HBA-SEP H.B. 3394 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3394 By: Oliveira Ways & Means 4/12/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, customers who purchase goods for export can redeem state sales tax at retail locations on issuance of a certificate by a licensed customs broker that the goods are for export. However, since issuance of these certificates in many instances occurs before the goods leave the United States, there is no valid mechanism to ensure that these goods are in fact exported. The result is a loss of sales tax revenue by the state. House Bill 3394 creates export verification centers to verify that goods purchased for export leave the country. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the comptroller of public accounts in SECTION 1 (Section 151.158, Tax Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 3394 amends the Tax Code to require the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller) to charge an amount prescribed by comptroller rule for each transaction to verify that tangible personal property has been exported beyond the territorial limits of the United States. The bill removes provisions regarding export stamps. The bill replaces the current means of proving that tangible personal property has been exported beyond the territorial limits of the United States with documentation provided by an export verification center operated by the comptroller. EFFECTIVE DATE January 1, 2002.