78R7676 RCJ-D
By: Turner H.B. No. 2515
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the required reporting to a chief appraiser of certain
information about real property that is conveyed, including
purchase price and other information; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.001, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an [An] instrument
conveying real property may not be recorded unless it:
(1) is signed and acknowledged or sworn to by the
grantor in the presence of two or more credible subscribing
witnesses or acknowledged or sworn to before and certified by an
officer authorized to take acknowledgements or oaths, as
applicable; and
(2) has attached a certificate issued by the chief
appraiser of the appraisal district established for the county in
which the property is located stating that the report required by
Subchapter D, Chapter 22, Tax Code, in connection with the
conveyance has been filed.
(e) Subsection (b)(2) does not apply to the recording of an
instrument for a conveyance:
(1) that is ordered by a court;
(2) made pursuant to a judicial or nonjudicial
foreclosure;
(3) by a trustee in bankruptcy;
(4) by a mortgagor or successor in interest to a
mortgagee;
(5) by a trustor or successor in interest to a
beneficiary of a deed of trust;
(6) by a fiduciary in the course of the administration
of a decedent's estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust;
(7) between owners of joint or undivided interests in
the property;
(8) between spouses or former spouses, including as a
result of a decree of dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or
property settlement agreement; or
(9) to or from a governmental entity.
(f) The chief appraiser may deliver a certificate required
by Subsection (b)(2) to the county clerk electronically if the
chief appraiser and the county clerk have entered into a written
agreement that specifies:
(1) the electronic means to be used;
(2) the means for protecting the security of the
communication; and
(3) any other necessary procedures.
SECTION 2. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Tax
Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. [OTHER] REPORTS OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISION ACTIONS
SECTION 3. Chapter 22, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. REAL PROPERTY CONVEYANCE REPORT
Sec. 22.61. REAL PROPERTY CONVEYANCE REPORT. The
transferee of real property or a person acting on behalf of the
transferee may file a real property conveyance report as provided
by this subchapter with the chief appraiser of the appraisal
district established for the county in which the property is
located.
Sec. 22.62. FILING BY FACSIMILE. A real property
conveyance report may be filed by facsimile.
Sec. 22.63. SIGNATURE REQUIRED. A real property conveyance
report must be signed by the transferee or by the person who files
the report.
Sec. 22.64. REPORT FORMS. (a) The comptroller shall
prescribe the form and content of a report filed under this
subchapter. The comptroller may prescribe different report forms
for different kinds of property and shall ensure that each form
requires the person filing the report to provide:
(1) the grantor's name and address;
(2) the transferee's name and address;
(3) information necessary to identify the property and
to determine location;
(4) the address to which tax notices concerning the
property should be mailed;
(5) a description of the use of the property at the
time of conveyance;
(6) the value of any personal property included in the
conveyance;
(7) the method of financing the transaction;
(8) if the property was made available to other
potential transferees;
(9) if the transferee holds title to an adjoining
property;
(10) the purchase price of the property;
(11) the date the transaction was closed; and
(12) the name and address of the person preparing the
report.
(b) A form may not require information not relevant to the
appraisal of the property for tax purposes or to the assessment or
collection of property taxes.
(c) A person who files a report under this subchapter must:
(1) use the appropriate form prescribed by the
comptroller; and
(2) include all information required by the form.
Sec. 22.65. CERTIFICATE. (a) Unless Subsection (b)
applies, not later than the second business day after the date on
which a real property conveyance report is filed with the chief
appraiser, the chief appraiser shall issue the person filing the
report a certificate stating that the report has been filed.
(b) If the chief appraiser and the county clerk have entered
into an agreement under Section 12.001(f), Property Code, for
delivery by electronic means, the chief appraiser, not later than
the second business day after the date on which a real property
conveyance report is filed, shall:
(1) deliver to the clerk a copy of the certificate by
the electronic means agreed upon; and
(2) notify the person filing the report in writing
that the certificate has been delivered electronically to the
county clerk of the county in which the property is located.
Sec. 22.66. PUBLICIZING REQUIREMENTS. (a) The comptroller
shall publicize, in a manner reasonably designed to come to the
attention of title companies, attorneys, and property owners, the
requirements of this subchapter and of the availability of real
property conveyance report forms.
(b) The Texas Real Estate Commission shall assist the
comptroller in publicizing the information required by Subsection
(a) to title companies and attorneys.
(c) A chief appraiser shall assist the comptroller in
publicizing the information required by Subsection (a) to property
owners in the county for which the appraisal district is
established.
Sec. 22.67. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. (a) A real property
conveyance report filed under this subchapter is confidential and
not open to public inspection. The report and the information it
contains about specific property or a specific person may not be
disclosed to anyone other than an employee of the appraisal office
who appraises property except as provided by Subsection (b).
(b) Information that is confidential under Subsection (a)
may be disclosed:
(1) in a judicial or administrative proceeding
pursuant to a lawful subpoena;
(2) to the person who filed the report, to the owner of
the property that is the subject of the report, or to the
representative of either the person or the owner who is authorized
in writing to receive the information;
(3) to the comptroller and the comptroller's employees
authorized by the comptroller in writing to receive the information
or to an assessor or a chief appraiser if requested in writing;
(4) in a judicial or administrative proceeding
relating to property taxation to which:
(A) the person who filed the report is a party;
(B) an owner of the property that is the subject
of the report is a party; or
(C) the information is used for the purpose of
establishing the property's value or providing evidence of the
comparable sales used to appraise property;
(5) for statistical purposes if in a form that does not
identify specific property or a specific property owner;
(6) if and to the extent the information is required to
be included in a public document or record that the appraisal office
is required by law to prepare or maintain; or
(7) to a taxing unit or its legal representative
engaged in the collection of delinquent taxes on the property that
was the subject of the report.
(c) A person who legally has access to an application for an
exemption or who legally obtains the confidential information the
application contains commits an offense if the person knowingly:
(1) permits inspection of the application by a person
not authorized by Subsection (b) to inspect the application; or
(2) discloses confidential information contained in
the report to a person not authorized by Subsection (b) to receive
the information.
(d) An offense under Subsection (c) is a Class B
misdemeanor.
(e) A person who directly or indirectly provides a real
property conveyance report to the comptroller or appraisal office
is not liable to any other person for providing the information
required.
SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this Act take effect January 1,
2004.
(c) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, but not later than January 1, 2004, the comptroller shall:
(1) prescribe or approve real property conveyance
report forms as provided by Section 22.64, Tax Code, as added by
this Act; and
(2) begin to publicize the requirements of Subchapter
D, Chapter 22, Tax Code, as required by Section 22.66, Tax Code, as
added by this Act.
(d) This Act applies only to a conveyance of real property
that occurs on or after January 1, 2004.