Checklists for Texas Bond & Tax Rate Reporting Requirements
November 7, 2025
By Jim Schiele
As the result of legislation passed in the 89th Regular Session, a group of new bond and tax rate reporting requirements has Texas school districts and other taxing units actively collecting information in order to meet new deadlines by the end of this year.
Last month, Linebarger’s Truth-in-Taxation Specialist Laurie Mann summarized these bills, deadlines, and requirements. This month, we’d like to help you streamline those requirements. We’re providing a checklist organized by each bill’s requirements and where that data may be sourced.
Bills and Upcoming Deadlines
- HB 3526 requires three different bond reports with three different deadlines to the Texas Bond Review Board. The next deadline is November 24, 2025 (15 days after the election date).
- HB 103 centralizes bond and tax election data under the Texas Comptroller and non-compliance of these regulations comes with a potential $1,000 fine. There is a one-time deadline of January 1, 2026 and a reoccurring annual deadline of August 7.
- SB 843 creates a Texas Education Association (TEA)-managed database for school bond transparency.
These laws are designed to increase transparency, streamline reporting, and empower taxpayers with accessible financial data.
Please note: you will have to pull information from multiple government sources, those agencies may have different record retention policies, and you may have other sources for this information that are more efficient to use. This is not necessarily a complete list of possible resources.
Download All Checklists in pdf format
HB 3526 – Texas Bond Review Board Reporting on Unissued Bonds
This reporting is done by completing the template excel spreadsheet provided by the board. Templates can be found at: Local Forms – Texas Bond Review Board.
September 30: Deadline for Authorized by Unissued Bond Report
| Data Required | Possible Sources of Information | Completed |
| Election Date | County Election Department Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes Bond Counsel | |
| Proposition Number | County Election Department Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes Bond Counsel | |
| Authorizing Statute | Bond Counsel | |
| Initial Authorized Amount | Financial Advisor Bond Counsel Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| Unissued Bonds | Financial Advisor | |
| Estimated Issuance Cost | Financial Advisor | |
| Estimated Minimum Required Annual Debt Service | Financial Advisor | |
| Assumed Coupon Rate | Financial Advisor Note: We generally use a very conservative assumption for assumed interest rate. For purposes of this report, we may want to use a more market contemporary rate. | |
| Estimated Total Debt Service | Financial Advisor | |
| Comments Note: The 2025 template does not describe what type of comments to provide. | Financial Advisor Bond Counsel CPA/Auditor Board of Trustees Administration |
HB 3526 – Texas Bond Review Board Reporting on Pre-Election Information
This reporting is done by completing the template excel spreadsheet provided by the board. Templates can be found at: Local Forms – Texas Bond Review Board.
October 15 (date varies each year): Deadline for Pre-Election Report
| Data Required | Possible Sources of Information | Completed |
| Election Date | County Election Department Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes Bond Counsel | |
| Proposition Number | Bond Counsel Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes County Election Department | |
| Ballot Language | Bond Counsel Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes County Election Department | |
| Proposed Amount | Financial Advisor Bond Counsel Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes County Election Department | |
| Estimated Issuance Cost | Financial Advisor | |
| Estimated Minimum Required Annual Debt Service | Financial Advisor | |
| Assumed Coupon Rate | Financial Advisor (See note above concerning assumed coupon rate) | |
| Estimated Total Debt Service | Financial Advisor | |
| Purpose of Proposition | Administration Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes |
HB 3526 – Texas Bond Review Board Reporting on Post-Election Information
This reporting is done by completing the template excel spreadsheet provided by the board. Templates can be found at: Local Forms – Texas Bond Review Board.
November 24 (date varies each year): Deadline for Post-Election Report
| Data Required | Possible Sources of Information | Completed |
| Election Date | Same as Pre-Election Report | |
| Proposition Number | Same as Pre-Election Report | |
| Ballot Language | Same as Pre-Election Report | |
| Votes in Support | County Election Department Canvas of the Election | |
| Votes Against | County Election Department Canvas of the Election | |
| Tax Rate Increase, if applicable | Administration | |
| Please provide updated pre-election information as applicable | Not likely to happen, but if information is available from any source, use as appropriate |
HB 103 – Comptroller Reporting
There is a possible $1,000 civil penalty if a taxing unit does not provide the information within 30 days of the Comptroller’s notice of the missed submission. *
The first reporting window begins on December 1, 2025. Taxing units must provide the following information for the time period of 2015-2025. Historical information is due by January 1, 2026. After the historical information submission cycle is over, the data must be reported by August 7 every year.
