HBA-ALS C.S.H.B. 1037 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1037 By: Junell Ways & Means 3/30/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under Section 6.01, Tax Code (Appraisal Districts Established), an appraisal district is established in each county and each of those districts is responsible for appraising property within that district for ad valorem tax purposes. However, sometimes property is located in overlapping districts, necessitating more than one appraisal by different appraisal districts. In a situation in which the chief appraisers of different districts do not agree on the appraised value of a piece of property, they are required to enter as the value of the property the average of the appraised values. Some appraisers have interpreted the law to require each appraiser to agree on one value, rather than requiring them to average the disparate values. C.S.H.B. 1037 requires the chief appraisers of the appraisal districts who have two or more overlapping appraisal districts to coordinate, to the extent practicable, their appraisal activities so as to encourage and facilitate the appraisal of the same property appraised by each district at the same value. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 6.025(c), Tax Code, to require the chief appraisers of the appraisal districts under Subsection (a) (relating to two or more overlapping appraisal districts) to the extent practicable, to coordinate their appraisal activities so as to encourage and facilitate the appraisal of the same property appraised by each district at the same value. SECTION 2. Repealer: Sections 6.025(d)-(f), Tax Code (concerning the recognition of a homestead exemption for property located in more than one appraisal district, and setting out provisions to be followed when appraisers from different districts disagree as to a specific property's value). SECTION 3.Effective date: January 1, 2000. SECTION 4.Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute modifies the original bill in SECTION 1 (Section 6.025, Tax Code) by deleting language which provided for the event in which chief appraisers do not agree as to the appraised property value. The original provided that if two or more chief appraisers initially disagree as to the appraised value of a parcel or item of property, a chief appraiser was prohibited from entering as the recorded property value the property value determined by another chief appraiser, unless the chief appraiser examines the information used by the other chief appraiser in the determining of the value and finds that the determination is correct. The substitute adds SECTION 2 to repeal Sections 6.025(d)-(f), Tax Code (concerning the recognition of a homestead exemption for property located in more than one appraisal district, and setting out provisions to be followed when appraisers from different districts disagree as to a specific property's value). The substitute redesignates SECTIONS 2-3 of the original bill to SECTIONS 3-4 of the substitute, respectively.