SRC-JEC C.S.S.B. 1095 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterC.S.S.B. 1095
77R8848 JD-FBy:  Carona
Intergovernmental Relations
4/4/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, no property tax is levied at the state level; however, the laws
governing the operation and administration of such a tax are made at the
state level to ensure consistency and uniformity.  C.S.S.B. 1095
streamlines the state operation and administration of property taxes. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency.  

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 5.101(b), Tax Code, to require the technical
advisory committee to meet as often as necessary to perform its duties.
Deletes text requiring a meeting not less often than semi-annually. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Chapter 24B, Tax Code, by adding Section 24.365, as
follows: 

Sec. 24.365.  CORRECTION OF CERTIFIED AMOUNT.  (a) Requires a chief
appraiser who discovers that the chief appraiser's certification to the
comptroller of the amount of the market value of rolling stock allocated to
this state under Section 24.36 was incomplete or incorrect to immediately
certify the correct amount of that market value to the comptroller. 

(b) Requires the comptroller, as soon as possible after the comptroller
receives the correct certification from the chief appraiser, to certify to
the county assessor-collector for each affected county the information
required by Section 24.38 as corrected. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 25.195, Tax Code, by amending Subsection (a) and
adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e), as follows: 

(a)  Entitles a property owner or owner's agent to inspect and copy the
appraisal records relating to the property together with certain other
information held by the chief appraiser or required by Section 25.01(c) to
be provided to the appraisal district under a contract for appraisal
services. 

(c)  Entitles a property owner or owner's agent whose property is appraised
by a private appraisal firm under a contract for appraisal services to
inspect and copy, at the office of that firm, all information the firm
considered in appraising the property, including information regarding the
method used to determine the value of the property, all calculations and
personal notes, correspondence, working papers, and records of any thought
processes used in appraising the property.  

(d)  Requires the appraisal entity to make the information described by
Subsection (c) available for inspection and copying by the owner or agent
not later than the 15th day after the date the  owner or agent delivers a
written request to inspect the information, unless the owner or agent
agrees in writing to a later date.   

(e)  Prohibits an appraisal review board, if an owner or agent states under
oath in a certain document that the applicable appraisal entity has not
complied with a request for inspection under Subsection (c) related to the
property that is the subject of the proceeding, from holding a hearing on
the merits of any claim relating to the property and from approving the
appraisal records relating to that property until it has determined in a
hearing that: 

(1)  the appraisal entity has made the information available for inspection
and copying as required by Subsection (c); or 

(2)  the owner or agent has withdrawn the motion or protest that initiated
the proceeding. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Section 312.005(a), Tax Code, to require the chief
appraiser of each appraisal district that appraises property for a taxing
unit that has designated a reinvestment zone or executed a tax abatement
agreement under this chapter to deliver to the comptroller before July 1,
rather than April 1, of the year following the year in which the zone is
designated or the agreement is executed a report providing certain
information.  Makes a conforming change. 

SECTION 5.  Effective date: September 1, 2001.

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE CHANGES

Differs from the original as follows:

_Changes the caption.

_Makes nonsubstantive changes to clarify the text and make it conform to
legislative drafting specifications. 

_Proposes adding Section 24.365, rather than 24.41, to the Tax Code.
Changes the heading of that proposed section.  Specifies that the
information referred to in that proposed section is the amount of the
market value of rolling stock allocated to this state. 

_Breaks down the previously proposed Subsection (c) into proposed
Subsections (c), (d), and (e), Section 25.195, Tax Code, and clarifies the
text. 

_Makes the requirement in Section 312.005(a), Tax Code, apply to the chief
appraiser of an appraisal district, rather than the district itself. 

_Renumbers the effective date from SECTION 4 to SECTION 5 to correct a
mistake.