By: Burrows, Bonnen, Middleton, Tinderholt, H.B. No. 1869
      et al.
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the definition of debt for the purposes of calculating
  certain ad valorem tax rates of a taxing unit.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 26.012, Tax Code, is amended by amending
  Subdivision (7) and adding Subdivisions (9), (18-a), and (18-b) to
  read as follows:
               (7)  "Debt" means:
                     (A)  a bond, warrant, certificate of obligation,
  or other evidence of indebtedness owed by a taxing unit that:
                           (i)  is payable [solely] from property taxes
  in installments over a period of more than one year, not budgeted
  for payment from maintenance and operations funds, and secured by a
  pledge of property taxes; and
                           (ii)  meets one of the following
  requirements:
                                 (a)  has been approved at an election;
                                 (b)  includes self-supporting debt;
                                 (c)  evidences a loan under a state or
  federal financial assistance program;
                                 (d)  is issued for designated
  infrastructure;
                                 (e)  is a refunding bond;
                                 (f)  is issued in response to an
  emergency under Section 1431.015, Government Code;
                                 (g)  is issued for renovating,
  improving, or equipping existing buildings or facilities;
                                 (h)  is issued for vehicles or
  equipment; or
                                 (i)  is issued for a project under
  Chapter 311, Tax Code, or Chapter 222, Transportation Code, that is
  located in a reinvestment zone created under one of those
  chapters;[,] or
                     (B)  a payment made under contract to secure
  indebtedness of a similar nature issued by another political
  subdivision on behalf of the taxing unit.
               (9)  "Designated infrastructure" means:
                     (A)  infrastructure, including a facility,
  equipment, rights-of-way, or land, for the following purposes:
                           (i)  streets, roads, highways, bridges,
  sidewalks, parks, landfills, parking structures, or airports;
                           (ii)  telecommunications, wireless
  communications, information technology systems, applications,
  hardware, or software;
                           (iii)  cybersecurity;
                           (iv)  as part of any utility system, water
  supply project, water plant, wastewater plant, water and wastewater
  distribution or conveyance facility, wharf, dock, or flood control
  and drainage project;
                           (v)  police stations, fire stations, or
  other public safety facilities, jails, juvenile detention
  facilities, or judicial facilities, and any facilities that are
  physically attached to the facilities described by this
  subparagraph;
                           (vi)  as part of any school district; or
                           (vii)  as part of any hospital district
  created by general or special law that includes a teaching
  hospital;
                     (B)  emergency vehicles for police, fire, or
  emergency medical services;
                     (C)  maintenance vehicles; or
                     (D)  heavy equipment or machinery.
               (18-a)  "Refunding bond" means a bond or other
  obligation issued for refunding or refinancing purposes under
  Chapter 1207 or 1371, Government Code.
               (18-b)  "Self-supporting debt" means the portion of a
  bond, warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
  indebtedness described by Subdivision (7)(A)(i) designated by the
  governing body of a political subdivision as being repaid from a
  source other than property taxes.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 26, Tax Code, is amended by adding
  Section 26.014 to read as follows:
         Sec. 26.014.  DEBT FOR CERTAIN TAXING UNITS. (a) This
  section applies only to:
               (1)  a county with a population of at least 1.7 million
  that contains a municipality in which at least 75 percent of the
  county's population resides;
               (2)  a county with a population of more than one million
  and less than 1.5 million;
               (3)  a county with a population of more than 800,000 and
  less than 1 million;
               (4)  a county with a population of more than 64,750 and
  less than 65,000;
               (5)  a county with a population of more than 40,000 and
  less than 41,000;
               (6)  a county with a population of more than 30,500 and
  less than 32,250;
               (7)  a county with a population of more than 320,000 and
  less than 400,000 that:
                     (A)  does not border the United Mexican States;
  and
                     (B)  in which a port authority is authorized to
  issue permits for oversize or overweight vehicles under Chapter
  623, Transportation Code;
               (8)  a municipality with a population of more than
  150,000 and less than 200,000 that is partially located in a county
  with a population of 1.8 million or more; and
               (9)  a taxing unit any part of which is located in a
  county to which this section applies.
         (b)  In this chapter, "debt" means a bond, warrant,
  certificate of obligation, or other evidence of indebtedness owed
  by a taxing unit that is payable solely from property taxes in
  installments over a period of more than one year, not budgeted for
  payment from maintenance and operations funds, and secured by a
  pledge of property taxes, or a payment made under contract to secure
  indebtedness of a similar nature issued by another political
  subdivision on behalf of the taxing unit.
         SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a bond, warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
  indebtedness for which the ordinance, order, or resolution
  authorizing the issuance is adopted by the governing body of a
  taxing unit on or after the effective date of this Act and for which
  the taxing unit has not entered into a binding agreement before the
  effective date of this Act that contemplates the issuance of the
  debt. The changes in law made by this Act do not apply to a bond,
  warrant, certificate of obligation, or other evidence of
  indebtedness for which the ordinance, order, or resolution
  authorizing the issuance was adopted by the governing body of a
  taxing unit before the effective date of this Act or for which the
  taxing unit has entered into a binding agreement before the
  effective date of this Act that contemplates the issuance of such
  debt, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
  For the purposes of this section, "binding agreement" includes a
  development agreement, ordinance, order, or resolution that
  authorizes or delegates to an appropriate officer of a taxing unit
  the execution of a binding agreement at a later date.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.