MINUTES

 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

10:00 a.m.

Capitol Extension, Room E1.036

 

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Pursuant to a notice posted in accordance with Senate Rule 11.18, a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance was held on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, in the Capitol Extension, Room E1.036, at Austin, Texas.

 

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MEMBERS PRESENT:		MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator Steve Ogden Senator Juan Hinojosa Senator Bob Deuell Senator Kevin Eltife Senator Chris Harris Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. Senator Jane Nelson Senator Kel Seliger Senator Royce West Senator Tommy Williams Senator Judith Zaffirini		Senator Robert Duncan Senator Florence Shapiro Senator John Whitmire

 

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The chair called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.  There being a quorum present, the following business was transacted: 

 

The Committee heard invited testimony regarding property tax exemptions in Texas.

 

The Committee heard invited and public testimony regarding the Committee's interim charge to identify and evaluate potential improvements to the property tax system and consider and make recommendations relating to the following: methods to increase public participation in the tax rate-setting process and ensure fairness in appraisal protests and appeals; the requirement that property appraisal values may not increase by more than inflation and/or population growth, or another amount to be determined by local taxing authorities, with a maximum cap of 10 percent; exemptions provided to community housing development organizations (CHDOs) to determine if changes are needed to ensure that the public benefits outweigh the revenue loss; and methods and procedures for determining a real property interest in oil or gas in place, as contained in Texas Tax Code Sec. 23.175, including how market-based data and market-based methodology could possibly be used to ensure fair, reliable, and equitable price forecasts of oil and gas interests and analyzing the need for the creation of an Oil and Gas Valuation Advisory Committee to assist in forecasting current calendar year statewide average prices for oil and gas.

 

Invited and public testimony regarding the constitutional constraints and fiscal implication of exempting real property leased to a school from ad valorem taxation was postponed to an undetermined, but later date.

 

Witnesses testifying and registering on the subject are shown on the attached list.

 

At 1:35 p.m. Senator Zaffirini assumed the chair.  Testimony continued.

 

At 2:11 p.m. Senator Ogden resumed the chair.  Testimony continued.

 

At 2:44 p.m. Senator Nelson assumed the chair. Testimony continued.

 

 

There being no further business, at 3:40 p.m. Senator Nelson moved that the Committee stand recessed subject to the call of the chair.  Without objection, it was so ordered. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Senator Steve Ogden, Chair

 

 

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Annette Graves, Clerk