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:  HB3515  by Heflin (Relating to protest of inequality of
               appraisal under Subchapter C, Property Tax Code.), As
               Introduced
  
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*  Total taxable value is an element in the state's school funding       *
*  formula.  Passage of this bill could cause a reduction in school      *
*  district taxable values reported to the Commissioner of Education     *
*  by the Comptroller.                                                   *
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The bill would amend Section 41.43 of the Tax Code concerning taxpayer
remedies for unequal appraisal.

The bill would provide that a protest before an appraisal review board
(ARB) on the grounds of unequal appraisal of property would be determined
in favor of the protesting party unless the appraisal district
established that the appraised value of the property did not exceed the
median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties
appropriately adjusted.  An ARB finding in favor of the protesting party,
on the grounds of unequal appraisal, would result in the subject
property being valued at the median level of appraisal as determined by
the ARB.

The bill would allow admission before the ARB of Comptroller property
value study findings under Section 5.10 of the Tax Code.

The bill would provide a new basis for property owner relief in an ARB
appeal on the grounds of unequal appraisal.  The bill could have the
effect of reducing appraised values in ARB cases in which the owner would
not prevail but for the proposed provisions.   

The Comptroller's Property Tax Division reported that in 1999, 241 County
Appraisal Districts (CADs) scheduled 248,526 formal ARB hearings, more
than 67,000 taxpayers did not attend their scheduled hearings.  The
fiscal impact of this bill  on the state and units of local government
will depend on how many more successful protests are brought before the
ARBs and the amount of reduced valuations that are approved.
  
Source Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, SD, WP, BR