By: Price H.B. No. 2722

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the Texas Economic Development Act.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 42.2515(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) For each school year, a school district, including a school district that is otherwise ineligible for state aid under this chapter, is entitled to state aid in an amount equal to the amount of all tax credits credited against ad valorem taxes of the district in that year under former Subchapter D, Chapter 313, Tax Code.

SECTION 2. Section 42.302(e), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) For purposes of this section, school district taxes for which credit is granted under former Subchapter D, Chapter 313, Tax Code, are considered taxes collected by the school district as if the taxes were paid when the credit for the taxes was granted.

SECTION 3. Section 313.007, Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 313.007. EXPIRATION. Subchapters B and [,] C[, and D] expire December 31, 2019 [2014].

SECTION 4. Section 313.024(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) This subchapter and Subchapter [Subchapters] C [and D] apply only to property owned by an entity to which Chapter 171 applies.

SECTION 5. Section 313.026, Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 313.026. ECONOMIC IMPACT EVALUATION. (a) The economic impact evaluation of the application must include the following:

(1) the recommendations of the comptroller;

(2) the name of the school district;

(3) the name of the applicant;

(4) the general nature of the applicant's investment;

(5) the relationship between the applicant's industry and the types of qualifying jobs to be created by the applicant to the long-term economic growth plans of this state as described in the strategic plan for economic development submitted by the Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission under Section 481.033, Government Code, as that section existed before February 1, 1999;

(6) the relative level of the applicant's investment per qualifying job to be created by the applicant;

(7) the number of qualifying jobs to be created by the applicant;

(8) the wages, salaries, and benefits to be offered by the applicant to qualifying job holders;

(9) the ability of the applicant to locate or relocate in another state or another region of this state;

(10) the impact the project will have on this state and individual local units of government, including:

(A) tax and other revenue gains, direct or indirect, that would be realized during the qualifying time period, the limitation period, and a period of time after the limitation period considered appropriate by the comptroller; and

(B) economic effects of the project, including the impact on jobs and income, during the qualifying time period, the limitation period, and a period of time after the limitation period considered appropriate by the comptroller;

(11) the economic condition of the region of the state at the time the person's application is being considered;

(12) the number of new facilities built or expanded in the region during the two years preceding the date of the application that were eligible to apply for a limitation on appraised value under this subchapter;

(13) the effect of the applicant's proposal, if approved, on the number or size of the school district's instructional facilities, as defined by Section 46.001, Education Code;

(14) the projected market value of the qualified property of the applicant as determined by the comptroller;

(15) the proposed limitation on appraised value for the qualified property of the applicant;

(16) the projected dollar amount of the taxes that would be imposed on the qualified property, for each year of the agreement, if the property does not receive a limitation on appraised value with assumptions of the projected appreciation or depreciation of the investment and projected tax rates clearly stated;

(17) the projected dollar amount of the taxes that would be imposed on the qualified property, for each tax year of the agreement, if the property receives a limitation on appraised value with assumptions of the projected appreciation or depreciation of the investment clearly stated;

(18) the projected effect on the Foundation School Program of payments to the district for each year of the agreement; and

(19) [the projected future tax credits if the applicant also applies for school tax credits under Section 313.103; and

[(20)] the total amount of taxes projected to be lost or gained by the district over the life of the agreement computed by subtracting the projected taxes stated in Subdivision (17) from the projected taxes stated in Subdivision (16).

(b) The comptroller's recommendations shall be based on the criteria listed in Subsections (a)(5)-(19) [(a)(5)-(20)] and on any other information available to the comptroller, including information provided by the governing body of the school district under Section 313.025(b).

SECTION 6. Section 313.0265(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The comptroller shall designate the following as substantive:

(1) each application requesting a limitation on appraised value; and

(2) the economic impact evaluation made in connection with the application[; and

[(3) each application requesting school tax credits under Section 313.103].

SECTION 7. Sections 313.027(a) and (i), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) If the person's application is approved by the governing body of the school district, for each of the first nine [eight] tax years that begin after the applicable qualifying time period, the appraised value for school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax purposes of the person's qualified property as described in the agreement between the person and the district entered into under this section in the school district may not exceed the lesser of:

(1) the market value of the property; or

(2) subject to Subsection (b), the amount agreed to by the governing body of the school district.

(i) A person and the school district may not enter into an agreement under which the person agrees to provide supplemental payments to a school district in an amount that exceeds an amount equal to $100 per student per year in average daily attendance, as defined by Section 42.005, Education Code, or for a period that exceeds the period beginning with the period described by Section 313.021(4) and ending on the third anniversary of the date the person's eligibility for the limitation under this subchapter or Subchapter C expires [with the period described by Section 313.104(2)(B) of this code]. This limit does not apply to amounts described by Subsection (f)(1) or (2) of this section.

SECTION 8. Section 313.031(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The comptroller shall:

(1) adopt rules and forms necessary for the implementation and administration of this chapter, including rules for determining whether a property owner's property qualifies as a qualified investment under Section 313.021(1); and

(2) provide without charge one copy of the rules and forms to any school district and to any person who states that the person intends to apply for a limitation on appraised value under this subchapter [or a tax credit under Subchapter D].

SECTION 9. The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 313, Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER E. LIMITATION ON APPRAISED VALUE [AVAILABILITY OF TAX

CREDIT] AFTER PROGRAM EXPIRES

SECTION 10. Section 313.171(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The repeal [expiration] of Subchapter D does not affect a property owner's entitlement to a tax credit granted under Subchapter D if the property owner qualified for the tax credit before the repeal [expiration] of Subchapter D.

SECTION 11. Subchapter D, Chapter 313, Tax Code, is repealed.

SECTION 12. This Act applies only to an agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this Act. An agreement entered into before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the application was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.