Floor Packet Page No. 82
Amend CSHB 4, Article 2 of the bill, as follows:
(1) On page 108, strike lines 16 and 17, and substitute the
following:
SECTION 2.03. Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (l), and adding Subsection (n) to
read as follows:
(a) The appraisal district is governed by a board of six
<five> directors. Five directors are appointed by the taxing units
that participate in the district as provided by this section. The
county assessor-collector is an ex officio director. To be
eligible to serve on the board of directors, an individual other
than the county assessor-collector must be a resident of the
district and must have resided in the district for at least two
years immediately preceding the date the individual takes office.
To be eligible to serve on the board of an appraisal district
established for a county having a population of at least 200,000
bordering a county having a population of at least 2,000,000 and
the Gulf of Mexico, an individual other than the assessor-collector
must be a member of the governing body or an elected officer of a
taxing unit entitled to vote on the appointment of board members
under this section. However, an employee of a taxing unit that
participates in the district is not eligible to serve on the board
unless the individual is also a member of the governing body or an
elected official of a taxing unit that participates in the
district.
(b) Members of the board of directors other than the county
assessor-collector serve two-year terms beginning on January 1 of
even-numbered years.
(c) Members of the board of directors other than the county
assessor-collector are appointed by vote of the governing bodies of
the incorporated cities and towns, the school districts, and, if
entitled to vote, the conservation and reclamation districts that
participate in the district and of the county. A governing body
may cast all its votes for one candidate or distribute them among
candidates for any number of directorships. Conservation and
reclamation districts are not entitled to vote unless at least one
conservation and reclamation district in the district delivers to
the chief appraiser a written request to nominate and vote on the
board of directors by June 1 of each odd-numbered year. On receipt
of a request, the chief appraiser shall certify a list by June 15
of all eligible conservation and reclamation districts that are
imposing taxes and that participate in the district.
(l) If a vacancy occurs on the board of directors other than
a vacancy in the position held by the county assessor-collector,
each taxing unit that is entitled to vote by this section may
nominate by resolution adopted by its governing body a candidate to
fill the vacancy. The unit shall submit the name of its nominee to
the chief appraiser within 10 days after notification from the
board of directors of the existence of the vacancy, and the chief
appraiser shall prepare and deliver to the board of directors
within the next five days a list of the nominees. The board of
directors shall elect by majority vote of its members one of the
nominees to fill the vacancy.
(2) On page 108, between lines 22 and 23, insert the
following:
SECTION 2.___. Section 6.034(a), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The taxing units participating in an appraisal district
may provide that the terms of the appointed members of the board of
directors be staggered if the governing bodies of at least
three-fourths of the taxing units that are entitled to vote on the
appointment of board members adopt resolutions providing for the
staggered terms. A change to staggered terms may be adopted only
if the method or procedure for appointing board members is changed
under Section 6.031 of this code to eliminate or have the effect of
eliminating cumulative voting for board members as provided by
Section 6.03 of this code. A change to staggered terms may be
proposed concurrently with a change that eliminates or has the
effect of eliminating cumulative voting.
(3) On page 109, between lines 16 and 17, insert the
following:
SECTION 2.___. Section 6.04(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A majority of the appraisal district board of directors
constitutes a quorum. The county assessor-collector is the
chairman of the board. At its first meeting each calendar year,
the board shall elect from its members a <chairman and a>
secretary.
(4) On page 110, between lines 17 and 18, insert the
following:
SECTION 2.___. Section 6.41(c), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(c) To be eligible to serve on the board, an individual must
be a resident of the district and must have resided in the district
for at least two years. A member of the appraisal district board
of directors or an officer or employee of the comptroller, the
appraisal office, or a taxing unit is ineligible to serve on the
board. In an appraisal district established for a county having a
population of more than 300,000, an individual who has served for
all or part of three previous terms as a board member or auxiliary
board member on the appraisal review board or is a former officer
or employee of a taxing unit is ineligible to serve on the
appraisal review board. In an appraisal district established for
any other county, an individual who has served for all or part of
three consecutive terms as a board member or auxiliary board member
on the appraisal review board is ineligible to serve on the
appraisal review board during a term that begins on the next
January 1 following the third of those consecutive terms.
SECTION 2.___. Section 6.411, Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 6.411. AUXILIARY <BOARD> MEMBERS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.
(a) The board of directors of an appraisal district may appoint
auxiliary members to <the appraisal review board to> hear taxpayer
protests before the appraisal review board and to assist the board
in performing its other duties.
