SRC-AMY S.B. 392 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterS.B. 392
By: Williams
Natural Resources
7/14/2003
Enrolled

DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, counties, schools, and other special districts must meet
specific deadlines and adopt tax rates with public notices, but certain
water districts are not required to meet said deadlines and adoptions.
S.B. 1444, enacted by the 77th Legislature, included provisions that
exempted water districts from truth-in-taxation sections of the Texas Tax
Code.  S.B. 392 sets forth certain procedures for the adoption of an ad
valorem tax rate by certain conservation and reclamation districts. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter H, Chapter 49, Water Code,by adding Section
49.236, as follows: 

Sec. 49.236.  NOTICE OF TAX HEARING.  (a) Requires the governing body of a
district (board), before it adopts an ad valorem tax rate for the district
for debt service, operation and maintenance purposes, or contract
purposes, to give notice of each meeting of the board at which the
adoption of a tax rate will be considered.  Sets forth the required
content and wording of the notice. 

(b) Sets forth the required process for publicizing the notice.

(c) Prohibits the notice provided under this section from being smaller
than onequarter page of a standard-size or tabloid-size newspaper of
general circulation, and requires the headline on the notice to be in
18-point or larger type. 

(d) Authorizes the qualified voters of the district by petition, if the
governing body of a district adopts a combined debt service, operation and
maintenance, and contract tax rate that would impose more than 1.08 times
the amount of tax imposed by the district in the preceding year on a
residence homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a
residence homestead in the district in that year, disregarding any
homestead exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years
of age or older, to require that an election be held to determine whether
or not to reduce the tax rate adopted for the current year to the rollback
tax rate in accordance with the procedures provided by Sections
26.07(b)-(g) (Election to Repeal Increase) and 26.081 (Petition
Signatures), Tax Code. Provides that for purposes of Sections 26.07(b)-(g)
(Election to Repeal Increase), Tax Code, and this subsection, the rollback
tax rate is the current year's debt service and contract tax rates plus
the operation and maintenance tax rate that would impose 1.08 times the
amount of the operation and maintenance tax imposed by the district in the
preceding year on a residence homestead appraised at the average appraised
value of a residence homestead in the district in that year, disregarding
any homestead exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65
years of age or older. 

 SECTION 2.  (a)  Effective date:  September 1, 2003.

(b)  Provides that for the 2003 tax year, the change in law made by this
Act applies only to a conservation and reclamation district created under
Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution,
and governed by Chapter 49, Water Code, that adopts its tax rate on or
after the effective date of this Act.  Provides that for the 2003 tax
year, a district that adopts its tax rate before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law as it existed when the tax rate was
adopted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.