Spotlight on Bond Bills on the Move

Below is a spotlight on certain bills addressing bond debt and tax rate language related to their passing:

SB 1252 (Bettencourt) – text required on the ballot

• “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE” statement required on certain ballot propositions
• SB 1252 was voted out of the Senate on 4/20 and has been referred to House Ways & Means

SB 2433(Bettencourt) is a large bill that relates to election practices and procedures BUT it also has a section in it that incorporates language from SB 824/HB 453

• Section 5 of the bill amends Sec. 43.031 of the Election Code by adding subsection (f):
  • If the entity that owns or controls a public building
    selected for a polling place under this section is a school district
    and fails to make the building available in accordance with
    Subsection (c), the district may not designate the building as a
    polling place for an election for the board of trustees or for a
    school district bond election until after the fifth anniversary of
    the date of the election in which the district failed to comply with
    this section.
• SB 2433 was voted out of the Senate on 4/20 and has been referred to House Elections

HB 159 (Landgraf) – public notice required on certain ad valorem tax-related information

• Information required on the home page would be summarized in the newspaper, with some exceptions
• HB 159 was passed out of the House on 4/26 and was referred to Senate Local Government  

SB 2035 (Bettencourt) – would extend the length of time from the current three years to five years that a taxing entity is prohibited from using certificates of obligation (COs) to fund a voter-rejected project

• The bill also prohibits the issuance of tax anticipation notes (TANs) for five years if the voters reject a bond proposal
• SB 2035 was passed out of the Senate on 4/26 and has moved over to the House for further deliberation  

SB 2350 (Bettencourt) – would restrict changes or updates to truth in taxation worksheet

• Will codify that once the voter-approval tax rate is adopted by the taxing entity, the worksheet cannot be changed or adjusted which would impact the unused increment rate of a taxing unit
• SB 2350 was passed out of the Senate on 4/27 and will move to the House for further deliberations  

HB 3899 (Troxclair) – amends the Transportation Code addressing the issuance of bonds by certain local government corporations

• SB 1791 is the Senate Companion
• As amended includes in its subchapter the definition of bond to include “a note, revenue bond, or loan”
• The bill provides limitations on such a corporation’s authority to issue certain bonds that are similar to the limitations placed on municipalities and counties
• There is a requirement that a bond election under the bill’s provisions be held on the November uniform election date
• HB 3899 was passed out of the House on 5/2 and will now move to the Senate for further consideration  

SB 1814 (Bettencourt) – relating to debt service and calculation of the current debt rate

• Amends the definition of “current debt” for calculating the interest and sinking rate to include only the minimum amount required by the bond issuance schedule
• The bill has 1 adopted floor amendment as it passed out of the Senate chamber which allowed flexibility with setting the interest and sinking rate by requiring approval by a certain percentage according to the amendment layout
  • (The amendment will be available here on the amendments tab once it is published)
• SB 1814 was passed out of the Senate on 5/3 and will move to the House for further deliberations 

SB 946 (Sparks) – requires bonds, other debt, or tax increases to be held on the November uniform election date

• A similar bill HB 187 (Landgraf) requiring bond propositions to be placed on the November uniform election date, was heard in a House committee on 4/5 and left pending (its companion SB 1609 by Sparks has not yet been heard in its originating chamber committee)
• SB 946 has been placed on the Senate Intent Calendar since 4/12