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Texas Transportation Code
Sec. 222.105 Purposes
The purposes of Sections 222.106 (Municipal Transportation Reinvestment Zones) and 222.107 (County Transportation Reinvestment Zones) are to:
(1) promote public safety;
(2) facilitate the improvement, development, or redevelopment of property;
(3) facilitate the movement of traffic; and
(4) enhance a local entity’s ability to sponsor a transportation project
Sec. 222.106 Municipal Transportation Reinvestment Zones
(a) In this section:
(1) the amount of a municipality’s tax increment for a year is the amount of ad valorem taxes levied and collected by the municipality for that year on the captured appraised value of real property taxable by the municipality and located in a transportation reinvestment zone under this section;
(2) the captured appraised value of real property taxable by a municipality for a year is the total appraised value of all real property taxable by the municipality and located in a transportation reinvestment zone for that year less the tax increment base of the municipality; and
(3) the tax increment base of a municipality is the total appraised value of all real property taxable by the municipality and located in a transportation reinvestment zone for the year in which the zone was designated under this section.
(b) This section applies only to a municipality in which a transportation project is to be developed under Section 222.104 (Pass-through Tolls) or 222.108 (Transportation Reinvestment Zones for Other Transportation Projects).
(c) If the governing body determines an area to be unproductive and underdeveloped and that action under this section will further the purposes stated in Section 222.105 (Purposes), the governing body of the municipality by ordinance may designate a contiguous geographic area in the jurisdiction of the municipality to be a transportation reinvestment zone to promote one or more transportation projects.
(d) The governing body must comply with all applicable laws in the application of this chapter.
(e) Not later than the 30th day before the date the governing body of the municipality proposes to adopt an ordinance designating an area as a transportation reinvestment zone under this section, the governing body must hold a public hearing on the designation of the zone and its benefits to the municipality and to property in the proposed zone. At the hearing, an interested person may speak for or against the creation of the zone or its boundaries. Not later than the seventh day before the date of the hearing, notice of the hearing and the intent to create the zone must be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the municipality.
(f) Compliance with the requirements of this section constitutes designation of an area as a transportation reinvestment zone without further hearings or other procedural requirements.
(g) The ordinance designating an area as a 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 passage of the ordinance and that the base year shall be the year of passage of the ordinance or some year in the future;
(3) assign a name to the zone for identification, with the first zone designated by a municipality designated as “Transportation Reinvestment Zone Number One, (City or Town, as applicable) of (name of municipality),” and subsequently designated zones assigned names in the same form, numbered consecutively in the order of their designation;
(4) designate the base year for purposes of establishing the tax increment base of the municipality;
(5) establish a tax increment account for the zone; and
(6) contain findings that promotion of the transportation project or projects will cultivate the improvement, development, or redevelopment of the zone.
(h) From taxes collected on property in a zone, the municipality shall pay into the tax increment account for the zone the tax increment produced by the municipality, less any amount allocated under previous agreements, including agreements under Chapter 380 (Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Municipal Planning and Development), Local Government Code, or Chapter 311 (Tax Increment Financing Act), Tax Code.
(i) All or the portion specified by the municipality of the money deposited to a tax increment account must be used to fund the transportation project or projects for which the zone was designated, as well as aesthetic improvements within the zone. Any remaining money deposited to the tax increment account may be used for other purposes as determined by the municipality. A municipality may issue bonds to pay all or part of the cost of a transportation project and may pledge and assign all or a specified amount of money in the tax increment account to secure repayment of those bonds.
(i-1) The governing body of a municipality may contract with a public or private entity to develop, redevelop, or improve a transportation project in a transportation reinvestment zone and may pledge and assign all or a specified amount of money in the tax increment account to that entity. After a pledge or assignment is made, the governing body of the municipality may not rescind its pledge or assignment until the contractual commitments that are the subject of the pledge or assignment have been satisfied.
