By Hilbert                                      H.B. No. 3496

      75R2103 SMH-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the requirement that a chief appraiser include with a

 1-3     notice of the appraised value of a taxpayer's property a detailed

 1-4     explanation of the taxpayer's right to protest the appraised value

 1-5     of that property.

 1-6           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-7           SECTION 1.  Section 25.19, Tax Code, is amended by amending

 1-8     Subsections (b) and (i) and adding Subsection (j) to read as

 1-9     follows:

1-10           (b)  The chief appraiser shall separate real from personal

1-11     property and include in the notice for each:

1-12                 (1)  a list of the taxing units in which the property

1-13     is taxable;

1-14                 (2)  the appraised value of the property in the

1-15     preceding year;

1-16                 (3)  the assessed and taxable value of the property in

1-17     the preceding year for each taxing unit taxing the property;

1-18                 (4)  the appraised value of the property for the

1-19     current year and the kind and amount of each partial exemption, if

1-20     any, approved for the current year;

1-21                 (5)  if the appraised value is greater than it was in

1-22     the preceding year:

1-23                       (A)  the effective tax rate that would be

1-24     announced pursuant to Section 26.04 of this code if the total

 2-1     values being submitted to the appraisal review board were to be

 2-2     approved by the board with an explanation that that rate would

 2-3     raise the same amount of revenue from property taxed in the

 2-4     preceding year as the unit raised for those purposes in the

 2-5     preceding year;

 2-6                       (B)  the amount of tax that would be imposed on

 2-7     the property on the basis of the rate described by Paragraph (A) of

 2-8     this subdivision; and

 2-9                       (C)  a statement that the governing body of the

2-10     unit may not adopt a rate that will increase tax revenues for

2-11     operating purposes from properties taxed in the preceding year

2-12     without publishing notice in a newspaper that it is considering a

2-13     tax increase and holding a hearing for taxpayers to discuss the tax

2-14     increase;

2-15                 (6)  in italic typeface, the following statement:  "The

2-16     Texas Legislature does not set the amount of your local taxes.

2-17     Your property tax burden is decided by your locally elected

2-18     officials, and all inquiries concerning your taxes should be

2-19     directed to those officials";

2-20                 (7)  a detailed [brief] explanation of the time and

2-21     procedure for protesting the value;

2-22                 (8)  the date and place the appraisal review board will

2-23     begin hearing protests; and

2-24                 (9)  a brief explanation that:

2-25                       (A)  the governing body of each taxing unit

2-26     decides whether or not taxes on the property will increase and the

2-27     appraisal district only determines the value of the property; and

 3-1                       (B)  a taxpayer who objects to increasing taxes

 3-2     and government expenditures should complain to the governing bodies

 3-3     of the taxing units and only complaints about value should be

 3-4     presented to the appraisal office and the appraisal review board.

 3-5           (i)  By May 15 or as soon thereafter as practicable, the

 3-6     chief appraiser shall deliver a written notice to the owner of each

 3-7     property not included in a notice required to be delivered under

 3-8     Subsection (a), if the property was reappraised in the current tax

 3-9     year, if the ownership of the property changed during the preceding

3-10     year, or if the property owner or the agent of a property owner

3-11     authorized under Section 1.111 makes a written request for the

3-12     notice.  The chief appraiser shall separate real from personal

3-13     property and include in the notice for each property:

3-14                 (1)  the appraised value of the property in the

3-15     preceding year;

3-16                 (2)  the appraised value of the property for the

3-17     current year and the kind of each partial exemption, if any,

3-18     approved for the current year;

3-19                 (3)  a detailed [brief] explanation of the time and

3-20     procedure for protesting the value; and

3-21                 (4)  the date and place the appraisal review board will

3-22     begin hearing protests.

3-23           (j)  Delivery with a notice required by Subsection (a) or (i)

3-24     of a copy of the pamphlet published by the comptroller under

3-25     Section 5.06 is sufficient to comply with the requirement that the

3-26     notice include the information specified by Subsection (b)(7) or

3-27     (i)(3), as applicable.

 4-1           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect January 1, 1998.

 4-2           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 4-3     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 4-4     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 4-5     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 4-6     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.