Bill Text: TX HB3797 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the public notice required to be provided by a county before adopting an ad valorem tax rate.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-18 - No action taken in committee [HB3797 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB3797-Introduced.html

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83R9040 TJB-F
By: Coleman H.B. No. 3797

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the public notice required to be provided by a county
before adopting an ad valorem tax rate.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 130, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 130.911 to read as follows:
Sec. 130.911. ALTERNATIVE PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX RATE NOTICE
FOR COUNTIES. (a) In this section, "effective tax rate" and
"rollback tax rate" mean the effective tax rate and rollback tax
rate of a county as calculated under Chapter 26, Tax Code.
(b) This section applies to a county only if the county
elects to provide notice of the county's proposed property tax rate
in the manner provided by this section.
(c) A county may elect to provide notice of the county's
proposed property tax rate in the manner provided by this section
instead of providing notice in the manner required by Sections
26.04(e), 26.052, and 26.06, Tax Code, as applicable. A county that
elects to provide notice under this section is exempt from the
notice and publication requirements of those sections and is not
subject to an injunction for failure to comply with those
requirements.
(d) A county that proposes a property tax rate that does not
exceed the lower of the effective tax rate or the rollback tax rate
shall provide the following notice:
"NOTICE OF (INSERT CURRENT TAX YEAR) TAX YEAR PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX
RATE FOR (INSERT NAME OF COUNTY)
"A tax rate of $______ per $100 valuation has been proposed by the
governing body of (insert name of county).
PROPOSED TAX RATE $______ per $100
PRECEDING YEAR'S TAX RATE $______ per $100
EFFECTIVE TAX RATE $______ per $100
"The effective tax rate is the total tax rate needed to raise the
same amount of property tax revenue for (insert name of county) from
the same properties in both the (insert preceding tax year) tax year
and the (insert current tax year) tax year.
"YOUR TAXES OWED UNDER ANY OF THE ABOVE RATES CAN BE CALCULATED AS
FOLLOWS:
property tax amount = (rate) x (taxable value of your property) /
100
"For assistance or detailed information about tax calculations,
please contact the county tax assessor-collector:
(insert name)
(insert name of county) tax assessor-collector
(insert address)
(insert telephone number)
(insert e-mail address)
(insert Internet website address, if applicable)"
(e) A county that proposes a property tax rate that exceeds
the lower of the effective tax rate or the rollback tax rate shall
provide the following notice:
"NOTICE OF (INSERT CURRENT TAX YEAR) TAX YEAR PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX
RATE FOR (INSERT NAME OF COUNTY)
"A tax rate of $_____ per $100 valuation has been proposed for
adoption by the governing body of (insert name of county). This
rate exceeds the lower of the effective or rollback tax rate, and
state law requires that two public hearings be held by the governing
body before adopting the proposed tax rate.
PROPOSED TAX RATE $______ per $100
PRECEDING YEAR'S TAX RATE $______ per $100
EFFECTIVE TAX RATE $______ per $100
ROLLBACK TAX RATE $______ per $100
"The effective tax rate is the total tax rate needed to raise the
same amount of property tax revenue for (insert name of county) from
the same properties in both the (insert preceding tax year) tax year
and the (insert current tax year) tax year.
"The rollback tax rate is the highest tax rate that (insert name of
county) may adopt before voters are entitled to petition for an ) may adopt before voters are entitled to petition for an
election to limit the rate that may be approved to the rollback
rate.
"YOUR TAXES OWED UNDER ANY OF THE ABOVE RATES CAN BE CALCULATED AS
FOLLOWS:
property tax amount = (rate) x (taxable value of your property) /
100
"For assistance or detailed information about tax calculations,
please contact the county tax assessor-collector:
(insert name)
(insert name of county) tax assessor-collector
(insert address)
(insert telephone number)
(insert e-mail address)
(insert Internet website address, if applicable)
"You are urged to attend and express your views at the following
public hearings on the proposed tax rate:
First Hearing: (insert date and time) at (insert location of
meeting).).
Second Hearing: (insert date and time) at (insert location
of meeting).")."
(f) A county shall:
(1) provide the notice required by Subsection (d) or
(e), as applicable, not later than September 1 by:
(A) publishing the notice in a newspaper having
general circulation in the county; or
(B) mailing the notice to each property owner in
the county; and
(2) post the notice on the Internet website of the
county beginning not later than September 1 and continuing until
the county adopts a tax rate.
(g) If the notice required by Subsection (d) or (e) is
published in a newspaper:
(1) it may not:
(A) be published in the part of the newspaper in
which legal notices and classified advertisements appear; or
(B) be smaller than one-quarter page of a
standard-size or a tabloid-size newspaper; and
(2) the headline on the notice must be in 24-point or
larger type.
(h) A county that publishes notice under this section shall
on request provide any information described by Sections
26.04(e)(1)-(7), Tax Code, regarding the county.
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to an ad valorem tax year
that begins on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.