BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4847

By: Hunter

Ways & Means

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that under current Texas law, limited information is available to the public regarding the amount of local tax revenue from school districts that is recaptured by the state. The bill author has further informed the committee that this recapture mechanism, commonly referred to as the "Robin Hood" system, is subject to concerns that have been raised about the public's understanding of this process and the role local property taxes play in funding statewide public education. C.S.H.B. 4847 seeks to increase public awareness and enhance transparency regarding the distribution and use of local school district property tax revenues, particularly in districts that are subject to recapture, by requiring that specific, accessible information about tax allocations and the recapture process be provided on a certain 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. 4847 amends the Tax Code to require certain additional information to be included in the property tax database maintained by the chief appraiser of each appraisal district with respect to property that is located in one or more public school districts that have a local revenue level in excess of entitlement and that, for the school year beginning in the current tax year, have taken measures to reduce the district's local revenue level. The bill requires that database to include, with respect to each such property that is listed on the appraisal roll for the appraisal district, the following information, if applicable, for each school district in which the property is located:

· the percentage of the taxes for maintenance and operations imposed by the district for the current tax year that the district is required to pay under the agreement for the school year beginning in the current tax year to purchase average daily attendance credits;

· the percentage of those taxes that the district is not required to pay under such an agreement; and

· a statement with language specified by the bill's provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2026.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4847 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 a provision absent from the introduced requiring the property tax database maintained by each chief appraiser to include, with respect to property listed on the appraisal roll that is located in one or more school districts that have a local revenue level in excess of entitlement and have taken measures to reduce that level, the percentage of maintenance and operation taxes that each applicable district is required to pay under an agreement for the purchase of average daily attendance credits, the percentage it is not required to pay under such agreement, and a specified statement relating to those percentages. The substitute omits provisions from the introduced that did the following:

· required the county-assessor collector to post these percentages and the specified statement on the county's website for each such school district that has territory located in the county; and

· required a tax bill or a separate statement accompanying the tax bill for such a school district to separately state these percentages and the specified statement.