H.B. 1088 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


H.B. 1088
By: Hill
Local Government Ways and Means
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller) to
provide, upon request, sales tax point-of-origin information on businesses
that remit more than $100,000 annually to a municipality that has a
population of less than 275,000.  This information is valuable for
budgeting and trending a municipality's sales tax revenue, which can
fluctuate significantly based on the changing economic climate.  A
municipality is required to keep the sales tax information received from
the comptroller confidential, and currently the governing body of a
municipality may not review this information in an open meeting or in an
executive session.  H.B. 1088 requires the comptroller to provide, upon
request, sales tax point-of-origin information of businesses that remit
more than $25,000 annually to a municipality that has a population of less
than 275,000.  H.B. 1088 also modifies that Tax Code to allow the
governing body of a municipality to review sales tax remittances provided
by the comptroller, while protecting the confidentiality of the
information. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or
institution. 

ANALYSIS

Amends Section 321.3022(a), Tax Code, to lower the threshold for the
requirement of the comptroller to remit information, upon request, in
relation to the amount of tax to be paid under this Chapter during the
preceding or current calendar year to municipalities with a population of
not more than 275,000 by each person doing business in the municipality
who annually remits to the comptroller state and local sales tax payments
of more than $25,000 rather than $100,000.   

The governing body of a municipality is not required to confer with one or
more employees or a third party in an open meeting to review information
or question the employees or third party regarding the information
received by the municipality under this section. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

Immediately upon a vote of two-thirds of all members elected to each house
as provided by Section 39, Article II, Texas Constitution.  Otherwise,
September 1st, 2003.