HBA-MPM, CBN H.B. 2226 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2226
By: Davis, John
Ways & Means
6/14/2001
Enrolled
         



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under state law, the chief appraiser of each county is required to prepare
and certify the tax roll to the assessor of each taxing unit annually.  The
chief appraiser is also required to provide other items of information to
each unit necessary for the unit to estimate the total taxable value of
property in the unit for the purpose of setting an appropriate tax rate.
One such item is an estimate of the value of properties under protest that
have not been certified.  The sum of the value of the noncertified property
under protest and the certified tax roll amount, plus other adjustments,
accounts for the value of all taxable property in the taxing unit and this
total taxable value is necessary to calculate the unit's effective and
rollback tax rate. 

In Harris County, because of the delay in certifying property values caused
by the large number of land parcels in the county and the frequency of the
sale of these parcels, the chief appraiser has established a category of
property that is neither certified nor under protest.  Such property is
omitted from the total taxable value of property within the unit for the
purpose of calculating the unit's effective and rollback tax rate, which
results in the unit collecting more than the budgeted property tax revenue
while  avoiding the necessity for a public hearing on their proposed tax
rate.  House Bill 2226 requires the chief appraiser to prepare and certify
to the assessor for each unit a  list of those properties of which the
chief appraiser has knowledge that are reasonably likely to be taxable by
the unit but that are not  included on the appraisal roll or listing
certified by the assessor. 

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 2226 amends the Tax Code to require the chief appraiser to
prepare and certify to the assessor for each taxing unit a list of those
properties of which the chief appraiser has knowledge that are reasonably
likely to be taxable by the unit but that are not included on the appraisal
roll certified to the assessor or included on the listing certified to the
assessor.  The bill requires the chief appraiser to include on the list for
each property the market value, appraised value, and kind and amount of any
partial exemptions as determined by the appraisal district for the
preceding year and a reasonable estimate of the market value, appraised
value, and kind and amount of any partial exemptions for the current year.
Until the property is added to the appraisal roll, the bill requires the
assessor for the unit to include each property on the list in prescribed
calculations and requires the assessor, for that purpose, to use the lower
market value, appraised value, or taxable value, as appropriate, included
on or computed using the information included on the list for the property. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2002.