(b) The number of auxiliary members that may be appointed
is:
(1) for a county with a population of 1,000,000 or
more, not more than 66 <30> auxiliary members;
(2) for a county with a population of at least 500,000
but less than 1,000,000, not more than 45 <20> auxiliary members;
(3) for a county with a population of at least 250,000
but less than 500,000, not more than 25 <10> auxiliary members; and
(4) for a county with a population of less than
250,000, not more than 10 <6> auxiliary members.
(c) Sections 6.41(c), (d), and (e) and Sections 6.412 and
6.413 apply to auxiliary <board> members <appointed under this
section>.
(d) An auxiliary member <of the appraisal review board
appointed under this section> may not vote in a determination made
by the board, may not serve as chairman or secretary of the board,
and is not included in determining what constitutes a quorum of the
board or whether a quorum is present at any meeting of the board.
(e) An auxiliary member <of the appraisal review board
appointed under this section> is entitled to make a recommendation
to the board in a protest heard by the member but is not entitled
to vote on the determination of the protest by the board.
(f) An auxiliary member <of the appraisal review board
appointed under this section> is entitled to the per diem set by
the appraisal district budget for each day on which the member
actively engages in performing the member's duties under Subsection
(a) or (e) and is entitled to actual and necessary expenses
incurred in performing those duties in the same manner as <other>
members of the appraisal review board.
(5) On page 110, line 19, between "(f)," and "and", insert
"(h),".
(6) On page 111, between lines 21 and 22, insert the
following:
(h) Joint or community owners may not each receive the same
exemption provided by or pursuant to this section for the same
residence homestead in the same year. An eligible disabled person
who is 65 or older may not receive both a disabled and an elderly
residence homestead exemption but may choose either. A person may
not receive an exemption under this section for more than one
residence homestead in the same year.
(7) On page 116, between lines 16 and 17, insert the
following:
SECTION 2.___. Section 11.41, Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 11.41. PARTIAL OWNERSHIP OF EXEMPT PROPERTY. (a) If
<Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, if> a person
who qualifies for an exemption as provided by this chapter is not
the sole owner of the property to which the exemption applies, the
exemption shall be multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which
is <limited to> the value of the property interest the person owns
and the denominator of which is the value of the property.
(b) <If a person who qualifies for an exemption as provided
by Section 11.13 or 11.22 of this code is not the sole owner of the
property to which the exemption applies, the amount of the
exemption is calculated on the basis of the value of the property
interest the person owns.>
<(c)> In the application of this section, community
ownership by a person who qualifies for the exemption and the
person's <his> spouse is treated as if the person owns the
community interest of the person's <his> spouse.
SECTION 2.___. Section 11.43, Tax Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (j) to read as
follows:
(f) The comptroller, in prescribing the contents of the
application form for each kind of exemption, shall ensure that the
form requires an applicant to furnish the information necessary to
determine the validity of the exemption claim. The form must
require an applicant to provide the applicant's name and driver's
license number, personal identification certificate number, or
social security account number. The comptroller shall include on
the forms a notice of the penalties prescribed by Section 37.10,
Penal Code, for making or filing an application containing a false
statement. The comptroller shall include, on application forms for
exemptions that do not have to be claimed annually, a statement
explaining that the application need not be made annually and that
if the exemption is allowed, the applicant has a duty to notify the
chief appraiser when the applicant's <his> entitlement to the
exemption ends. In this subsection:
(1) "Driver's license" has the meaning assigned that
term by Section 521.001, Transportation Code.
(2) "Personal identification certificate" means a
certificate issued by the Department of Public Safety under
Subchapter E, Chapter 521, Transportation Code.
(j) An application for an exemption under Section 11.13
must:
(1) list each owner of the residence homestead and the
interest of each owner;
(2) state that the applicant does not claim an
exemption under that section on another residence homestead;
(3) state that each fact contained in the application
is true; and
(4) include a signed statement that the applicant has
read and understands the notice of the penalties required by
Subsection (f).
(8) On page 117, between lines 8 and 9, insert the
following:
SECTION 2.___. Section 23.01(b), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The market value of property shall be determined by the
application of generally accepted appraisal methods and techniques,
including the mass appraisal standards recognized by the Uniform
Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. The <and the> same
or similar appraisal methods and techniques shall be used in
appraising the same or similar kinds of property. However, each
property shall be appraised based upon the individual
characteristics that affect the property's market value.
