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. 1-49 * * * * *