79S31289 JD-D
By: Callegari H.B. No. 128
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the election of the board of directors of an appraisal
district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.12(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) At the written request of the governing bodies of a
majority of the taxing units participating in an appraisal district
[or of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the
appointment of appraisal district directors], the comptroller
shall audit the performance of the appraisal district. The
governing bodies may request a general audit of the performance of
the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or more
particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other
appraisal district matters.
SECTION 2. Section 5.13(h), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(h) At any time after the request for an audit is made, the
comptroller may discontinue the audit in whole or in part if
requested to do so by:
(1) the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
units participating in the district, if the audit was requested by a
majority of those units; or
(2) [the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
units entitled to vote on the appointment of appraisal district
directors, if the audit was requested by a majority of those units;
or
[(3)] if the audit was requested under Section 5.12(c)
[of this code], by the taxpayers who requested the audit.
SECTION 3. Section 6.02(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) A taxing unit that has chosen to participate in a single
appraisal district under Subsection (b) [of this section] may
revoke that choice and, if permitted to do so by Subsection (b),
choose to participate in a single appraisal district other than the
one previously chosen. [A taxing unit that has withdrawn from an
appraisal district under this subsection and chosen to participate
in another single appraisal district may not under this subsection
withdraw from that district.]
SECTION 4. Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 6.03. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The appraisal district
is governed by a board of five directors. Directors are elected at
large from the county for which the appraisal district is
established at the general election for state and county officers
[Five directors are appointed by the taxing units that participate
in the district as provided by this section. If the county
assessor-collector is not appointed to the board, the county
assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting director. The county
assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if the board enters into
a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the commissioners court of
the county enters into a contract under Section 6.24(b)]. To be
eligible to serve on the board of directors, an individual [other
than a county assessor-collector serving as a nonvoting director]
must be a resident of the district and must have resided in the
district for at least two years immediately preceding the date the
individual takes office. [An individual who is otherwise eligible
to serve on the board is not ineligible because of membership on the
governing body of a taxing unit. An employee of a taxing unit that
participates in the district is not eligible to serve on the board
unless the individual is also a member of the governing body or an
elected official of a taxing unit that participates in the
district.]
(b) Members of the board of directors [other than a county
assessor-collector serving as a nonvoting director] serve two-year
terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered [even-numbered] years.
(c) [Members of the board of directors other than a county
assessor-collector serving as a nonvoting director are appointed by
vote of the governing bodies of the incorporated cities and towns,
the school districts, and, if entitled to vote, the conservation
and reclamation districts that participate in the district and of
the county. A governing body may cast all its votes for one
candidate or distribute them among candidates for any number of
directorships. Conservation and reclamation districts are not
entitled to vote unless at least one conservation and reclamation
district in the district delivers to the chief appraiser a written
request to nominate and vote on the board of directors by June 1 of
each odd-numbered year. On receipt of a request, the chief
appraiser shall certify a list by June 15 of all eligible
conservation and reclamation districts that are imposing taxes and
that participate in the district.
[(d) The voting entitlement of a taxing unit that is
entitled to vote for directors is determined by dividing the total
dollar amount of property taxes imposed in the district by the
taxing unit for the preceding tax year by the sum of the total
dollar amount of property taxes imposed in the district for that
year by each taxing unit that is entitled to vote, 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 participating in two or
more districts is entitled to vote in each district in which it
participates, but only the taxes imposed in a district are used to
calculate voting entitlement in that district.
[(e) The chief appraiser shall calculate the number of votes
to which each taxing unit other than a conservation and reclamation
district is entitled and shall deliver written notice to each of
those units of its voting entitlement before October 1 of each
odd-numbered year. The chief appraiser shall deliver the notice:
[(1) to the county judge and each commissioner of the
county served by the appraisal district;
[(2) to the presiding officer of the governing body of
each city or town participating in the appraisal district, to the
city manager of each city or town having a city manager, and to the
city secretary or clerk, if there is one, of each city or town that
does not have a city manager; and
[(3) to the presiding officer of the governing body of
each school district participating in the district and to the
superintendent of those school districts.
