By Staples                                             S.B. No. 865
         77R4118 JD-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the changing of an ad valorem tax appraisal roll.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 25.25, Tax Code, is amended by amending
 1-5     Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection (n) to read as
 1-6     follows:
 1-7           (c)  The [At any time before the end of five years after
 1-8     January 1 of a tax year, the] appraisal review board, on motion of
 1-9     [the chief appraiser or of] a property owner, shall [may] direct by
1-10     written order changes in the appraisal roll for any of the five
1-11     preceding years to correct:
1-12                 (1)  clerical errors that affect a property owner's
1-13     liability for a tax imposed in that tax year;
1-14                 (2)  multiple appraisals of a property in that tax
1-15     year; or
1-16                 (3)  the inclusion of property that does not exist in
1-17     the form or at the location described in the appraisal roll.
1-18           (d)  At any time prior to the date the taxes become
1-19     delinquent, a property owner [or the chief appraiser] may file a
1-20     motion with the appraisal review board to change the appraisal roll
1-21     to correct an error that resulted in an incorrect appraised value
1-22     for the owner's property.  However, the error may not be corrected
1-23     unless it resulted in an appraised value that exceeds by more than
1-24     one-third the correct appraised value.  If the appraisal roll is
 2-1     changed under this subsection, the property owner must pay to each
 2-2     affected taxing unit a late-correction penalty equal to 10 percent
 2-3     of the amount of taxes as calculated on the basis of the corrected
 2-4     appraised value.  The roll may not be changed under this subsection
 2-5     if:
 2-6                 (1)  the property was the subject of a protest brought
 2-7     by the property owner under Chapter 41, a hearing on the protest
 2-8     was conducted in which the property owner offered evidence or
 2-9     argument, and the appraisal review board made a determination of
2-10     the protest on the merits; or
2-11                 (2)  [if] the appraised value of the property was
2-12     established as a result of a written agreement between the property
2-13     owner or the owner's [his] agent and the appraisal district.
2-14           (n)  In determining whether to direct that an appraisal roll
2-15     be changed under Subsection (c), the appraisal review board shall
2-16     consider any evidence offered by the property owner to establish
2-17     that an error resulted in an incorrect appraised value in the
2-18     appraisal roll, including appraisal records, appraisal cards, tax
2-19     maps, and other written material.
2-20           SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act to Section
2-21     25.25, Tax Code, apply only to a motion under Section 25.25, Tax
2-22     Code, that is pending before an appraisal review board on the
2-23     effective date of this Act or that is filed with an appraisal
2-24     review board on or after that date.
2-25           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-26     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-27     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 3-1     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 3-2     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.