SECTION 2.___. Subchapter A, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is
amended by adding Sections 23.011-23.013 to read as follows:
Sec. 23.011. COST METHOD OF APPRAISAL. If the chief
appraiser uses the cost method of appraisal to determine the market
value of real property, the chief appraiser shall:
(1) use cost data obtained from generally accepted
sources;
(2) make any appropriate adjustment for physical,
functional, or economic obsolescence;
(3) make available to the public on request cost data
developed and used by the chief appraiser and may charge a
reasonable fee to the public for the data;
(4) clearly state the reason for any variation between
generally accepted cost data and locally produced cost data if the
data vary by more than 10 percent; and
(5) make available on request all applicable market
data that demonstrate the difference between the replacement cost
of the improvements to the property and the depreciated value of
the improvements.
Sec. 23.012. INCOME METHOD OF APPRAISAL. If the chief
appraiser uses the income method of appraisal to determine the
market value of real property, the chief appraiser shall:
(1) use rental income and expense data pertaining to
the property if possible and applicable;
(2) make any projections of future rental income and
expenses only from clear and appropriate evidence;
(3) use data from generally accepted sources in
determining an appropriate capitalization rate; and
(4) determine a capitalization rate for
income-producing property that includes a reasonable return on
investment, taking into account the risk associated with the
investment.
Sec. 23.013. MARKET DATA COMPARISON METHOD OF APPRAISAL. If
the chief appraiser uses the market data comparison method of
appraisal to determine the market value of real property, the chief
appraiser shall use comparable sales data if possible.
(9) On page 119, line 8, strike "Subsection (b) and adding
Subsection (k)" and substitute "Subsections (b) and (i) and adding
Subsections (j) and (k)".
(10) On page 120, line 19, strike "brief" and substitute
"detailed <brief>".
(11) On page 121, between lines 5 and 6, insert the
following:
(i) By May 15 or as soon thereafter as practicable, the
chief appraiser shall deliver a written notice to the owner of each
property not included in a notice required to be delivered under
Subsection (a), if the property was reappraised in the current tax
year, if the ownership of the property changed during the preceding
year, or if the property owner or the agent of a property owner
authorized under Section 1.111 makes a written request for the
notice. The chief appraiser shall separate real from personal
property and include in the notice for each property:
(1) the appraised value of the property in the
preceding year;
(2) the appraised value of the property for the
current year and the kind of each partial exemption, if any,
approved for the current year;
(3) a detailed <brief> explanation of the time and
procedure for protesting the value; and
(4) the date and place the appraisal review board will
begin hearing protests.
(j) Delivery with a notice required by Subsection (a) or (i)
of a copy of the pamphlet published by the comptroller under
Section 5.06 is sufficient to comply with the requirement that the
notice include the information specified by Subsection (b)(7) or
(i)(3), as applicable.
(12) On page 132, line 13, strike "Section 33.01(a), Tax
Code, is amended" and substitute "Section 33.01, Tax Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and
(e)".
(13) On page 132, between lines 22 and 23, insert the
following:
(d) In lieu of the penalty imposed under Subsection (a), a
delinquent tax incurs a penalty of 50 percent of the amount of the
tax without regard to the number of months the tax has been
delinquent if the tax is delinquent because the property owner
received an exemption under:
(1) Section 11.13 and the chief appraiser subsequently
cancels the exemption because the residence was not the principal
residence of the property owner and the property owner received an
exemption for two or more additional residence homesteads for the
tax year in which the tax was imposed;
(2) Section 11.13(c) or (d) for a person who is 65 or
older and the chief appraiser subsequently cancels the exemption
because the property owner was younger than 65 on the exemption
qualification date; or
(3) Section 11.13(q) and the chief appraiser
subsequently cancels the exemption because the property owner was
younger than 55 when the property owner's spouse died.
(e) A penalty imposed under Subsection (d) does not apply
if, at any time before the date the tax becomes delinquent, the
property owner gives to the chief appraiser of the appraisal
district in which the property is located written notice of
circumstances that would disqualify the owner for the exemption.
SECTION 2.___. The heading to Section 33.06, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 33.06. DEFERRED COLLECTION OF <CERTAIN> TAXES ON
RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF ELDERLY PERSON.
