1. (a) A public hearing required by Section 26.05 may not be held before the seventh day after the date the notice of the public hearing on the proposed tax increase is given. The hearing must be on a weekday that is not a public holiday. The hearing must be held inside the boundaries of the unit in a publicly owned building or, if a suitable publicly owned building is not available, in a suitable building to which the public normally has access. At the hearing, the governing body must afford adequate opportunity for proponents and opponents of the tax increase to present their views.

2. (b) The notice of a public hearing may not be smaller than one-quarter page of a standard-size or a tabloid-size newspaper, and the headline on the notice must be in 18-point or larger type. The notice must:

   1. (1) contain a statement in the following form:

      "The (name of the taxing unit) will hold a public hearing on a proposal to increase total tax revenues from properties on the tax roll in the preceding year by (percentage by which proposed tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or effective tax rate calculated under this chapter ) percent. Your individual taxes may increase at a greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on the change in the taxable value of your property in relation to the change in taxable value of all other property and the tax rate that is adopted.

      "The public hearing will be held on (date and time) at (meeting place).

      "(Names of all members of the governing body, showing how each voted on the proposal to consider the tax increase or, if one or more were absent, indicating the absences.)"; and

   2. (2) contain the following information:

      1. (A) the unit's adopted tax rate for the preceding year and the proposed tax rate, expressed as an amount per $100;
      2. (B) the difference, expressed as an amount per $100 and as a percent increase or decrease, as applicable, in the proposed tax rate compared to the adopted tax rate for the preceding year;
      3. (C) the average appraised value of a residence homestead in the taxing unit in the preceding year and in the current year; the unit's homestead exemption, other than an exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older, applicable to that appraised value in each of those years; and the average taxable value of a residence homestead in the unit in each of those years, disregarding any homestead exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older;
      4. (D) the amount of tax that would have been imposed by the unit in the preceding year on a residence homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a residence homestead in that year, disregarding any homestead exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older;
      5. (E) the amount of tax that would be imposed by the unit in the current year on a residence homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a residence homestead in the current year, disregarding any homestead exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older, if the proposed tax rate is adopted; and
      6. (F) the difference between the amounts of tax calculated under Paragraphs (D) and (E), expressed in dollars and cents and described as the annual increase or decrease, as applicable, in the tax to be imposed by the unit on the average residence homestead in the unit in the current year if the proposed tax rate is adopted.
3. (c) The notice may be delivered by mail to each property owner in the unit, or it may be published in a newspaper. If the notice is published in a newspaper, it may not be in the part of the paper in which legal notices and classified advertisements appear.

4. (d) At the public hearing the governing body shall announce the date, time, and place of the meeting at which it will vote on the proposed tax rate. After the hearing the governing body shall give notice of the meeting at which it will vote on the proposed tax rate and the notice shall be in the same form as prescribed by Subsections (b) and (c), except that it must state the following:

   "The (name of the taxing unit) conducted a public hearing on a proposal to increase the total tax revenues of the (name of the taxing unit) from properties on the tax roll in the preceding year by (percentage by which proposed tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or effective tax rate calculated under this chapter ) percent on (date and time public hearing was conducted).

   "The (governing body of the taxing unit) is scheduled to vote on the tax rate that will result in that tax increase at a public meeting to be held on (date and time) at (meeting place)."

5. (e) The meeting to vote on the tax increase may not be earlier than the third day or later than the 14th day after the date of the public hearing. The meeting must be held inside the boundaries of the taxing unit in a publicly owned building or, if a suitable publicly owned building is not available, in a suitable building to which the public normally has access. If the governing body does not adopt a tax rate that exceeds the lower of the rollback tax rate or 103 percent of the effective tax rate by the 14th day, it must give a new notice under Subsection (d) before it may adopt a rate that exceeds the lower of the rollback tax rate or 103 percent of the effective tax rate.
6. (f) The comptroller by rule shall prescribe the language and format to be used in the part of the notice required by Subsection (b)(2). A notice under Subsection (b) is not valid if it does not substantially conform to the language and format prescribed by the comptroller under this subsection.
7. (g) This section does not apply to a school district. A school district shall provide notice of a public hearing on a tax increase as required by Section 44.004, Education Code.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2278, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982.

Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 164, ch. 13, Sec. 118, eff. Jan. 1, 1982;

Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5464, ch. 1029, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1983;

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 657, Sec. 4, eff. June 14, 1985;

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 1, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1986;

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 456, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 31, 1987;

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 947, Sec. 8, eff. Jan. 1, 1988;

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 940, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989;

Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 6, Sec. 46, eff. Sept. 1, 1991;

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 29.07, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1039, Sec. 28, 29, eff. Jan. 1, 1998;

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 398, Sec. 4, eff. Aug. 30, 1999;

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1358, Sec. 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.