79S30099 SMH-D

By:  Riddle                                                       H.B. No. 14 


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. LIMITATION ON INCREASES IN APPRAISED VALUE OF RESIDENCE HOMESTEADS FOR AD VALOREM TAX PURPOSES
SECTION 1.01. Section 23.23, Tax Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to read as follows: (a) Except as provided by Subsection (g), the [The] appraised value of a residence homestead for a tax year may not exceed the lesser of: (1) the market value of the property; or (2) the sum of: (A) 10 percent of the appraised value of the property for the last year in which the property was appraised for taxation times the number of years since the property was last appraised; (B) the appraised value of the property for the last year in which the property was appraised; and (C) the market value of all new improvements to the property. (g) The commissioners court of a county may call an election in the county to permit the voters of the county to determine whether a lower percentage limitation on increases in appraised value determined in the manner provided by Subsection (a)(2) using a percentage of less than 10 percent but not less than three percent in place of 10 percent in Subsection (a)(2)(A) will apply to the taxation of residence homesteads in the county by each taxing unit having territory in the county. The election shall be held on the date of the next general election for state and county officers. The ballot proposition shall specify the proposed percentage limitation on increases in appraised value. If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the establishment of the proposed limitation, the limitation applies beginning with the tax year following the year in which the election is held and remains in effect until amended or repealed by the voters of the county at a subsequent election called by the commissioners court of the county. An election to amend or repeal a limitation shall be held on the date of the next general election for state and county officers. If the voters of a county amend or repeal a limitation, the amendment or repeal applies beginning with the tax year after the year in which the election is held. If a taxing unit has territory in more than one county, the highest percentage limitation on increases in appraised value otherwise applicable in any portion of the territory of the taxing unit applies to the taxation of residence homesteads by the taxing unit throughout that taxing unit's territory. SECTION 1.02. Section 42.26(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows: (d) For purposes of this section, the value of the property subject to the suit and the value of a comparable property or sample property that is used for comparison must be the market value determined by the appraisal district when the property is a residence homestead subject to the limitation on appraised value imposed by or authorized under Section 23.23. SECTION 1.03. This article takes effect January 1, 2007, and applies only to the appraisal of a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year that begins on or after January 1, 2007, but only if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 79th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2006, authorizing the legislature to provide for a local option election in a county to set a limit of less than 10 percent but not less than three percent on the maximum average annual increase in the appraised value of residence homesteads for ad valorem tax purposes is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this article has no effect.
ARTICLE 2. APPRAISAL FOR AD VALOREM TAX PURPOSES OF PROPERTY LOCATED IN MORE THAN ONE COUNTY
SECTION 2.01. Sections 6.02(a) and (b), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows: (a) The [Except as otherwise provided by this section, the] appraisal district's boundaries are the same as the county's boundaries. (b) This section does not preclude the board of directors of two or more adjoining appraisal districts from providing for the operation of a consolidated appraisal district by interlocal contract [A taxing unit that has boundaries extending into two or more counties may choose to participate in only one of the appraisal districts. In that event, the boundaries of the district chosen extend outside the county to the extent of the unit's boundaries. To be effective, the choice must be approved by resolution of the board of directors of the district chosen. The choice of a school district to participate in a single appraisal district does not apply to property annexed to the school district under Subchapter C or G, Chapter 41, Education Code, unless: [(1) the school district taxes property other than property annexed to the district under Subchapter C or G, Chapter 41, Education Code, in the same county as the annexed property; or [(2) the annexed property is contiguous to property in the school district other than property annexed to the district under Subchapter C or G, Chapter 41, Education Code]. SECTION 2.02. Section 41.097(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) The total amount required under Section 41.093 for a district to purchase attendance credits under this subchapter for any school year is reduced by an amount equal to the product of the district's total costs under Section 6.06, Tax Code, for the [central] appraisal district or districts in which it participates multiplied by a percentage that is computed by dividing the total amount required under Section 41.093 by the total amount of taxes imposed in the district for that year less any amounts paid into a tax increment fund under Chapter 311, Tax Code. SECTION 2.03. Section 41.210(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) As soon as practicable after the detachment and annexation of property, the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in which the property is located [for the school district from which the property is detached] shall send a written notice of the detachment and annexation to the owner of any property taxable in a different school district as a result of the detachment and annexation. The notice must include the name of the school district by which the property is taxable after the detachment and annexation. SECTION 2.04. The following statutes are repealed: (1) Section 13.007, Education Code; (2) Sections 6.02(c), (d), (e), (f), and (g), Tax Code; (3) Section 6.025, Tax Code; and (4) Section 6.03(m), Tax Code. SECTION 2.05. (a) The changes in law made by this article relating to the appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes apply only to the appraisal of property for a tax year that begins on or after January 1, 2007. (b) The changes in law made by this article do not affect the entitlement of a member serving on the board of directors of an appraisal district immediately before the effective date of this Act to continue to serve on the board for the remainder of the member's term. The changes in law apply only to a member appointed on or after the effective date of this Act. (c) This subsection applies only to an appraisal district that has adopted staggered terms for members of the district's board of directors. Notwithstanding Section 6.03, Tax Code, a taxing unit is entitled to vote in 2006 for appraisal district directors for terms beginning on January 1, 2007, in each appraisal district in which the taxing unit will participate in 2007 under the law as amended by this article. The voting entitlement of each taxing unit entitled to vote for directors in 2006 is determined for each appraisal district by dividing the total dollar amount of property taxes imposed by the taxing unit for the 2005 tax year in the county for which the appraisal district is established by the sum of the total dollar amount of property taxes imposed in that county for that year by each taxing unit that is entitled to vote for directors of that appraisal district under this subsection in 2006, by multiplying the quotient by 1,000, and by rounding the product to the nearest whole number. That number is multiplied by the number of directorships to be filled. A taxing unit located in two or more counties is entitled to vote in the appraisal district established for each county in which it is located, but only the taxes imposed in 2005 in the county for which a district is established are used to calculate the 2006 voting entitlement in that district. (d) Notwithstanding Section 6.06, Tax Code, for the 2007 tax year, each taxing unit participating in an appraisal district in 2007 is allocated a portion of the amount of the 2007 budget for the district equal to the proportion that the total dollar amount of property taxes imposed in the county for which the district is established by the unit for the 2006 tax year bears to the sum of the total dollar amount of property taxes imposed in the county for the 2006 tax year by each unit participating in the district in 2007. If a taxing unit participates in two or more appraisal districts in 2007, only the 2006 taxes imposed in the county for which a district is established are used to calculate the unit's cost allocations for the 2007 budget for that district. SECTION 2.06. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, this article takes effect January 1, 2007. (b) Section 2.05 of this article takes effect September 1, 2006.
ARTICLE 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 3.01. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2007. (b) If a section or article of this Act provides a different effective date than provided by Subsection (a) of this section, that section or article takes effect according to its terms.