(14) On page 132, strike line 24 and substitute the
following:
by adding Sections 33.065 and 33.08 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.065. DEFERRED COLLECTION OF TAXES ON APPRECIATING
RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD. (a) An individual is entitled to defer or
abate a suit to collect a delinquent tax imposed on the portion of
the appraised value of property the individual owns and occupies as
the individual's residence homestead that exceeds the sum of:
(1) 105 percent of the appraised value of the property
for the preceding year; and
(2) the market value of all new improvements to the
property.
(b) An individual may not obtain a deferral or abatement
under this section if the taxes on the portion of the appraised
value of the property that does not exceed the amount provided by
Subsection (a) are delinquent.
(c) To obtain a deferral, an individual must file with the
chief appraiser for the appraisal district in which the property is
located an affidavit stating the facts required to be established
by Subsection (a). The chief appraiser shall notify each taxing
unit participating in the district of the filing. After an
affidavit is filed under this subsection, a taxing unit may not
file suit to collect delinquent taxes on the property for which
collection is deferred until the individual no longer owns and
occupies the property as a residence homestead.
(d) To obtain an abatement, the individual must file in the
court in which the delinquent tax suit is pending an affidavit
stating the facts required to be established by Subsection (a). If
the taxing unit that filed the suit does not file a controverting
affidavit or if, after a hearing, the court finds the individual is
entitled to the deferral, the court shall abate the suit until the
individual no longer owns and occupies the property as the
individual's residence homestead.
(e) A deferral or abatement under this section applies only
to ad valorem taxes imposed beginning with the tax year following
the first tax year the individual entitled to the deferral or
abatement qualifies the property for an exemption under Section
11.13. For purposes of this subsection, the owner of a residence
homestead that is qualified for an exemption under Section 11.13 on
January 1, 1998, is considered to have qualified the property for
the first time in the 1997 tax year.
(f) A tax lien remains on the property and interest
continues to accrue during the period collection of delinquent
taxes is deferred as provided by this section. The annual interest
rate during the deferral period is eight percent instead of the
rate provided by Section 33.01. A penalty may not be imposed on
the delinquent taxes for which collection is deferred during a
deferral period. The additional penalty provided by Section 33.07
may be imposed only if the delinquent taxes for which collection is
deferred remain delinquent on or after the 91st day after the date
the deferral period expires. A plea of limitation, laches, or want
of prosecution does not apply against the taxing unit because of
deferral of collection as provided by this section.
(g) Each year the chief appraiser for each appraisal
district shall publicize in a manner reasonably designed to notify
all residents of the district or county of the provisions of this
section and, specifically, the method by which eligible persons may
obtain a deferral.
(h) In this section:
(1) "New improvement" means an improvement to a
residence homestead that is made after the appraisal of the
property for the preceding year and that increases the market value
of the property. The term does not include ordinary maintenance of
an existing structure or the grounds or another feature of the
property.
(2) "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned
that term by Section 11.13.
(15) On page 138, between lines 16 and 17, insert the
following:
SECTION 2.___. Section 41.46(a), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The appraisal review board before which a protest
hearing is scheduled shall deliver written notice to the property
owner initiating a protest of the date, time, and place fixed for
the hearing on the protest unless the property owner waives in
writing notice of the hearing. The board shall deliver the notice
not later than the 15th day before the date of the hearing.
SECTION 2.___. Subchapter D, Chapter 41, Tax Code, is
amended by adding Section 41.71 to read as follows:
Sec. 41.71. EVENING AND WEEKEND HEARINGS. At the request of
a property owner, an appraisal review board shall schedule a
hearing on a protest in the evening or on a Saturday or Sunday.
(16) On page 145, between lines 22 and 23, insert the
following and reletter subsequent subsections appropriately:
(c) The change in law made by this article to Section 6.41,
Tax Code, relating to the qualifications of an appraisal review
board member applies only to the appointment of a member on or
after September 1, 1997.
(d) The change in law made by this article to Section 11.43,
Tax Code, applies only to an application for an exemption from ad
valorem taxation filed on or after September 1, 1997. An
application for an exemption from ad valorem taxation filed before
September 1, 1997, is covered by the law in effect on the date the
application was filed, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
(e) The change in law made by this article to Section
33.01(d), Tax Code, applies only to a penalty incurred on ad
valorem taxes that become delinquent on or after September 1, 1997.
A penalty incurred on ad valorem taxes that became delinquent
before September 1, 1997, is covered by the law in effect when the
taxes became delinquent, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
(17) Renumber the sections and subsections of the bill
appropriately.