Ballot Language:

The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit the voters of a municipality having a population of less than 10,000 to authorize the governing body of the municipality to enter into an agreement with an owner of real property in or adjacent to an area in the municipality that has been approved for funding under certain programs administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture under which the parties agree that all ad valorem taxes imposed on the owner’s property may not be increased for the first five tax years after the tax year in which the agreement is entered into.

SJR-44 History (enabling legislation SB-1336 History)

This amendment is intended to give small cities the ability to freeze property taxes in run down areas of their towns, commonly referred to as revitalization programs.. It is limited to property owners receiving grants from the Texas Department of Agriculture under either the Downtown Revitalization Program or the Main Street Improvements Program.

Because the enabling legislation did not make it out of the House during the waning days of the session, even if passed it will not go into effect. Legislators would have to pass a new bill in the next legislative session.

BigJolly says: It looks innocuous enough on the surface. It provides for local voters to decide if they want to offer these incentives. But look below the surface and you’ll find more of the same big government mentality that has permeated much legislation in recent years.

The two programs listed are administered by the Texas Dept. of Agriculture but the funding comes from big daddy, the federal government, by way of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. It’s high time folks realized that the same people that pay state taxes are the ones funding the bloated federal government.

Just say no to make a statement.

Click to read comments for and against.

From the Texas Legislative Council Summary (note: 131 page pdf file):

Comments by Supporters: Senate Joint Resolution No. 44 would provide eligible small cities a tool to create incentives for private property owners to renovate downtown buildings and improve downtown properties in conjunction with other downtown revitalization efforts undertaken by those cities. The temporary limitation on tax increases would allow those smaller cities for which currently available economic development options such as tax increment fi nancing or tax abatements may not be feasible to achieve the same effect. Senate Joint Resolution No. 44 would authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary limitation on tax increases on downtown buildings and other properties, which would not negatively affect the city’s or other local governments’ property tax revenue stream and would provide property owners with an incentive to invest realized tax savings into revitalization efforts.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 44 would provide the means for small cities to offer a financial incentive for property owners to renovate buildings and improve properties in their downtown areas by limiting the owners’ tax burden for a fi ve-year period. If the voters of a city approve implementation of the limitation, the city and downtown property owners could enter into contracts to establish the limitation in exchange for the renovation of their buildings or the improvement of their properties. With only a small number of properties eligible for the limitation on property tax increases, the fiscal impact is expected to be neutral during the five year period. After the expiration of that limitation period, the political subdivisions that tax those buildings or properties are expected to see a positive fiscal impact because of taxes imposed on the increased value of those buildings and property.

In many small cities, the buildings in the downtown areas are of historical value. If the buildings are allowed to deteriorate or are
demolished, they are lost forever. Senate Joint Resolution No. 44 would allow the legislature to give small cities a local option tax relief tool that can be used to preserve and protect the historical buildings in their downtown areas through the cooperative efforts of the city and its downtown property owners.

Comments by Opponents: Property owners who receive the benefit of infrastructure improvements funded through the Texas Department of Agriculture grant programs should be required to pay taxes imposed on any resulting increase in the value of their property. Furthermore, to the extent the amendment permits the legislature to reduce the tax burden of those property owners, the amendment may result in a shift of that tax burden to other property owners. In a smaller city, that effect would be more pronounced because the shifted tax burden would be borne by a smaller number of taxpaying property owners.