Texas Tax Code § 313.027 Limitation On Appraised Value; Agreement

Sec. 313.027. LIMITATION ON APPRAISED VALUE; AGREEMENT. (a) If the person's application is approved by the governing body of the school district, the appraised value for school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax purposes of the person's qualified property as described in the agreement between the person and the district entered into under this section in the school district may not exceed the lesser of:

(1) the market value of the property; or

(2) subject to Subsection (b), the amount agreed to by the governing body of the school district.

(a-1) The agreement must:

(1) provide that the limitation under Subsection (a) applies for a period of 10 years; and

(2) specify the beginning date of the limitation, which must be January 1 of the first tax year that begins after:

(A) the application date;

(B) the qualifying time period; or

(C) the date commercial operations begin at the site of the project.

(b) The amount agreed to by the governing body of a school district under Subsection (a)(2) must be an amount in accordance with the following, according to the category established by Section 313.022 to which the school district belongs:

CATEGORY MINIMUM AMOUNT OF LIMITATION I $100 million II $80 million III $60 million IV $40 million V $20 million

(c) The limitation amounts listed in Subsection (b) are minimum amounts. A school district, regardless of category, may agree to a greater amount than those amounts.

(d) The governing body of the school district and the property owner shall enter into a written agreement for the implementation of the limitation on appraised value under this subchapter on the owner's qualified property.

(e) The agreement must describe with specificity the qualified investment that the person will make on or in connection with the person's qualified property that is subject to the limitation on appraised value under this subchapter. Other property of the person that is not specifically described in the agreement is not subject to the limitation unless the governing body of the school district, by official action, provides that the other property is subject to the limitation.

(f) In addition, the agreement:

(1) must incorporate each relevant provision of this subchapter and, to the extent necessary, include provisions for the protection of future school district revenues through the adjustment of the minimum valuations, the payment of revenue offsets, and other mechanisms agreed to by the property owner and the school district;

(2) may provide that the property owner will protect the school district in the event the district incurs extraordinary education-related expenses related to the project that are not directly funded in state aid formulas, including expenses for the purchase of portable classrooms and the hiring of additional personnel to accommodate a temporary increase in student enrollment attributable to the project;

(3) must require the property owner to maintain a viable presence in the school district for at least five years after the date the limitation on appraised value of the owner's property expires;

(4) must provide for the termination of the agreement, the recapture of ad valorem tax revenue lost as a result of the agreement if the owner of the property fails to comply with the terms of the agreement, and payment of a penalty or interest, or both, on that recaptured ad valorem tax revenue;

(5) may specify any conditions the occurrence of which will require the district and the property owner to renegotiate all or any part of the agreement;

(6) must specify the ad valorem tax years covered by the agreement; and

(7) must be in a form approved by the comptroller.

(g) When appraising a person's qualified property subject to a limitation on appraised value under this section, the chief appraiser shall determine the market value of the property and include both the market value and the appropriate value under Subsection (a) in the appraisal records.

(h) The agreement between the governing body of the school district and the applicant may provide for a deferral of the date on which the qualifying time period for the project is to commence or, subsequent to the date the agreement is entered into, be amended to provide for such a deferral. The agreement may not provide for the deferral of the date on which the qualifying time period is to commence to a date later than January 1 of the fourth tax year that begins after the date the application is approved except that if the agreement is one of a series of agreements related to the same project, the agreement may provide for the deferral of the date on which the qualifying time period is to commence to a date not later than January 1 of the sixth tax year that begins after the date the application is approved. This subsection may not be construed to permit a qualifying time period that has commenced to continue for more than the number of years applicable to the project under Section 313.021(4).

(i) A person and the school district may not enter into an agreement under which the person agrees to provide supplemental payments to a school district or any other entity on behalf of a school district in an amount that exceeds an amount equal to the greater of $100 per student per year in average daily attendance, as defined by Section 42.005, Education Code, or $50,000 per year, or for a period that exceeds the period beginning with the period described by Section 313.021(4) and ending December 31 of the third tax year after the date the person's eligibility for a limitation under this chapter expires. This limit does not apply to amounts described by Subsection (f)(1) or (2).

(j) An agreement under this chapter must disclose any consideration promised in conjunction with the application and the limitation.

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1505, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1186 (H.B. 3676), Sec. 8, eff. June 19, 2009.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1304 (H.B. 3390), Sec. 9, eff. January 1, 2014.

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Last modified: September 28, 2016