Taxing units must also report data on bonds that were proposed but not approved by the voters.
If a taxing unit does not already have a login to the Comptroller database, you should contact the Comptroller’s office as soon as possible.
- Comptroller Contact: Dan Knight
- Email: dan.knight@cpa.texas.gov
- Phone: 512-475-0248; or for the transparency hotline, 844-519-5676
The Comptroller is hosting a webinar on November 14 at 2:00 p.m. and will launch a new portal with information on compliance. Additional details will be sent through the Comptroller’s newsletter.
| Data Required | Possible Sources of Information | Completed |
| For each bond or other debt obligation issued or proposed by a taxing unit: | ||
| The language of the ballot proposition if the bond or other debt obligation has been or will be approved at an election; | County Election Department Bond Counsel Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| The projected interest and sinking fund tax rate or projected tax rate for debt service, as applicable, associated with a proposed bond; | Financial Advisor | |
| The result of an election held for the purpose of issuing a proposed bond or other debt obligation; | ||
| A list of the projects to be funded using the bond; | County Election Department Bond Counsel Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| An accounting of the use of the proceeds of any issued bond, including descriptions of any projects paid for with the proceeds; | Administration Accounting Records | |
| Description of any increase in the interest and sinking fund tax rate or tax rate for debt service, as applicable, resulting from the issuance of a bond; | Administration Financial Advisor | |
| Estimate of the minimum dollar amount required to be spent annually for debt service resulting from the issuance of a bond. | Financial Advisor | |
| Tax rate election ballot language and the result of any tax rate election held under Property Tax Code Chapter 26, including: | County Election Department Board of Trustees Meetings Minutes | |
| Taxing unit’s adopted tax rate; | Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| Taxing unit’s voter-approval tax rate; | Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| Difference between the adopted tax rate and the voter-approval tax rate for the taxing unit; | Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| Taxing unit’s tax rate for the preceding tax year | Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| Number of votes cast in the election in favor of the proposition and against the proposition; and | County Election Department Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| If the proposition is not approved by the voters of the taxing unit, the taxing unit’s tax rate for the tax year | Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| For maintenance taxes levied or proposed by a school district: | ||
| School district’s proposed or approved tax rate | Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes | |
| Ballot language | County Election Department Bond Counsel Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes |
*Note: It is a defense to an action brought by the state that a taxing unit provided the required information or documents to the extent the information or documents are not exempt from disclosure or confidential under Government Code Chapter 552.
SB 843 – Texas Education Agency Reporting
TEA is in the process of developing how bond and voter approval tax rate election (VATRE) information will be submitted.
All items required by SB 843 are also required by HB 103, except for the independent school district (ISD) capital projects data requirements (in bold). HB 103 does require the Comptroller to consult and coordinate with the Bond Review Board and TEA to adopt rules for a single data source entry method. However, this guidance is currently unavailable.
| Data Required | Possible Sources of Information | Completed |
| Bond ballot language | See HB 103 | |
| Projected debt/I&S tax rate associated with bond | See HB 103 | |
| Bond election results | See HB 103 | |
| List of bond projects to be funded | See HB 103 | |
| Accounting: Use of bond proceeds, including projects paid for with proceeds | See HB 103 | |
| Any increase in the interest and sinking fund tax rate, resulting from issued bonds | See HB 103 | |
| ISD capital projects data (new or renovated facilities, funded wholly or partly using the bond, including data regarding funding sources for the projects, project costs, project budget, and project size) | This information could be developed based on bond steering committees, board presentations, community meetings, and administrative planning. There is, as of this time, no guidance as to how this information is to be determined. | |
| For ISDs, maintenance tax rate proposed or adopted | See HB 103 | |
| VATRE ballot language | See HB 103 | |
| VATRE adopted rate listed in ballot | See HB 103 | |
| VATRE results | See HB 103 |
If I can support you in any way during this process, feel free to contact me for assistance.
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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