1-1     By:  Smithee (Senate Sponsor - Bivins)                H.B. No. 2832
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 2001;
 1-3     May 7, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Intergovernmental Relations; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by
 1-5     the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to
 1-6     printer.)
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to requiring tax collectors to notify taxpayers of certain
1-10     overpayments of ad valorem taxes and to issue refunds of certain
1-11     duplicate payments of ad valorem taxes.
1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13           SECTION 1. Section 31.11, Tax Code, is amended by adding
1-14     Subsection (g) to read as follows:
1-15           (g)  If a taxpayer submits a payment of taxes that exceeds by
1-16     $5 or more the amount of taxes owed for a tax year to a taxing
1-17     unit, the collector for the taxing unit, without charge, shall mail
1-18     to the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative a written notice
1-19     of the amount of the overpayment accompanied by a refund
1-20     application form.
1-21           SECTION 2. Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding Section
1-22     31.111 to read as follows:
1-23           Sec. 31.111.   REFUNDS OF DUPLICATE PAYMENTS. (a)  The
1-24     collector for a taxing unit who determines that a person erred in
1-25     making a payment of taxes because the identical taxes were paid by
1-26     another person shall refund the amount of the taxes to the person
1-27     who erred in making the payment.
1-28           (b)  A refund under Subsection (a) shall be made as soon as
1-29     practicable after the collector discovers the erroneous payment.
1-30     The refund shall be accompanied by a description of the property
1-31     subject to the taxes sufficient to identify the property.  If the
1-32     property is assigned an account number, the collector shall include
1-33     that number.
1-34           (c)  Each month, the collector shall inform the auditor of
1-35     each appropriate taxing unit of refunds of taxes made under
1-36     Subsection (a) during the preceding month.
1-37           SECTION 3. Sections 31.12(a) and (b), Tax Code, are amended
1-38     to read as follows:
1-39           (a)  If a refund of a tax provided by Section 11.431(b),
1-40     26.07(g), 26.15(f), [or] 31.11, or 31.111 is paid on or before the
1-41     60th day after the date the liability for the refund arises, no
1-42     interest is due on the amount refunded.  If not paid on or before
1-43     that 60th day, the amount of the tax to be refunded accrues
1-44     interest at a rate of one percent for each month or part of a month
1-45     that the refund is unpaid, beginning with the date on which the
1-46     liability for the refund arises.
1-47           (b)  For purposes of this section, liability for a refund
1-48     arises:
1-49                 (1)  if the refund is required by Section 11.431(b), on
1-50     the date the chief appraiser notifies the collector for the unit of
1-51     the approval of the late homestead exemption;
1-52                 (2)  if the refund is required by Section 26.07(g), on
1-53     the date the results of the election to reduce the tax rate are
1-54     certified;
1-55                 (3)  if the refund is required by Section 26.15(f):
1-56                       (A)  for a correction to the tax roll made under
1-57     Section 26.15(b), on the date the change in the tax roll is
1-58     certified to the assessor for the taxing unit under Section 25.25;
1-59     or
1-60                       (B)  for a correction to the tax roll made under
1-61     Section 26.15(c), on the date the change in the tax roll is ordered
1-62     by the governing body of the taxing unit; [or]
1-63                 (4)  if the refund is required by Section 31.11, on the
1-64     date the auditor for the taxing unit determines that the payment
 2-1     was erroneous or excessive or, if the amount of the refund exceeds
 2-2     the applicable amount specified by Section 31.11(a), on the date
 2-3     the governing body of the unit approves the refund; or
 2-4                 (5)  if the refund is required by Section 31.111, on
 2-5     the date the collector for the taxing unit determines that the
 2-6     payment was erroneous.
 2-7           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2002, and
 2-8     applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed in a tax year that begins
 2-9     on or after that date.
2-10                                  * * * * *