[(f) The chief appraiser shall calculate the number of votes
to which each conservation and reclamation district entitled to
vote for district directors is entitled and shall deliver written
notice to the presiding officer of each conservation and
reclamation district of its voting entitlement and right to
nominate a person to serve as a director of the district before July
1 of each odd-numbered year.
[(g) Each taxing unit other than a conservation and
reclamation district that is entitled to vote may nominate by
resolution adopted by its governing body one candidate for each
position to be filled on the board of directors. The presiding
officer of the governing body of the unit shall submit the names of
the unit's nominees to the chief appraiser before October 15.
[(h) Each conservation and reclamation district entitled to
vote may nominate by resolution adopted by its governing body one
candidate for the district's board of directors. The presiding
officer of the conservation and reclamation district's governing
body shall submit the name of the district's nominee to the chief
appraiser before July 15 of each odd-numbered year. Before August
1, the chief appraiser shall prepare a nominating ballot, listing
all the nominees of conservation and reclamation districts
alphabetically by surname, and shall deliver a copy of the
nominating ballot to the presiding officer of the board of
directors of each district. The board of directors of each district
shall determine its vote by resolution and submit it to the chief
appraiser before August 15. The nominee on the ballot with the most
votes is the nominee of the conservation and reclamation districts
in the appraisal district if the nominee received more than 10
percent of the votes entitled to be cast by all of the conservation
and reclamation districts in the appraisal district, and shall be
named on the ballot with the candidates nominated by the other
taxing units. The chief appraiser shall resolve a tie vote by any
method of chance.
[(i) If no nominee of the conservation and reclamation
districts receives more than 10 percent of the votes entitled to be
cast under Subsection (h), the chief appraiser, before September 1,
shall notify the presiding officer of the board of directors of each
conservation and reclamation district of the failure to select a
nominee. Each conservation and reclamation district may submit a
nominee by September 15 to the chief appraiser as provided by
Subsection (h). The chief appraiser shall submit a second
nominating ballot by October 1 to the conservation and reclamation
districts as provided by Subsection (h). The conservation and
reclamation districts shall submit their votes for nomination
before October 15 as provided by Subsection (h). The nominee on the
second nominating ballot with the most votes is the nominee of the
conservation and reclamation districts in the appraisal district
and shall be named on the ballot with the candidates nominated by
the other taxing units. The chief appraiser shall resolve a tie
vote by any method of chance.
[(j) Before October 30, the chief appraiser shall prepare a
ballot, listing the candidates whose names were timely submitted
under Subsections (g) and, if applicable, (h) or (i) alphabetically
according to the first letter in each candidate's surname, and
shall deliver a copy of the ballot to the presiding officer of the
governing body of each taxing unit that is entitled to vote.
[(k) The governing body of each taxing unit entitled to vote
shall determine its vote by resolution and submit it to the chief
appraiser before December 15. The chief appraiser shall count the
votes, declare the five candidates who receive the largest
cumulative vote totals elected, and submit the results before
December 31 to the governing body of each taxing unit in the
district and to the candidates. For purposes of determining the
number of votes received by the candidates, the candidate receiving
the most votes of the conservation and reclamation districts is
considered to have received all of the votes cast by conservation
and reclamation districts and the other candidates are considered
not to have received any votes of the conservation and reclamation
districts. The chief appraiser shall resolve a tie vote by any
method of chance.
[(l)] If a vacancy occurs on the board of directors, the
commissioners court of the county shall appoint a qualified
resident of the county [other than a vacancy in the position held by
a county assessor-collector serving as a nonvoting director, each
taxing unit that is entitled to vote by this section may nominate by
resolution adopted by its governing body a candidate] to fill the
vacancy. A person appointed to fill a vacancy serves for the
remainder of the unexpired term. [The unit shall submit the name of
its nominee to the chief appraiser within 45 days after
notification from the board of directors of the existence of the
vacancy, and the chief appraiser shall prepare and deliver to the
board of directors within the next five days a list of the nominees.
