HBA-EDN H.B. 1564 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1564
By: Talton
Ways & Means
3/30/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law prohibits taxpayers from making an effective inequality of
appraisal argument before an administrative or appraisal review board
because the protesting party is not allowed to bring evidence to establish
the value of the property.  The 75th Legislature passed legislation to
allow taxpayers to assert an inequality of appraisal argument at the
district court level.  However, asserting such an argument at the district
court level may be more burdensome to the taxpayer and inefficient to all
parties involved than would be the case if arguments were permitted to be
made before an administrative or appraisal review board.  House Bill 1564
authorizes taxpayers to make an inequality of appraisal argument before an
administrative or appraisal review board.  

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 1564 amends the Tax Code to provide that a protesting party has
the burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence, the value
of the property that is subject to protest  on the ground of unequal
appraisal of property.  The bill requires that such a protest be determined
in favor of the appraisal district unless the protesting party establishes
the following conditions: 

_the appraisal ratio of the property is greater than the median level of
appraisal of a reasonable and representative sample of other properties in
the appraisal district; 

_the appraisal ratio of the property is greater than the median level of
appraisal of a sample of properties in the appraisal district consisting of
a reasonable number of other properties similarly situated to, or of the
same general kind or character as, the property subject to protest; or  

_the appraised value of the property is greater than the median appraised
value of a reasonable number of comparable properties appropriately
adjusted. 

The bill requires a district court to grant relief if the appraisal ratio
of the property exceeds by at least 10 percent the median level of
appraisal set forth in the first or second condition listed above or if the
appraised value of the property exceeds the median appraised value set
forth in the final condition listed above.  The bill requires the court to
order the property's appraised value changed to the value calculated on the
basis of the median appraised value if a property owner is entitled to
relief or to order the property's appraised value changed to the value that
results in the lowest appraised value if an owner is entitled to relief
under more than one condition.  The bill provides that the value of the
property subject to a protest or to a suit and the value of a comparable
property or sample property that is used for comparison must be the market
value determined by the appraisal district when the property is a residence
homestead, subject to the limitation on appraised value of residence
homesteads under current law.   
 
EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.