(i-2) To accommodate changes in the limits of a project for which a reinvestment zone was designated, the boundaries of a zone may be amended at any time, except that property may not be removed or excluded from a designated zone if any part of the tax increment account has been assigned or pledged directly by the municipality or through another entity to secure bonds or other obligations issued to obtain funding or development of a project, and property may not be added to a designated zone unless the governing body of the municipality complies with Subsections (e) and (g).
(j) Except as provided by Subsections (i-1) and (k), a transportation reinvestment zone terminates on December 31 of the year in which the municipality completes:
(1) all contractual requirements that included the pledge or assignment of all or a portion of money deposited to a tax increment account; or
(2) the repayment of money owed under an agreement for development, redevelopment, or improvement of the project or projects for which the zone was designated.
(k) A transportation reinvestment zone terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone was designated, if before that date the municipality has not entered into a contract described in Subsection (i-1) or otherwise not used the zone for the purpose for which it was designated.
(l) Any surplus remaining in a tax increment account on termination of a zone may be used for other purposes as determined by the municipality.
Sec. 222.107 County Transportation Reinvestment Zones
(a) In this section:
(1) the amount of a county’s tax increment for a year is the amount of ad valorem taxes levied and collected by the county for that year on the captured appraised value of real property taxable by the county and located in a transportation reinvestment zone under this section;
(2) the captured appraised value of real property taxable by a county for a year is the total appraised value of all real property taxable by the county and located in a transportation reinvestment zone for that year less the tax increment base of the county; and
(3) the tax increment base of a county is the total appraised value of all real property taxable by the county and located in a transportation reinvestment zone for the year in which the zone was designated under this section.
(b) This section applies only to a county in which a transportation project is to be developed under Section 222.104 (Pass-through Tolls) or 222.108 (Transportation Reinvestment Zones for Other Transportation Projects).
(c) The commissioners court of the county, after determining that an area is unproductive and underdeveloped and that action under this section would further the purposes described by Section 222.105 (Purposes), by order or resolution may designate a contiguous geographic area in the jurisdiction of the county to be a transportation reinvestment zone to promote one or more transportation projects.
(d) The commissioners court must comply with all applicable laws in the application of this chapter.
(e) Not later than the 30th day before the date the commissioners court proposes to designate an area as a transportation reinvestment zone under this section, the commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the creation of the zone, its benefits to the county and to property in the proposed zone, and the possible abatement of ad valorem taxes or the grant of other relief from ad valorem taxes imposed by the county on real property located in the zone. At the hearing, an interested person may speak for or against the designation of the zone, its boundaries, or the possible abatement of or the relief from county taxes on real property in the zone. 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 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 and that the base year shall be the year of passage of the order or resolution or some year in the future;
(3) assign a name to the zone for identification, with the first zone designated by a county designated as “Transportation Reinvestment Zone Number One, County of (name of county),” and subsequently designated zones assigned names in the same form numbered consecutively in the order of their designation;
(4) designate the base year for purposes of establishing the tax increment base of the county;
(5) establish an ad valorem tax increment account for the zone; and
(6) contain findings that promotion of the transportation project or projects will cultivate the improvement, development, or redevelopment of the zone.
(g) Compliance with the requirements of this section constitutes designation of an area as a transportation reinvestment zone without further hearings or other procedural requirements.
(h) The commissioners court may:
(1) from taxes collected on property in a zone, pay into a tax increment account for the zone an amount equal to the tax increment produced by the county less any amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements under Section 381.004 (Community and Economic Development Programs), Local Government Code, or Chapter 312 (Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act), Tax Code;
(2) by order or resolution enter into an agreement with the owner of any real property located in the transportation reinvestment zone to abate all or a portion of the ad valorem taxes or to grant other relief from the taxes imposed by the county on the owner’s property in an amount not to exceed the amount calculated under Subsection (a)(1) for that year;
(3) by order or resolution elect to abate all or a portion of the ad valorem taxes imposed by the county on all real property in a zone; or
(4) grant other relief from ad valorem taxes on property in a zone.
