LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session May 9, 2001 TO: Honorable Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB1772 by Brimer (relating to the approval and financing of sports and community venue projects.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** It is estimated that the number of violations that would be assessed, and the amount that the Texas Ethics Commission would charge for a violation of the false and misleading campaign material provision, would be minimal. The bill would amend Chapter 334 of the Local Government Code, relating to sports and community venue projects. The bill would expand the definition of "venue" to include a project authorized by Section 4A or 4B of the Development Corporation Act of 1979. Reimbursement of tax collection expenses would be authorized for a person required to collect and remit the short-term motor vehicle rental tax, under Chapter 334, if the municipality or county received the amount required to be collected no later than the 15th day after the end of the collection period. Reimbursement would be equal to 1 percent of the amount collected. The bill would allow a municipality with a population of less than 120,000, that is located in three counties, and that acquires by purchase or lease, with a term of at least 20 years, an interest in real property that has to be maintained as park property to use revenue from the local hotel occupancy tax for a variety of purposes. The purpose could be to acquire, construct, improve, and equip a venue project that is a convention center or related infrastructure to be constructed on the real property. The municipality could pledge the revenue to the payment of bonds or other obligations the municipality issued to finance the convention center facility or related infrastructure. The bill would require that each bill or other receipt for a hotel charge include a statement of the 6 percent state hotel occupancy tax imposed in addition to the tax imposed to finance a venue project. If a hotel charge were subject to any other hotel occupancy taxes, the statement would have to include each taxing entity and the rate of the tax. This bill would amend Chapters 334 and 335 of the Local Government Code to define false and misleading campaign material and provide for penalties to be imposed by the Texas Ethics Commission for violations. The bill would clarify that voter authorization of the Section 4B sales and use tax does not prohibit a city from seeking voter approval for that sales and use tax to be used for additional eligible projects. Further, the bill removes the $135 million limit on bond proceeds payable in whole or part from sales and use taxes that Section 4B cities can issue. The bill would take effect September 1, 2001. Local Government Impact No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. The expansion of the definition of venue will result in more projects being eligible for types of financing under the Sports and Community Venue Act. The bill would increase the number of eligible uses of the municipal hotel occupancy tax for the city of Grand Prairie. Due to the way state and venue motor vehicle rental taxes are collected and reported, and because rentals in venues comprise only a subset of all motor vehicle rentals, it is not possible to estimate the number of taxpayers that would remit the motor vehicle sales tax by the required date and, therefore, be authorized to retain the 1 percent reimbursement. Source Agencies: 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, RB, WP, GS