LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              April 9, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Rene Oliveira, Chair, House Committee on Ways &
               Means
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB3368  by Hamric (Relating to the qualification of a
               disabled person for an exemption from ad valorem taxation
               on the person's residence homestead.), As Introduced
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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The bill would amend sections in Chapters 11 and 26 of the Tax Code to
make a homestead exemption for a disabled person effective as of January
1 of the tax year in which the person qualified and applied for the
exemption.

Under the provisions of the bill, disabled persons would be treated in
the same manner as 65-and-over persons relative to immediate
qualification for homestead exemptions and application of the exemption
for the entire tax year.

The Comptroller's Property Tax Division staff contacted the Travis County
Appraisal District (CAD), which indicated that approximately 200 late
applications are filed annually for the current over-65 homestead
exemption.  In Travis County, there are 94,800 over-65 homestead
exemptions and 1,768 disabled homestead exemptions.  Applying the Travis
County experience to the state, the impact of this bill would not appear
to result in significant value and revenue losses for school districts
or local taxing units.
  
Local Government Impact
  
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is
anticipated.
  
  
Source Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, SD, BR