1-1 By: Stiles (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 2197 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 1995; 1-3 May 5, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on Finance; 1-4 May 23, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 11, 1-5 Nays 0; May 23, 1995, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to the payment in installments of ad valorem taxes on 1-9 certain property located in a disaster area. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding 1-12 Section 31.032 to read as follows: 1-13 Sec. 31.032. INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS OF TAXES ON PROPERTY IN 1-14 DISASTER AREA. (a) This section applies only to: 1-15 (1) real property that: 1-16 (A) is the residence homestead of the owner or 1-17 consists of property that is used for residential purposes and that 1-18 has fewer than five living units; 1-19 (B) is located in a disaster area; and 1-20 (C) has been damaged as a direct result of the 1-21 disaster; and 1-22 (2) taxes that are imposed on the property by a taxing 1-23 unit before the first anniversary of the disaster. 1-24 (b) If, before the delinquency date, a person pays at least 1-25 one-fourth of a taxing unit's taxes imposed on property that the 1-26 person owns, accompanied by notice to the taxing unit that the 1-27 person will pay the remaining taxes in installments, the person may 1-28 pay the remaining taxes without penalty or interest in three equal 1-29 installments. The first installment must be paid before April 1, 1-30 the second installment before June 1, and the third installment 1-31 before August 1. 1-32 (c) If the person fails to make a payment before the 1-33 applicable date provided by Subsection (b), the unpaid amount is 1-34 delinquent and incurs a penalty of 12 percent and interest as 1-35 provided by Section 33.01(c). 1-36 (d) A person may pay more than the amount due for each 1-37 installment and the amount in excess of the amount due shall be 1-38 credited to the next installment. A person may not pay less than 1-39 the total amount due for each installment unless the collector 1-40 provides for the acceptance of partial payments under this section. 1-41 If the collector accepts a partial payment, penalties and interest 1-42 are incurred only by the amount of each installment that remains 1-43 unpaid on the applicable date provided by Subsection (b). 1-44 (e) If the delinquency date for taxes to which this section 1-45 applies is postponed to May 1 or a later date, the collector shall 1-46 extend each installment deadline provided by Subsection (b) by the 1-47 number of months that the delinquency date was postponed. The 1-48 collector may not extend the third installment deadline beyond 1-49 December 31. 1-50 (f) The comptroller shall adopt rules to implement this 1-51 section. 1-52 (g) In this section: 1-53 (1) "Disaster" has the meaning assigned by Section 1-54 418.004, Government Code. 1-55 (2) "Disaster area" has the meaning assigned by 1-56 Section 151.350. 1-57 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 1-58 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-59 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-60 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-61 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 1-62 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 1-63 passage, and it is so enacted. 1-64 * * * * *