Qualified voters of a taxing unit may petition for an election to lower the unit’s current-year tax rate, and the governing body must act on the petition and order an election if it is valid.
Sec. 26.075. PETITION ELECTION TO REDUCE TAX RATE OF TAXING UNIT OTHER THAN SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) This section applies only to a taxing unit other than: (1) a special taxing unit; (2) a school district; or (3) a municipality with a population of 30,000 or more. (b) This section applies to a taxing unit only in a tax year in which the taxing unit's: (1) de minimis rate exceeds the taxing unit's voter-approval tax rate; and (2) adopted tax rate is: (A) equal to or lower than the taxing unit's de minimis rate; and (B) greater than the greater of the taxing unit's: (i) voter-approval tax rate calculated as if the taxing unit were a special taxing unit; or (ii) voter-approval tax rate. (c) The qualified voters of a taxing unit by petition may require that an election be held to determine whether to reduce the tax rate adopted by the governing body of the taxing unit for the current tax year to the voter-approval tax rate. (d) A petition is valid only if the petition: (1) states that it is intended to require an election in the taxing unit on the question of reducing the taxing unit's adopted tax rate for the current tax year; (2) is signed by a number of registered voters of the taxing unit equal to at least three percent of the registered voters of the taxing unit determined according to the most recent list of those voters; and (3) is submitted to the governing body of the taxing unit not later than the 90th day after the date on which the governing body adopts the tax rate for the current tax year. (e) Not later than the 20th day after the date on which a petition is submitted, the governing body shall determine whether the petition is valid and must by resolution state the governing body's determination. If the governing body fails to make the determination in the time and manner required by this subsection, the petition is considered to be valid for the purposes of this section. (f) If the governing body determines that the petition is valid or fails to make the determination in the time and manner required by Subsection (e), the governing body shall order that an election be held in the taxing unit on the next uniform election date that allows sufficient time to comply with the requirements of other law. (g) At the election, the ballots shall be prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition: "Reducing the tax rate in (name of taxing unit) for the current year from (insert tax rate adopted for current year) to (insert voter-approval tax rate)." (h) If a majority of the votes cast in the election favor the proposition, the tax rate for the current tax year is the voter-approval tax rate. (i) If the proposition is not approved as provided by Subsection (h), the tax rate for the taxing unit for the current tax year is the tax rate adopted by the governing body of the taxing unit for the current tax year. (j) If the tax rate is reduced by an election held under this section after tax bills for the taxing unit have been mailed, the assessor for the taxing unit shall prepare and mail corrected tax bills. The assessor shall include with the bill a brief explanation of the reason for and effect of the corrected bill. The date on which the taxes become delinquent for the tax year is extended by a number of days equal to the number of days between the date the first tax bills were sent and the date the corrected tax bills were sent. (k) If a property owner pays taxes calculated using the higher tax rate when the tax rate is reduced by an election held under this section, the taxing unit shall refund the difference between the amount of taxes paid and the amount due under the reduced tax rate if the difference between the amount of taxes paid and the amount due under the reduced tax rate is $1 or more. If the difference between the amount of taxes paid and the amount due under the reduced rate is less than $1, the taxing unit shall refund the difference on request of the taxpayer. An application for a refund of less than $1 must be made within 90 days after the date the refund becomes due or the taxpayer forfeits the right to the refund. (l) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, this section does not apply to a tax imposed by a taxing unit if a provision of an uncodified local or special law enacted by the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, or by an earlier legislature provides that Section 26.07 does not apply to a tax imposed by the taxing unit. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 2), Sec. 52, eff. January 1, 2020.