Amend SB 1437 on third reading by striking SECTION 3 of
the bill and substituting the following:
      SECTION 3.  Section 11.26, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (g), (h), and (i) to read as
follows:
      (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) <of this section>,
a school district may not increase the total annual amount of ad
valorem tax it imposes on the residence homestead of an individual
65 years or older above the amount of the tax it imposed in the
first year the individual qualified that residence homestead for
the exemption provided by <Subsection (c) of> Section 11.13(c) for
an individual 65 years of age or older <11.13 of this code>.  If
the individual qualified that residence homestead for the exemption
after the beginning of that first year, the maximum amount of taxes
that a school district may impose on that residence homestead in a
subsequent year is determined as provided by Section 26.112 as if
the individual qualified that residence homestead for the exemption
for that entire first year, except as provided by Subsection (b).
If the individual qualified that residence homestead for the
exemption after the beginning of that first year and the residence
homestead remains eligible for the exemption for the next year, and
if the school district taxes imposed on the residence homestead in
the next year are less than the amount of taxes imposed in that
first year, a school district may not subsequently increase the
total annual amount of ad valorem taxes it imposes on the residence
homestead above the amount it imposed in the year immediately
following the first year for which the individual qualified that
residence homestead for the exemption, except as provided by
Subsection (b).  The tax officials shall continue to appraise the
property and to calculate taxes as on other property, but if the
tax so calculated exceeds the limitation imposed by this section,
the tax imposed is the tax imposed in the first year the individual
qualified the residence homestead for the exemption.
      (g)  If an individual who qualifies for the exemption
provided by Section 11.13(c) for an individual 65 years of age or
older dies, the surviving spouse of the individual is entitled to
the limitation applicable to the residence homestead of the
individual if:
            (1)  the surviving spouse is 55 years of age or older
when the individual dies; and
            (2)  the residence homestead of the individual:
                  (A)  is the residence homestead of the surviving
spouse on the date that the individual dies; and
                  (B)  remains the residence homestead of the
surviving spouse.
      (h)  If an individual who qualifies for an exemption provided
by Section 11.13(c) for an individual 65 years of age or older dies
in the first year in which the individual qualified for the
exemption and the individual first qualified for the exemption
after the beginning  of that year, except as provided by Subsection
(i), the amount to which the surviving spouse's school district
taxes are limited under Subsection (g) is the amount of school
district taxes imposed on the residence homestead in that year
calculated under Section 26.112 as if the individual qualifying for
the exemption had lived for the entire year.
      (i)  If in the first tax year after the year in which an
individual dies in the circumstances described by Subsection (h)
the amount of school district taxes imposed on the residence
homestead of the surviving spouse is less than the amount of school
district taxes imposed in the preceding year as limited by
Subsection (h), in a subsequent tax year the surviving spouse's
school district taxes on that residence homestead are limited to
the amount of taxes imposed by the district in that first tax year
after the year in which the individual dies.