HBA-TBM, EDN H.B. 394 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 394 By: Keffer Business & Industry 7/9/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to the 77th Legislature, a person was required to file an original inventory with the county clerk of the county in which the person's principal place of business in the state is located to receive a permit to conduct a going out of business sale. The county clerk was not required to notify the chief appraiser of the appraisal district of the going out of business sale. Consequently, a chief appraiser may not have learned that a business no longer exists until after it has been liquidated. By that time, the tax rolls for the new year may have been created, which could have resulted in erroneous tax assessments. House Bill 394 requires a person to file an original inventory with the chief appraiser, rather than the county clerk, to receive a permit for a going out of business sale. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 394 amends the Business & Commerce Code to transfer the duties of the county clerk of a county to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district as they relate to going out of business sales. The bill requires the chief appraiser to send notice of the filing to the comptroller, the county clerk of the county in which the filer's principal place of business is located, and the tax collector for each of the taxing units that tax the property described in the original inventory not later than the fifth business day after the date on which a person files an original inventory of merchandise to be sold. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.