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.