BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3555

By: Plesa

Ways & Means

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

As property taxes rise, some homeowners assume that the funding for public schools increases accordingly. However, this is not always the case. C.S.H.B. 3555 seeks to bring transparency and clarity to property tax payers with respect to how much of their property taxes remain in the local school district by requiring the inclusion of certain tax-related information regarding public school districts on a homeowner's physical property tax statement and on the appropriate county tax assessor-collector website.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

C.S.H.B. 3555 amends the Tax Code to expand the required contents of a tax bill or a separate statement accompanying the tax bill for certain public school districts and to expand the tax-related information the county assessor-collector must post on the county's website for each district, all or part of the territory of which is located in the county. With respect to a district that has a local revenue level in excess of entitlement and that, for the school year beginning in the current tax year, has taken measures to reduce the district's revenue level, the bill requires the tax bill or separate statement to separately state, and the county assessor-collector to post online information on, both the percentage of the maintenance and operations (M&O) taxes imposed by the district for the current tax year that the district is required to pay, and the percentage the district is not required to pay, under the agreement for the school year beginning in the current tax year to purchase average daily attendance credits. With respect to any other district, the bill requires the tax bill or separate statement to separately state, and the county assessor-collector to post online information on, the following:

· the percentage of the district's M&O revenue for the school year beginning in both the preceding and current tax year that was or is derived from M&O taxes imposed by the district for the preceding or current tax year, respectively; and

· the percentage of the district's M&O revenue for the school year beginning in both the preceding and current tax year that was or is derived from state funds distributed to the district, respectively.

The bill requires those tax bills and separate statements to additionally separately state the Internet location or uniform resource locator (URL) address of the web page on the county's website where the information specified by the bill may be viewed.

EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2024.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3555 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes provisions that were not in the introduced expanding the tax-related information the county assessor-collector must post on the county's website for each applicable public school district.

The substitute includes provisions that were not in the introduced requiring a tax bill or a separate statement accompanying the tax bill for certain public school districts to separately state the Internet location or URL address of the webpage on the county's website where the information specified by the bill may be viewed.