1-1     By:  Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Lindsay)              H.B. No. 1879

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 21, 1997;

 1-3     April 22, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State

 1-4     Affairs; May 6, 1997, reported favorably, as amended, by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 13, Nays 0; May 6, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6     COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1                              By:  Lindsay

 1-7     H.B. 1879 is amended as follows:  In Section 1 of the bill, Section

 1-8     22.24, Tax Code, insert the following at the end of Subsection (e):

 1-9           "This subsection does not apply to a rendition or report

1-10     filed by the property owner, an employee of the property owner, or

1-11     an employee of a property owner on behalf of an affiliated entity

1-12     of the property owner."

1-13                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

1-14                                   AN ACT

1-15     relating to the rendition of property for ad valorem taxation.

1-16           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-17           SECTION 1.  Section 22.24, Tax Code, is amended by adding

1-18     Subsection (e) to read as follows:

1-19           (e)  To be valid, a rendition or report must be sworn to

1-20     before an officer authorized by law to administer an oath.  The

1-21     comptroller may not prescribe or approve a rendition or report form

1-22     unless the form provides for the person filing the form to swear

1-23     that the information provided in the rendition or report is true

1-24     and accurate.

1-25           SECTION 2.  Section 22.27(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as

1-26     follows:

1-27           (a)  Rendition statements, real and personal property

1-28     reports, attachments to those statements and reports, and other

1-29     information the owner of property provides to the appraisal office

1-30     in connection with the appraisal of the property, including income

1-31     and expense information related to a property filed with an

1-32     appraisal office and information voluntarily disclosed to an

1-33     appraisal office or the comptroller about real or personal property

1-34     sales prices after a promise it will be held confidential, are

1-35     confidential and not open to public inspection.  The statements and

1-36     reports and the information they contain about specific real or

1-37     personal property or a specific real or personal property owner and

1-38     information voluntarily disclosed to an appraisal office about real

1-39     or personal property sales prices after a promise it will be held

1-40     confidential may not be disclosed to anyone other than an employee

1-41     of the appraisal office who appraises property except as authorized

1-42     by Subsection (b) of this section.

1-43           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-44           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-45     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-46     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-47     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-48     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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