(h-1) All abatements or other relief granted by the commissioners court in a transportation reinvestment zone must be equal in rate. In any ad valorem tax year, the total amount of the taxes abated or the total amount of relief granted under this section may not exceed the amount calculated under Subsection (a)(1) for that year, less any amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements under Chapter 381 (County Development and Growth), Local Government Code, or Chapter 312 (Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act), Tax Code.
(h-2) To further the development of the transportation project or projects for which the transportation reinvestment zone was designated, a county may assess all or part of the cost of the transportation project or projects against property within the zone. The assessment against each property in the zone may be levied and payable in installments in the same manner as provided by Sections 372.016-372.018, Local Government Code, provided that the installments do not exceed the total amount of the tax abatement or other relief granted under Subsection (h). The county may elect to adopt and apply the provisions of Sections 372.015-372.020 and 372.023 (Payment of Costs), Local Government Code, to the assessment of costs and Sections 372.024-372.030, Local Government Code, to the issuance of bonds by the county to pay the cost of a transportation project. The commissioners court of the county may contract with a public or private entity to develop, redevelop, or improve a transportation project in the transportation reinvestment zone, including aesthetic improvements, and may pledge and assign to that entity all or a specified amount of the revenue the county receives from the tax increment or the installment payments of the assessments for the payment of the costs of that transportation project. After a pledge or assignment is made, the commissioners court of the county may not rescind its pledge or assignment until the contractual commitments that are the subject of the pledge or assignment have been satisfied. Any amount received from the tax increment or the installment payments of the assessments not pledged or assigned in connection with a transportation project may be used for other purposes as determined by the commissioners court.
(i) In the alternative, to assist the county in developing a transportation project, if authorized by the commission under Chapter 441 (Road Utility Districts), a road utility district may be formed under that chapter that has the same boundaries as a transportation reinvestment zone created under this section.
(i-1) Repealed by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 114, Sec. 11, eff. September 1, 2013.
(j) In any ad valorem tax year, a road utility district formed as provided by Subsection (i) may impose taxes on property in the district at a rate that when applied to the property in the district would impose taxes in an amount equal to the amount of taxes abated by the commissioners court of the county under Subsection (h). Notwithstanding Section 441.192 (Maintenance Tax)(a), an election is not required to approve the imposition of the taxes.
(k) A road utility district formed as provided by Subsection (i) may enter into an agreement to fund development of a 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.
(k-1) To accommodate changes in the limits of a project for which a reinvestment zone was designated, the boundaries of a zone may be amended at any time, except that property may not be removed or excluded from a designated zone if any part of the tax increment or assessment has been assigned or pledged directly by the county or through another entity to secure bonds or other obligations issued to obtain funding or development of a project, and property may not be added to a designated zone unless the commissioners court of the county complies with Subsections (e) and (f).
(l) Except as provided by Subsection (m), a transportation reinvestment zone, a tax abatement agreement entered into under Subsection (h), or an order or resolution on the abatement of taxes or the grant of relief from taxes under that subsection terminates on December 31 of the year in which the county completes:
(1) all contractual requirements that included the pledge or assignment of all or a portion of:
(A) money deposited to a tax increment account; or
(B) the assessments collected under this section; or
(2) the repayment of money owed under an agreement for the development, redevelopment, or improvement of the project or projects for which the zone was designated.
(m) A transportation reinvestment zone terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone was designated, if before that date the county has not used the zone for the purpose for which it was designated.
Sec. 222.108 Transportation Reinvestment Zones for Other Transportation Projects
(a) A municipality or county may establish a transportation reinvestment zone for one or more transportation projects. If all or part of a transportation project is subject to oversight by the department, at the option of the governing body of the municipality or county, the department, to the extent permitted by law, shall delegate full responsibility for the development, design, letting of bids, and construction of the project, including project inspection, to the municipality or county. After assuming responsibility for a project under this subsection, a municipality or county shall enter into an agreement with the department that prescribes:
(1) the development process;
(2) the roles and responsibilities of the parties; and
(3) the timelines for any required reviews or approvals.
