C.S.S.B. 392 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.S.B. 392
By: Williams
Local Government Ways and Means
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND 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.  C.S.S.B. 392 repeals the exemption and requires water districts to
once again comply with the Texas Tax Code requirements of calculating and
publishing tax rates, holding public hearings for tax increases, and
holding rollback elections for tax increases exceeding a rollback rate. 


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

SECTION 1. Repealer: Section 49.107(g) and Section 49.108(f), Water Code.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2003.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.  

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. 


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.S.B. 392 removes the language relating to providing notice of tax
hearings contained in SECTION 1 of S.B. 392.  C.S.S.B. 392 replaces the
language of the filed version of SB 392, which repeals Sections 49.107(g)
and 49.108(f), Water Code.