CHAPTER 387. COUNTY ASSISTANCE DISTRICT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 12. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
SUBTITLE B. COUNTY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 387. COUNTY ASSISTANCE DISTRICT
Sec. 387.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "district" means a
county assistance district created under this chapter.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.001 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.003. CREATION AND FUNCTIONS OF DISTRICT. (a) The
commissioners court of the county may call an election on the
question of creating a county assistance district under this
chapter to perform the following functions in the district:
(1) the construction, maintenance, or improvement of roads or
highways;
(2) the provision of law enforcement and detention services;
(3) the maintenance or improvement of libraries, museums, parks,
or other recreational facilities;
(4) the provision of services that benefit the public health or
welfare, including the provision of firefighting and fire
prevention services; or
(5) the promotion of economic development and tourism.
(b) The order calling the election must:
(1) define the boundaries of the district to include any portion
of the county in which the combined tax rate of all local sales
and use taxes imposed, including the rate to be imposed by the
district if approved at the election, would not exceed two
percent; and
(2) call for the election to be held within those boundaries.
(b-1) If the proposed district includes any territory of a
municipality, the commissioners court shall send notice by
certified mail to the governing body of the municipality of the
commissioners court's intent to create the district. If the
municipality has created a development corporation under Chapter
504 or 505, the commissioners court shall also send the notice to
the board of directors of the corporation. The commissioners
court must send the notice not later than the 60th day before the
date the commissioners court orders the election. The governing
body of the municipality may exclude the territory of the
municipality from the proposed district by sending notice by
certified mail to the commissioners court of the governing body's
desire to exclude the municipal territory from the district. The
governing body must send the notice not later than the 45th day
after the date the governing body receives notice from the
commissioners court under this subsection. The territory of a
municipality that is excluded under this subsection may
subsequently be included in the district in an election held
under Subsection (f) with the consent of the municipality.
(c) The ballot at the election must be printed to permit voting
for or against the proposition: "Authorizing the creation of the
____ County Assistance District (insert name of district) and the
imposition of a sales and use tax at the rate of ____ of one
percent (insert one-eighth, one-fourth, three-eighths, or
one-half, as appropriate) for the purpose of financing the
operations of the district."
(d) The district is created if a majority of the votes received
at the election favor the creation of the district.
(e) If a majority of the votes received at the election are
against the creation of the district, another election on the
question of creating a county assistance district may not be held
in the county before the first anniversary of the most recent
election concerning the creation of a district.
(f) The commissioners court may call an election to be held in
an area of the county that is not located in a district created
under this section to determine whether the area should be
included in the district and whether the district's sales and use
tax should be imposed in the area. An election may not be held
in an area in which the combined tax rate of all local sales and
use taxes imposed, including the rate to be imposed by the
district if approved at the election, would exceed two percent.
(g) The area in which an election is held under Subsection (f)
is included in the district and the sales and use tax is imposed
if a majority of the votes received at the election favor
inclusion in the district and imposition of the sales and use
tax.
(h) If more than one election to authorize a local sales and use
tax is held on the same day in the area of a proposed district or
an area proposed to be added to a district and if the resulting
approval by the voters would cause the imposition of a local
sales and use tax in any area to exceed two percent, only a tax
authorized at an election under this section may be imposed.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.003 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1252, Sec. 2, eff. June 18, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
685, Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
87, Sec. 15.010, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 387.004. POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. A district is a political
subdivision of this state.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.004 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.005. GOVERNING BODY. (a) The commissioners court of
the county in which the district is created is the governing body
of the district.
(b) A member of the commissioners court is not entitled to
compensation for service on the governing body of the district
but is entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary
expenses.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.005 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.006. GENERAL POWERS OF DISTRICT. (a) A district may:
(1) perform any act necessary to the full exercise of the
district's functions;
(2) accept a grant or loan from:
(A) the United States;
(B) an agency or political subdivision of this state; or
(C) a public or private person;
(3) acquire, sell, lease, convey, or otherwise dispose of
property or an interest in property under terms determined by the
district;
(4) employ necessary personnel; and
(5) adopt rules to govern the operation of the district and its
employees and property.
(b) A district may contract with a public or private person to
perform any act the district is authorized to perform under this
chapter.
(c) A district may not levy an ad valorem tax.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.006 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.007. SALES AND USE TAX. (a) A district by order may
impose a sales and use tax under this chapter to finance the
operations of the district only if the tax is approved at an
election held under Section 387.003.
(b) A district may not adopt a sales and use tax under this
chapter if the adoption of the tax would result in a combined tax
rate of all local sales and use taxes of more than two percent in
any location in the district.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.007 and
amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), 3(36),
eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.008. TAX CODE APPLICABLE. (a) Chapter 323, Tax Code,
governs the imposition, computation, administration, collection,
and remittance of a tax authorized under this chapter except as
inconsistent with this chapter.
(b) Section 323.101(b), Tax Code, does not apply to a tax
authorized by this chapter.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.008 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.009. TAX RATE. The rate of a tax adopted under this
chapter must be one-eighth, one-fourth, three-eighths, or
one-half of one percent.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.009 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.010. REPEAL OR RATE CHANGE. (a) A district that has
adopted a sales and use tax under this chapter may, by order and
subject to Section 387.007(b), change the rate of the tax or
repeal the tax if the change or repeal is approved by a majority
of the votes received in the district at an election held for
that purpose.
(b) The tax may be changed under Subsection (a) in one or more
increments of one-eighth of one percent to a maximum of one-half
of one percent.
(c) The ballot for an election to change the tax shall be
printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The
change of a sales and use tax for the ____ County Assistance
District (insert name of district) from the rate of ____ of one
percent (insert one-fourth, three-eighths, or one-half, as
appropriate) to the rate of ____ of one percent (insert
one-fourth, three-eighths, or one-half, as appropriate)."
(d) The ballot for the election to repeal the tax shall be
printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The
repeal of the sales and use tax for financing the __________
County Assistance District (insert name of district)."
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.010 and
amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), 3(37),
eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.011. IMPOSITION OF TAX. (a) If the district adopts
the tax, a tax is imposed on the receipts from the sale at retail
of taxable items in the district at the rate approved at the
election.
(b) There is also imposed an excise tax on the use, storage, or
other consumption in the district of tangible personal property
purchased, leased, or rented from a retailer during the period
that the tax is effective in the district. The rate of the excise
tax is the same as the rate of the sales tax portion of the tax
and is applied to the sale price of the tangible personal
property.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.011 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 387.012. EFFECTIVE DATE OF TAX. The adoption of the tax,
the change of the tax rate, or the repeal of the tax takes effect
on the first day of the first calendar quarter occurring after
the expiration of the first complete quarter occurring after the
date the comptroller receives a notice of the results of the
election adopting, changing, or repealing the tax.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1283, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1999. Renumbered from Local Government Code Sec. 384.012 by Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275, Sec. 2(110), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.