HBA-RBT H.B. 1520 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1520
By: Junell
Ways & Means
3/2/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Small taxing units are incurring additional costs to maintain their tax
rates and budgets.  Current notice and hearing requirements for an increase
in the tax rate above the current effective rate call for two hearings and
two quarter-page announcements in a newspaper.  A simplified tax rate
notice process for small taxing units was repealed beginning with tax year
1998. 

H.B. 1520 establishes an alternative system of notice for smaller taxing
units.  By either mailing notice to each owner of taxable property or
publishing notice in the legal section of the newspaper, a smaller taxing
unit will still give notice to the community.  However, a larger portion of
the funds generated by the increase will be applied to the needs of the
taxing unit instead of the costs of notice. This bill affects only taxing
units for which the total tax rate proposed is 50 cents or less per $100 of
taxable value and would impose taxes of $500,000 or less when applied to
the current total value. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 26, Tax Code, by adding Section 26.052, as
follows: 

Sec.  26.052.  SIMPLIFIED TAX RATE NOTICE FOR TAXING UNITS WITH LOW TAX
LEVIES.  (a) Provides that this section applies only to a taxing unit for
which the total tax rate proposed for the current tax year is 50 cents or
less per $100 of taxable value and would impose taxes of $500,000 or less
when applied to the current total value for the taxing unit. 

(b) Provides that a taxing unit to which this section applies is exempt
from the notice and publication requirements of Section 26.04(e)
(Submission of Roll to Governing Body; Effective and Rollback Tax Rates)
and is not subject to an injunction under Section 26.04(g) (Submission of
Roll to Governing Body; Effective and Rollback Tax Rates) for failure to
comply with those requirements. 

(c) Authorizes a taxing unit to which this section applies to provide
public notice of its proposed tax rate, not later than the seventh day
before the date on which the tax rate is adopted, by mailing a notice of
the proposed tax rate to each owner of taxable property in the taxing unit
or publishing notice of the proposed tax rate in the legal notices section
of a newspaper having general circulation in the taxing unit. 

(d) Provides that a taxing unit that provides public notice of a proposed
tax rate under Subsection (c) is exempt from Sections 26.05(d) (Tax Rate)
and 26.06 (Notice, Hearing, and Vote on Tax Increase) and is not subject to
an injunction under Section 26.05(e) (Tax Rate) for failure to comply with
Section 26.05(d) (Tax Rate).  Prohibits a taxing unit that provides public
notice of a proposed tax rate under Subsection (c) from adopting a tax rate
that exceeds the rate set out in the notice unless the taxing unit provides
additional public notice under Subsection (c) of the higher rate or
complies with Section 26.05(d) (Tax Rate) and 26.06 (Notice, Hearing, and
Vote on Tax Increase), as applicable, in adopting  the higher rate. 

(e) Provides that public notice provided under Subsection (c) must specify
the tax rate that the governing body proposes to adopt, the date, time, and
location of the meeting of the governing body of the taxing unit at which
the governing body will consider adopting the proposed tax rate, and if the
proposed tax rate for the taxing unit exceeds the unit's effective tax rate
calculated as provided by Section 26.04, a statement substantially
identical to the statement provided. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.