Texas’ New Required Bond and Tax Rate Reporting

By Laurie Mann, Truth-in-Taxation Specialist

Texas Bond and Tax Rate Reporting

This table summarizes the key requirements, deadlines, and penalties associated with the three new Texas laws governing bond election reporting for local taxing units, school districts, and charter schools.

LAW	DEADLINES	WHO REPORTS	INFO INCLUDED	PENALTY
HB 3526	First report Sept 30, 2025; 20 days before and after Election Day	All local taxing units	Unissued bonds, pre-election details, post-election outcomes	None
HB 103	Jan 1, 2026; Annually Aug 7	All local taxing units	All bond info (2015–2025), ballot language, tax rate results	Potential $1,000 fine
SB 843	TBD	School districts & charters	Proposed, planned, and issued bonds; tax rate election info	None published

Here’s what we currently know about the upcoming changes.

HB 3526 – Texas Bond Review Board Reporting

This law requires local taxing units to provide three annual reports to the Texas Bond Review Board (BRB) beginning this fall.

The bill outlines no penalties for missing the deadline. Additional guidance and report templates can be found on the BRB website.

September 30: Deadline for Authorized by Unissued Bond Report
Taxing units must submit a report detailing any bonds that have been authorized by voters, but remain unissued. These are bonds that have been approved by voters, but not sold on the market yet.

The guidance document from the BRB also includes estimating the minimum required annual debt service for the unissued bond as well as the estimated total debt service. Download a template of the authorized but unissued report.

We recommend you consult with your financial advisor when completing this report to ensure the numbers provided are accurate.

October 15: Deadline for Pre-Election Report
Taxing units must submit this report that details the propositions and ballot language of any bonds that will be put before voters in November of 2025 and subsequent years, 20 days prior to Election Day. This report also tracks the estimated minimum required annual debt service and the estimated total debt service. Download a template of the pre-election report. We recommend that districts contact their bond counsel for copies of the ballot language.

November 24: Deadline for Post-Election Report
After the election, taxing units must report the outcome of any propositions, including the ballot language and the vote tally. Download a template of the post-election report. In subsequent years, the report will be due 20 days after Election Day.

HB 103 – Texas Comptroller Reporting

January 1, 2026: Deadline for Texas Comptroller Report
One piece of legislation that includes penalties is HB 103, where there is a potential $1,000 civil penalty if a taxing unit does not provide the information within 30 days of the Texas Comptroller notice of the missed submission.

The requirements of this regulation are sweeping. To comply with HB 103, taxing units must provide all available current and historical information about bonds issued from 2015 to 2025 on the first deadline date, January 1, 2026.

The law requires the following information be submitted:

• Bond information for each bond proposed and issued, including an estimate of the minimum dollar amount required to be spent annually for debt service resulting from the bond issuance
• Ballot language for each bond proposition submitted to the voters
• Tax rate election ballot language and results
• Maintenance and Operations (M&O) election results for school districts and resulting tax rates, as well as ballot language of the propositions put before voters

Because the requirements are so broad and reach back ten years, we recommend that you contact your financial advisor and start now gathering this data.

The current plan is for the Texas Comptroller’s Office to email local governments in the upcoming months about HB 103 and open a data portal early December to begin collecting the historical data that is due January 1, 2026. We’ll send you an update when more information becomes available.

After this first deadline in January, taxing units will be required to submit bond information annually by August 7.

SB 843 – School Bond Reporting to Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Senate Bill 843 also requires school districts and charter schools to report bond information to the Texas Education Agency (TEA). This information includes proposed bonds, planned bonds, and issued bonds, as well as tax rate election information. As of this publication, TEA has no published due dates for this submission.

This bill requires TEA to forward the bond details to the BRB, and provides for a data entry system that would facilitate data sharing across agencies. While that new data platform has been funded, there is no published date on when that may be available.

These three pieces of legislation encourage transparency for the bonds local taxing units are issuing and how that impacts their debt service. This information may be used by the Texas Legislature for future legislative proposals relating to debt service. Because of the tight timelines, we encourage you to contact your financial advisor and your bond counsel to begin gathering information, particularly historic information, to complete the required forms.

If you have any questions regarding these requirements, please contact Laurie Mann at tnthelp@lgbs.com or Linebarger’s School Finance Consultant, Jim Schiele.

Jim Schiele is Linebarger’s School Financial Consultant. He offers free assistance to Linebarger school district clients as they navigate budgets and meet financial deadlines. He can be reached at jim.schiele@lgbs.com.

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