(b) Any portion of a transportation project developed under Subsection (a) that is on the state highway system or is located in the state highway right-of-way must comply with applicable state and federal requirements and criteria for project development, design, and construction, unless the department grants an exception to the municipality or county.
(c) The development, design, and construction plans and specifications for the portions of a project described by Subsection (b) must be reviewed and approved by the department under the agreement entered into under Subsection (a).
(d) In this section, “transportation project” includes:
(1) transportation projects described by Section 370.003 (Definitions); and
(2) port security, transportation, or facility projects described by Section 55.001 (Definitions)(5).
Sec. 222.109 Reduction Prohibited
(a) A municipality or county may not be penalized with a reduction in traditional transportation funding because of the designation and use of a transportation reinvestment zone under this chapter. Any funding from the department committed to a project before the date that a transportation reinvestment zone is designated may not be reduced because the transportation reinvestment zone is designated in connection with that project.
(b) The department may not reduce any allocation of traditional transportation funding to any of its districts because a district contains a municipality or county that contains a transportation reinvestment zone designated under this chapter.
Sec. 222.110 Sales Tax Increment
(a) In this section, “sales tax base” for a transportation reinvestment zone means the amount of sales and use taxes imposed by a municipality under Section 321.101 (Tax Authorized)(a), Tax Code, or by a county under Chapter 323 (County Sales and Use Tax Act), Tax Code, as applicable, attributable to the zone for the year in which the zone was designated under this chapter.
(1) Expired.
(2) Expired.
(b) The governing body of a municipality or county may determine, in an ordinance or order designating an area as a transportation reinvestment zone or in an ordinance or order adopted subsequent to the designation of a zone, the portion or amount of tax increment generated from the sales and use taxes imposed by a municipality under Section 321.101 (Tax Authorized)(a), Tax Code, or by a county under Chapter 323 (County Sales and Use Tax Act), Tax Code, attributable to the zone, above the sales tax base, to be used as provided by Subsection (e). Nothing in this section requires a municipality or county to contribute sales tax increment under this subsection.
(c) A county that designates a portion or amount of sales tax increment under Subsection (b) must establish a tax increment account. A municipality or county shall deposit the designated portion or amount of tax increment under Subsection (b) to the entity’s respective tax increment account.
(d) Before pledging or otherwise committing money in the tax increment account under Subsection (c), the governing body of a municipality or county may enter into an agreement, under Subchapter E, Chapter 271 (Purchasing and Contracting Authority of Municipalities, Counties, and Certain Other Local Governments), Local Government Code, to authorize and direct the comptroller to:
(1) withhold from any payment to which the municipality or county may be entitled the amount of the payment into the tax increment account under Subsection (b);
(2) deposit that amount into the tax increment account; and
(3) continue withholding and making additional payments into the tax increment account until an amount sufficient to satisfy the amount due has been met.
(e) The sales and use taxes to be deposited into the tax increment account under this section may be disbursed from the account only to:
(1) pay for projects authorized under Section 222.104 (Pass-through Tolls) or 222.108 (Transportation Reinvestment Zones for Other Transportation Projects); and
(2) notwithstanding Sections 321.506 (Use of Tax Revenue by Municipality) and 323.505 (Use of Tax Revenue), Tax Code, satisfy claims of holders of tax increment bonds, notes, or other obligations issued or incurred for projects authorized under Section 222.104 (Pass-through Tolls) or 222.108 (Transportation Reinvestment Zones for Other Transportation Projects).
(f) The amount deposited by a county to a tax increment account under this section is not considered to be sales and use tax revenue for the purpose of property tax reduction and computation of the county tax rate under Section 26.041 (Tax Rate of Unit Imposing Additional Sales and Use Tax), Tax Code.
