By:  Wong                                                         H.B. No. 66 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of medical 
center development property in certain populous counties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 11.23, Tax Code, is amended by adding 
Subsection (j-1) to read as follows:
	(j-1)  Medical Center Development in Populous Counties.  In a 
county with a population of three million or more, all real and 
personal property owned by a nonprofit corporation, as defined in 
the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., 
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and held for use in the development 
or operation of a medical center area or areas in which the 
nonprofit corporation has donated land for a state medical, dental, 
or nursing school, and for other hospital, medical, educational, or 
nonprofit uses and uses reasonably related thereto, or for 
governmental or public purposes, including the relief of traffic 
congestion, and not leased or otherwise used with a view to profit, 
is exempt from all ad valorem taxation as though the property were, 
during that time, owned and held by the state for health and 
educational purposes.  In connection with the application or 
enforcement of a deed restriction or a covenant related to the 
property, a use or purpose described in this subsection shall also 
be considered to be a hospital, medical, or educational use, or a 
use that is reasonably related to a hospital, medical, or 
educational use.
	SECTION 2.  Section 11.43(c), Tax Code, as amended by 
Chapter 407, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, 
is amended to read as follows:
	(c)  An exemption provided by Section 11.13, 11.17, 11.18, 
11.182, 11.183, 11.19, 11.20, 11.21, 11.22, 11.23(h), [or] (j), or 
(j-1), 11.29, 11.30, or 11.31, once allowed, need not be claimed in 
subsequent years, and except as otherwise provided by Subsection 
(e), the exemption applies to the property until it changes 
ownership or the person's qualification for the exemption changes.  
However, the chief appraiser may require a person allowed one of the 
exemptions in a prior year to file a new application to confirm the 
person's current qualification for the exemption by delivering a 
written notice that a new application is required, accompanied by 
an appropriate application form, to the person previously allowed 
the exemption.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the 
last day of the legislative session and applies only to the ad 
valorem taxation of property for a tax year that begins on or after 
January 1, 2004.