Governor Abbott Vetoes House Bill 4025 (84R)
Pursuant to Article IV, Section 14, of the Texas Constitution, I, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, do hereby disapprove of and veto House Bill No. 4025 as passed by the Eighty-Fourth Texas Legislature, Regular Session, because of the following objections:
In the 2011 statewide election, the voters of Texas rejected a constitutional amendment that would have given counties the authority to create tax-increment reinvestment zones. The Legislature's attempts to confer this authority on counties without a constitutional amendment have been found by three separate Attorney-General opinions to violate article VIII, section 1(a) of the Texas Constitution. House Bill 4025, in part, is an attempt to do what the Texas Constitution and multiple Attorney-General opinions prohibit. If the Legislature wants counties to have the authority to create tax-increment reinvestment zones, it must again ask the voters to amend the Constitution.
Since the Eighty-Fourth Texas Legislature, Regular Session, by its adjournment has prevented the returnof this bill, I am filing these objections in the office of the Secretary of State and giving notice thereof by this public proclamation according to the aforementioned constitutional provision.
GREG ABBOTT
Governor
View a PDF of the veto here