(g) Not later than the 30th day before the date the governing body of a municipality or county proposes to designate a portion or amount of sales tax increment under Subsection (b), the governing body shall hold a public hearing on the designation of the sales tax increment. At the hearing, an interested person may speak for or against the designation of the sales tax increment. Not later than the seventh day before the date of the hearing, notice of the hearing must be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the county or municipality, as appropriate.
(h) The hearing required under Subsection (g) may be held in conjunction with a hearing held under Section 222.106 (Municipal Transportation Reinvestment Zones)(e) or 222.107 (County Transportation Reinvestment Zones)(e) if the ordinance or order designating an area as a transportation reinvestment zone under Section 222.106 (Municipal Transportation Reinvestment Zones) or 222.107 (County Transportation Reinvestment Zones) also designates a sales tax increment under Subsection (b).
(i) Repealed by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 214 (S.B. 1305), Sec. 5, eff. December 31, 2017.
(1) Expired.
(2) Expired.
Sec. 222.111 Transportation Reinvestment Zones for Projects Located in Other Jurisdictions
Notwithstanding any other law, the governing body of a county or municipality may designate a transportation reinvestment zone for a transportation project located outside the boundaries of the county or municipality if:
(1) the county or municipality finds that:
(A) the project will benefit the property and residents located in the zone; and
(B) the creation of the zone will serve a public purpose of that county or municipality;
(2) a zone has been designated for the same project by one or more counties or municipalities in whose boundaries the project is located; and
(3) an agreement for joint support of the designated zones is entered into under this section by:
(A) the county or municipality whose boundaries do not contain the project; and
(B) one or more of the counties or municipalities that have designated a zone for the project and in whose boundaries the project is located.
Sec. 222.1075 Port Authority Transportation Reinvestment Zone
(a) In this section:
(1) “Port authority” means a port authority or navigation district created or operating under Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
(2) “Port commission” means the governing body of a port authority or navigation district.
(3) “Port project” means a project that is necessary or convenient for the proper operation of a maritime port or waterway and that will improve the security, movement, and intermodal transportation of cargo or passengers in commerce and trade, including dredging, disposal, and other projects.
(b) In this section:
(1) the amount of a port authority’s tax increment for a year is the amount of ad valorem taxes levied and collected by the port authority or by the commissioners court on behalf of the port authority for that year on the captured appraised value of real property taxable by the port authority and located in a transportation reinvestment zone under this section;
(2) the captured appraised value of real property taxable by a port authority for a year is the total appraised value of all real property taxable by the port authority and located in a transportation reinvestment zone for that year less the tax increment base of the port authority; and
(3) the tax increment base of a port authority is the total appraised value of all real property taxable by the port authority and located in a transportation reinvestment zone for the year in which the zone was designated under this section.
(c) The port commission of the port authority, after determining that an area is unproductive or underdeveloped and that action under this section would improve the security, movement, and intermodal transportation of cargo or passengers in commerce and trade, by order or resolution may designate a contiguous geographic area in the jurisdiction of the port authority to be a transportation reinvestment zone to promote a port project and for the purpose of abating ad valorem taxes or granting other relief from taxes imposed by the county on real property located in the zone.
(d) The port commission must comply with all applicable laws in the application of this chapter.
(e) Not later than the 30th day before the date the port commission proposes to designate an area as a transportation reinvestment zone under this section, the port commission must hold a public hearing on the creation of the zone, its benefits to the port authority and to property in the proposed zone, and the abatement of ad valorem taxes or the grant of other relief from ad valorem taxes imposed by the port authority on real property located in the zone. At the hearing, an interested person may speak for or against the designation of the zone, its boundaries, or the abatement of or other relief from port authority taxes on real property in the zone. 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 in which the zone is proposed to be located.
