Sec. 222.1071. COUNTY ENERGY TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT ZONES. (a) A county shall determine the amount of the tax increment for a county energy transportation reinvestment zone in the same manner the county would determine the tax increment as provided in Section 222.107(a) for a county transportation reinvestment zone.
(b) A county, after determining that an area is affected because of oil and gas exploration and production activities and would benefit from funding under Chapter 256, by order or resolution of the commissioners court:
(1) may designate a contiguous geographic area in the jurisdiction of the county to be a county energy transportation reinvestment zone to promote one or more transportation infrastructure projects, as that term is defined by Section 256.101, located in the zone; and
(2) may jointly administer a county energy transportation reinvestment zone with a contiguous county energy transportation reinvestment zone formed by another county.
(c) A commissioners court must:
(1) dedicate or pledge all of the captured appraised value of real property located in the county energy transportation reinvestment zone to transportation infrastructure projects; and
(2) comply with all applicable laws in the application of this chapter.
(d) Not later than the 30th day before the date a commissioners court proposes to designate an area as a county energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section, the commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the creation of the zone and its benefits to the county and to property in the proposed zone. At the hearing an interested person may speak for or against the designation of the zone, its boundaries, the joint administration of a zone in another county, or the use of tax increment paid into the tax increment account.
(e) Not later than the seventh day before the date of the hearing, notice of the hearing and the intent to create a zone must be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the county.
(f) The order or resolution designating an area as a county energy transportation reinvestment zone must:
(1) describe the boundaries of the zone with sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable certainty the territory included in the zone;
(2) provide that the zone takes effect immediately on adoption of the order or resolution designating an area and that the base year shall be the year of passage of the order or resolution designating an area or some year in the future;
(3) establish an ad valorem tax increment account for the zone or provide for the establishment of a joint ad valorem tax increment account, if applicable; and
(4) if two or more counties are designating a zone for the same transportation infrastructure project or projects, include a finding that:
(A) the project or projects will benefit the property and residents located in the zone;
(B) the creation of the zone will serve a public purpose of the county; and
(C) details the transportation infrastructure projects for which each county is responsible.
(g) Compliance with the requirements of this section constitutes designation of an area as a county energy transportation reinvestment zone without further hearings or other procedural requirements.
(h) The county may, from taxes collected on property in a zone, pay into a tax increment account for the zone or zones an amount equal to the tax increment produced by the county less any amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements under Section 381.004, Local Government Code, or Chapter 312, Tax Code.
(i) The county may:
(1) use money in the tax increment account to provide:
(A) matching funds under Section 256.105; and
(B) funding for one or more transportation infrastructure projects located in the zone;
(2) apply for grants under Subchapter C, Chapter 256, subject to Section 222.1072;
(3) use five percent of any grant distributed to the county under Subchapter C, Chapter 256, for the administration of a county energy transportation reinvestment zone, not to exceed $250,000;
(4) enter into an agreement to provide for the joint administration of county energy transportation reinvestment zones if the commissioners court of the county has designated a county energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section for the same transportation infrastructure project or projects as another county commissioners court; and
(5) pledge money in the tax increment account to a road utility district formed as provided by Subsection (n).
(j) Tax increment paid into a tax increment account may not be pledged as security for bonded indebtedness.
(k) A county energy transportation reinvestment zone terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone was designated unless extended by an act of the county commissioners court that designated the zone. The extension may not exceed five years. On termination of the zone, any money remaining in the tax increment account must be transferred to the road and bridge fund described by Chapter 256 for the county that deposited the money into the tax increment account.
(l) The captured appraised value of real property located in a county energy transportation reinvestment zone shall be treated as provided by Section 26.03, Tax Code.
(m) The commissioners court of a county may enter into an agreement with the department to designate a county energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section for a specified transportation infrastructure project involving a state highway located in the proposed zone.
(n) In the alternative, to assist the county in developing a transportation infrastructure project, if authorized by the commission under Chapter 441, a road utility district may be formed under that chapter that has the same boundaries as a county energy transportation reinvestment zone created under this section. The road utility district may issue bonds to pay all or part of the cost of a transportation infrastructure project and may pledge and assign all or a specified amount of money in the tax increment account to secure those bonds if the county:
(1) collects a tax increment; and
(2) pledges all or a specified amount of the tax increment to the road utility district.
(o) A road utility district formed as provided by Subsection (n) may enter into an agreement to fund development of a transportation infrastructure project or to repay funds owed to the department. Any amount paid for this purpose is considered to be an operating expense of the district. Any taxes collected by the district that are not paid for this purpose may be used for any district purpose.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1372 (S.B. 1747), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.
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