2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB2027
HB2027 expressly authorizes county tax-abatement agreements for certain interests and property in Port Freeport reinvestment zones.
Official caption: Relating to the authority of the Brazoria County Commissioners Court to execute tax abatement agreements for property within the Port Freeport district.
Official report lists House author(s): Vasut, Barry. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB2027 expressly authorizes county tax-abatement agreements for certain interests and property in Port Freeport reinvestment zones.
- Port Freeport may submit a written request to the commissioners court of a county where district-owned property is located to designate that property as a reinvestment zone.
- Within a zone designated under this special law, the commissioners court may agree to exempt all or part of the value of a leasehold interest in tax-exempt or district-owned real property.
- Other agreement terms remain governed by Tax Code Chapter 312.
What does it do?
HB2027 expressly authorizes county tax-abatement agreements for certain interests and property in Port Freeport reinvestment zones. A tax abatement is an agreement exempting some or all of specified property value from taxation under the applicable rules; the bill does not automatically give every business in the district a tax break. Final law.
Port Freeport may submit a written request to the commissioners court of a county where district-owned property is located to designate that property as a reinvestment zone. The court may do so if the Tax Code 312.202 criteria are met, assessed as if a municipality where the property lies were creating the zone. HB2027 makes the special authority operate notwithstanding both the municipal and county subchapters of Chapter 312, rather than only the municipal subchapter. Final law, Section 1; zone criteria.
Within a zone designated under this special law, the commissioners court may agree to exempt all or part of the value of a leasehold interest in tax-exempt or district-owned real property. It may also agree with owners of tangible personal property or improvements on such land to exempt all or part of those assets’ value. This addresses taxable private interests or assets associated with the land, rather than simply treating already tax-exempt land as newly taxable and then exempting it. Special District Local Laws Code 5002.203(b).
Other agreement terms remain governed by Tax Code Chapter 312. The bill itself sets no project-specific exemption percentage or dollar amount and mandates no particular agreement. It took effect immediately on May 29, 2025, after receiving the required two-thirds votes—not on the fallback September date. Final law, Sections 1–2; official history.
What changed along the way?
The introduced and House committee versions already contained the new agreement authority and Chapter 312 terms. The House-passed text corrected the legislative marking around “Subchapters” but did not change the operative authority. The Senate committee and enrolled versions retained it. Introduced text; all versions.
The official amendment index reports no amendments. The final recorded votes were 129–19 in the House, with two members present and not voting, and 28–3 in the Senate. Amendment index; history.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
Eligible businesses and property-interest owners may receive reduced taxes if the county approves an agreement. Port Freeport and the county gain a clearer tool for attracting or retaining investment. The trade-off is potential forgone local tax revenue; neither investment gains nor a net fiscal benefit are guaranteed by the law.
The May 2, 2025 fiscal note anticipates no state fiscal impact, but explicitly says there could be a local impact if Brazoria County executes the authorized agreements. It does not estimate that amount or provide two-year or five-year dollar totals. “No state impact” should not be read as “no cost to local government.”
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