(f) The order or resolution designating an area as a 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 and that the base year shall be the year of passage of the order or resolution or some year in the future;
(3) assign a name to the zone for identification, with the first zone designated by a county designated as “Transportation Reinvestment Zone Number One, (name of port authority),” and subsequently designated zones assigned names in the same form numbered consecutively in the order of their designation;
(4) designate the base year for purposes of establishing the tax increment base of the port authority;
(5) establish an ad valorem tax increment account for the zone; and
(6) contain findings that promotion of a port project will improve the security, movement, and intermodal transportation of cargo or passengers in commerce and trade.
(g) Compliance with the requirements of this section constitutes designation of an area as a transportation reinvestment zone without further hearings or other procedural requirements.
(h) The port commission may:
(1) from taxes collected on property in a zone, including maintenance and operation taxes, pay into a tax increment account for the zone an amount equal to the tax increment produced by the port authority less any amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements under Chapter 312 (Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act), Tax Code;
(2) from a tax increment account for the zone, repay any loan or other debt incurred to finance a port project under this section;
(3) by order or resolution enter into an agreement with the owner of any real property located in the transportation reinvestment zone to abate all or a portion of the ad valorem taxes or to grant other relief from the taxes imposed by the port authority on the owner’s property in an amount not to exceed the amount calculated under Subsection (b)(1) for that year;
(4) by order or resolution elect to abate all or a portion of the ad valorem taxes imposed by the port authority on all real property in a zone; or
(5) grant other relief from ad valorem taxes on property in a zone.
(i) All abatements or other relief granted by the port commission in a transportation reinvestment zone must be equal in rate. In any ad valorem tax year, the total amount of the taxes abated or the total amount of other relief granted under this section may not exceed the amount calculated under Subsection (b)(1) for that year, less any amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements under Chapter 312 (Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act), Tax Code.
(j) To further the development of the port project for which the transportation reinvestment zone was designated, a port authority may assess all or part of the cost of the port project against property within the zone. The assessment against each property in the zone may be levied and payable in installments in the same manner as provided for municipal and county public improvement districts under Sections 372.016-372.018, Local Government Code, provided that the installments do not exceed the total amount of the tax abatement or other relief granted under Subsection (h). The port authority has the powers provided to municipalities and counties under Sections 372.015-372.020 and 372.023 (Payment of Costs), Local Government Code, for the assessment of costs and Sections 372.024-372.030, Local Government Code, for the issuance of bonds by the port authority to pay the cost of a port project. The port commission of the port authority may contract with a public or private entity to develop, redevelop, or improve a port project in the transportation reinvestment zone, including aesthetic improvements, and may pledge and assign to that entity all or a specified amount of the revenue the port authority receives from installment payments of the assessments for the payment of the costs of that port project. After a pledge or assignment is made, if the entity that received the pledge or assignment has itself pledged or assigned that amount to secure bonds or other obligations issued to obtain funding for the port project, the port commission of the port authority may not rescind its pledge or assignment until the bonds or other obligations secured by the pledge or assignment have been paid or discharged. Any amount received from installment payments of the assessments not pledged or assigned in connection with the port project may be used for other purposes associated with the port project or in the zone.
(k) To accommodate changes in the limits of the project for which a reinvestment zone was designated, the boundaries of a zone may be amended at any time, except that property may not be removed or excluded from a designated zone if any part of the assessment has been assigned or pledged directly by the port authority or through another entity to secure bonds or other obligations issued to obtain funding of the project, and property may not be added to a designated zone unless the port commission of the port authority complies with Subsections (e) and (f).
(l) Except as provided by Subsection (m), a tax abatement agreement entered into under Subsection (h), or an order or resolution on the abatement of taxes or the grant of other relief from taxes under that subsection, terminates on December 31 of the year in which the port authority completes any contractual requirement that included the pledge or assignment of assessments collected under this section.
(m) A transportation reinvestment zone terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone was designated, if before that date the port authority has not used the zone for the purpose for which it was designated
