. The commission shall consider the appeal at the next
2-7 regularly scheduled meeting of the commission for which adequate
2-8 notice may be given. The person seeking the determination and the
2-9 chief appraiser may testify at the meeting. The commission may
2-10 remand the matter to the executive director for a new determination
2-11 or deny the appeal and affirm the executive director's
2-12 determination. On issuance of a new determination, the executive
2-13 director shall issue a letter to the person seeking the
2-14 determination and provide a copy to the chief appraiser as provided
2-15 by Subsection (d). A new determination of the executive director
2-16 may be appealed to the commission in the manner provided by this
2-17 subsection. A proceeding under this subsection is not a contested
2-18 case for purposes of Chapter 2001, Government Code.
2-19 (f) The commission [Texas Natural Resource Conservation
2-20 Commission] may charge a person seeking a determination that
2-21 property is pollution control property an additional fee not to
2-22 exceed its administrative costs for processing the information,
2-23 making the determination, and issuing the letter required by this
2-24 section.
2-25 (g) The commission shall [may] adopt rules to implement this
2-26 section. Rules adopted under this section must:
2-27 (1) establish specific standards for considering
3-1 applications for determinations;
3-2 (2) be sufficiently specific to ensure that
3-3 determinations are equal and uniform; and
3-4 (3) allow for determinations that distinguish the
3-5 proportion of property that is used to control, monitor, prevent,
3-6 or reduce pollution from the proportion of property that is used
3-7 to produce goods or services.
3-8 (h) The executive director may not make a determination that
3-9 property is pollution control property unless the property meets
3-10 the standards established under rules adopted under this section.
3-11 (i) [(f)] A person seeking an exemption under this section
3-12 shall provide to the chief appraiser a copy of the letter issued by
3-13 the executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
3-14 Commission under Subsection (d) determining that the facility,
3-15 device, or method is used wholly or partly as pollution control
3-16 property. The chief appraiser shall accept a final determination
3-17 by the [copy of the letter from the] executive director as
3-18 conclusive evidence that the facility, device, or method is used
3-19 wholly or partly as pollution control property.
3-20 (j) [(g)] This section does not apply to a facility, device,
3-21 or method for the control of air, water, or land pollution that was
3-22 subject to a tax abatement agreement executed before January 1,
3-23 1994.
3-24 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.