By Ritter H.B. No. 3121
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 Relating to exemptions from ad valorem taxation for property used
1-3 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 to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 11.31. Pollution Control Property. (a) A person is
1-8 entitled to an exemption from taxation of all or part of real and
1-9 personal property that the person owns and that is used wholly or
1-10 partly as a facility, device, or method for the control of air,
1-11 water, or land pollution. A person is not entitled to an exemption
1-12 from taxation under this section solely on the basis that the
1-13 person manufactures or produces a product or provides a service
1-14 that prevents, monitors, controls, or reduces air, water, or land
1-15 pollution. Property used for residential purposes, or for
1-16 recreational, park, or scenic uses as defined by Section 23.81, is
1-17 ineligible for an exemption under this section.
1-18 (b) In this section, "facility, device, or method for the
1-19 control of air, water, or land pollution" means land that is
1-20 acquired after January 1, 1994, or any structure, building,
1-21 installation, excavation, machinery, equipment, or device, and any
1-22 attachment or addition to or reconstruction, replacement, or
1-23 improvement of that property, that is used, constructed, acquired,
2-1 or installed wholly or partly to meet or exceed rules or
2-2 regulations adopted by any environmental protection agency of the
2-3 United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state
2-4 for the prevention, monitoring, control, or reduction of air,
2-5 water, or land pollution. This section does not apply to a motor
2-6 vehicle.
2-7 (c) In applying for an exemption under this section, a
2-8 person seeking the exemption shall present in a permit application
2-9 or permit exemption request to the executive director of the Texas
2-10 Natural Resource Conservation Commission information detailing:
2-11 (1) the anticipated environmental benefits from the
2-12 installation of the facility, device, or method for the control of
2-13 air, water, or land pollution;
2-14 (2) the estimated cost of the pollution control
2-15 facility, device, or method; and
2-16 (3) the purpose of the installation of such facility,
2-17 device, or method, and the proportion of the installation that is
2-18 pollution control property.
2-19 If the installation includes property that is not used wholly
2-20 for the control of air, water, or land pollution, the person
2-21 seeking the exemption shall also present such financial or other
2-22 data as the executive director requires by rule for the
2-23 determination of the proportion of the installation that is
2-24 pollution control property.
2-25 (d) Following submission of the information required by
2-26 Subsection (c), the executive director of the Texas Natural
3-1 Resource Conservation Commission shall determine if the facility,
3-2 device, or method is used wholly or partly as a facility, device,
3-3 or method for the control of air, water, or land pollution. As soon
3-4 as practicable, the executive director shall send notice by regular
3-5 mail to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district for the
3-6 county in which the property is located that the person has applied
3-7 for a determination under this subsection. If the executive
3-8 director determines that the facility, device, or method is used
3-9 wholly or partly to control pollution, the director shall issue a
3-10 letter to the person stating that determination and the proportion
3-11 of the installation that is pollution control property.
3-12 (e) The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission may
3-13 charge a person seeking a determination that property is pollution
3-14 control property an additional fee not to exceed its administrative
3-15 costs for processing the information, making the determination, and
3-16 issuing the letter required by this section.
3-17 (f) The commission shall [may] adopt rules to implement this
3-18 section that establish specific standards by which applications for
3-19 determinations will be considered. Such rules shall:
3-20 (1) be sufficiently specific to ensure that
3-21 determinations are uniform and equal; and
3-22 (2) ensure that property used for the production of
3-23 goods and services is not determined to be exempt.
3-24 (g) The executive director shall grant a positive
3-25 determination only for applications that meet the standards
3-26 established under the rules required by subsection (f).
4-1 (h) [(f)] A person seeking an exemption under this section
4-2 shall provide to the chief appraiser a copy of the letter issued by
4-3 the executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
4-4 Commission under Subsection (d).
4-5 The chief appraiser shall either:
4-6 (1) accept the copy of the letter from the executive
4-7 director as conclusive evidence that the facility, device, or
4-8 method is used wholly or partly as pollution control property; or
4-9 (2) challenge the determination of the executive
4-10 director as a contested case under the Administrative Procedure
4-11 Act.
4-12 A chief appraiser shall accept a final decision under
4-13 subsection (2), after all appeals are exhausted or waived, as
4-14 conclusive evidence that the facility, device, or method is used
4-15 wholly or partly as pollution control property.
4-16 (i) [(g)] This section does not apply to a facility, device,
4-17 or method for the control of air, water, or land pollution that was
4-18 subject to a tax abatement agreement executed before January 1,
4-19 1994.
4-20 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.