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78R7742 CLG-D
By: Homer H.B. No. 2912
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to industrial development corporations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 2(11)(A) and (C), Development
Corporation Act of 1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes), are amended to read as follows:
(A) "Project" shall mean the land, buildings,
equipment, facilities, targeted infrastructure, and improvements
(one or more) that are [to promote new and expanded business
development or] found by the board of directors to be required or
suitable for the [promotion of] development, retention, or [and]
expansion of manufacturing and industrial facilities.
"Project" also includes[, job creation and
retention, job training, educational facilities,] research and
development facilities, transportation facilities (including but
not limited to airports, ports, mass commuting facilities, and
parking facilities), sewage or solid waste disposal facilities,
recycling facilities, air or water pollution control facilities,
[facilities for the furnishing of water to the general public,]
distribution centers, small warehouse facilities capable of
serving as decentralized storage and distribution centers, [and]
facilities for use by institutions of higher education, and
corporate headquarters facilities [for the promotion of
development or redevelopment and expansion, including costs of
administration and operation, of a military base closed or
realigned pursuant to recommendation of the Defense Closure and
Realignment Commission pursuant to the Defense Base Closure and
Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. Section 2687 note) as amended,
and of facilities which are related to any of the foregoing, and in
furtherance of the public purposes of this Act, all as defined in
the rules of the department, irrespective of whether in existence
or required to be identified, acquired, or constructed thereafter].
"Project" also includes job training required or
suitable for the promotion of development and expansion of business
enterprises and other enterprises described by this Act, as
provided by Section 38 of this Act.
"Project" also includes expenditures found by the
board of directors to be required or suitable for infrastructure
necessary to promote or develop new or expanded business
enterprises, limited to streets and roads, water and electric
utilities, gas utilities, drainage and related improvements, and
telecommunications and Internet improvements.
(C) As used in this Act, the term blighted or
economically depressed areas shall mean those areas and areas
immediately adjacent thereto within a city which by reason of the
presence of a substantial number of substandard, slum,
deteriorated, or deteriorating structures, or which suffer from a
high relative rate of unemployment, or which have been designated
and included in a tax incremental district created under Chapter
695, Acts of the 66th Legislature, Regular Session, 1979 (Article
1066d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or any combination of the
foregoing, the city finds and determines, after a hearing,
substantially impair or arrest the sound growth of the city, or
constitute an economic or social liability and are a menace to the
public health, safety, or welfare in their present condition and
use. The department shall adopt guidelines that describe the kinds
of areas that may be considered to be blighted or economically
depressed. The city shall consider these guidelines in making its
findings and determinations. Notice of the hearing at which the
city considers establishment of [a development area or] an
economically depressed or blighted area shall be posted at the city
hall before the hearing.
"Federally assisted new communities" shall mean
those federally assisted areas which have received or will receive
assistance in the form of loan guarantees under Title X of the
National Housing Act and a portion of the federally assisted area
has received grants under Section 107(a)(1) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974, as amended.
SECTION 2. Section 3(b), Development Corporation Act of
1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
read as follows:
(b) This Act shall be [liberally] construed in conformity
with the intention of the legislature herein expressed.
SECTION 3. Section 4A(t), Development Corporation Act of
1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
read as follows:
(t) The department, with the assistance of the Texas
[Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental
Quality, may encourage the cleanup of contaminated property by
corporations created under this section through the use of sales
and use tax proceeds. A corporation created under this section may
use proceeds from the sales and use tax to undertake the cleanup of
contaminated property only if the use of tax proceeds for that
purpose is authorized by a majority of the qualified voters of the
city voting in an election called and held for that purpose. The
ballot in an election held under this subsection shall be printed to
provide for voting for or against the proposition: "The use of
sales and use tax proceeds for the cleanup of contaminated
property."
SECTION 4. Section 4B(a), Development Corporation Act of
1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by
amending Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivision (3) to read as
follows:
(2) "Project" means land, buildings, equipment,
facilities, and improvements included in the definition of that
term under Section 2 of this Act, and includes job training as
provided by Section 38 of this Act. For purposes of this section,
the term includes recycling facilities, and land, buildings,
equipment, facilities, and improvements found by the board of
directors to:
(A) be required or suitable for use for
professional and amateur (including children's) sports, athletic,
entertainment, tourist, convention, and public park purposes and
events, including stadiums, ball parks, auditoriums,
amphitheaters, concert halls, [learning centers,] parks and park
facilities, open space improvements, [municipal buildings,]
museums, exhibition facilities, and related store, restaurant,
concession, and automobile parking facilities, related area
transportation facilities, and related roads, streets, and water
and sewer facilities, and other related improvements that enhance
any of those items;
(B) promote or develop new or expanded business
enterprises that create or retain primary jobs, including a project
to provide public safety facilities, streets and roads, drainage
and related improvements, demolition of existing structures,
general municipally owned improvements, as well as any improvements
or facilities that are related to any of those projects and any
other project that the board in its discretion determines promotes
or develops new or expanded business enterprises that create or
retain primary jobs;
(C) be required or suitable for the promotion of
development and expansion of affordable housing, as defined by 42
U.S.C. Section 12745;
(D) be required or suitable for the development
or improvement of water supply facilities, including dams,
transmission lines, well field developments, and other water supply
alternatives; [or]
(E) be required or suitable for the development
and institution of water conservation programs, including
incentives to install water-saving plumbing fixtures, educational
programs, brush control programs, and programs to replace
malfunctioning or leaking water lines and other water facilities;
or
(F) be required or suitable for infrastructure
necessary to promote or develop new or expanded business
enterprises, including streets and roads, water and electric
utilities, drainage and related improvements, and
telecommunications and Internet improvements.
(3) "Primary job" means a job that is defined by the
North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) and is
designated as a primary job by the comptroller.
SECTION 5. Section 4B(p), Development Corporation Act of
1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
read as follows:
(p) The department, with the assistance of the Texas
[Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental
Quality, may encourage the cleanup of contaminated property by
corporations created under this section through the use of sales
and use tax proceeds. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, a corporation created under this section may use proceeds
from the sales and use tax to undertake the cleanup of contaminated
property only if the use of tax proceeds for that purpose is
authorized by a majority of the qualified voters of the city voting
in an election called and held for that purpose. The ballot in an
election held under this subsection shall be printed to provide for
voting for or against the proposition: "The use of sales and use
tax proceeds for the cleanup of contaminated property."
SECTION 6. The Development Corporation Act of 1979 (Article
5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Section
40 to read as follows:
Sec. 40. DIRECT INCENTIVE PROVIDED TO BUSINESS ENTERPRISE.
(a) A corporation created under this Act may not provide a direct
incentive to or make an expenditure on behalf of a business
enterprise under a project as defined by Section 2 or 4B(a)(2) of
this Act unless the corporation enters into a performance agreement
with the business enterprise.
(b) A performance agreement between a corporation and
business enterprise, at a minimum, must provide for a schedule of
jobs and capital investment to be made or created as consideration
for any direct incentives provided or expenditures made by the
corporation under the agreement. The performance agreement must
also specify the terms under which repayment must be made if the
business enterprise fails to meet the performance requirements
specified in the agreement.
SECTION 7. Section 2(11)(B), Development Corporation Act of
1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is repealed.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.