The board of directors shall elect by majority vote of its members
one of the nominees to fill the vacancy.
[(m) If a school district participates in an appraisal
district in which the only property of the school district located
in the appraisal district is property annexed to the school
district under Subchapter C or G, Chapter 41, Education Code, an
individual who does not meet the residency requirements of
Subsection (a) is eligible to be appointed to the board of directors
of the appraisal district if:
[(1) the individual is a resident of the school
district; and
[(2) the individual is nominated as a candidate for
the board of directors by the school district or, if the taxing
units have adopted a change in the method of appointing board
members that does not require a nomination, the school district
appoints or participates in the appointment of the individual.]
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 6.031, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 6.031. BALLOT PROCEDURES; FILING FEE [CHANGES IN BOARD
MEMBERSHIP OR SELECTION].
SECTION 6. Sections 6.031(a), (b), and (c), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by this section, Chapter 144,
Election Code, applies to a candidate for the office [The board of
directors] of member of an appraisal district[, by resolution
adopted and delivered to each taxing unit participating in the
district before August 15, may increase the number of members on
the] board of directors [of the district to not more than 13, change
the method or procedure for appointing the members, or both, unless
the governing body of a taxing unit that is entitled to vote on the
appointment of board members adopts a resolution opposing the
change, and files it with the board of directors before September 1.
If a change is rejected, the board shall notify, in writing, each
taxing unit participating in the district before September 15].
(b) An application for a place on the ballot must be filed
with the county judge of the county for which the appraisal district
is established and be accompanied by either a filing fee of $200 or
a petition that contains at least 25 signatures of registered
voters of the county. A candidate's name may appear on the ballot
only as an independent. [The taxing units participating in an
appraisal district may increase the number of members on the board
of directors of the district to not more than 13, change the method
or procedure for appointing the members, or both, if the governing
bodies of three-fourths of the taxing units that are entitled to
vote on the appointment of board members adopt resolutions
providing for the change. However, a change under this subsection
is not valid if it reduces the voting entitlement of one or more
taxing units that do not adopt a resolution proposing it to less
than a majority of the voting entitlement under Section 6.03 of this
code or if it reduces the voting entitlement of any taxing unit that
does not adopt a resolution proposing it to less than 50 percent of
its voting entitlement under Section 6.03 of this code and if that
taxing unit's allocation of the budget is not reduced to the same
proportional percentage amount, or if it expands the types of
taxing units that are entitled to vote on appointment of board
members.]
(c) A filing fee received [An official copy of a
resolution] under this section shall be deposited in the county
treasury to the credit of the general revenue fund [must be filed
with the chief appraiser of the appraisal district after June 30 and
before October 1 of a year in which board members are appointed or
the resolution is ineffective].
SECTION 7. Section 6.036(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for the
office of appraisal district director [appointed to] or to serve on
the board of directors of an appraisal district if the individual or
a business entity in which the individual has a substantial
interest is a party to a contract with:
(1) the appraisal district; or
(2) a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal
district, if the contract relates to the performance of an activity
governed by this title.
SECTION 8. Section 6.051(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) The acquisition or conveyance of real property or the
construction or renovation of a building or other improvement by an
appraisal district must be approved by the governing bodies of
three-fourths of the taxing units that participate in the district
[entitled to vote on the appointment of board members]. The board
of directors by resolution may propose a property transaction or
other action for which this subsection requires approval of the
taxing units. The chief appraiser shall notify the presiding
officer of each governing body entitled to vote on the approval of
the proposal by delivering a copy of the board's resolution,
together with information showing the costs of other available
alternatives to the proposal. On or before the 30th day after the
date the presiding officer receives notice of the proposal, the
governing body of a taxing unit by resolution may approve or
disapprove the proposal. If a governing body fails to act on or
before that 30th day or fails to file its resolution with the chief
appraiser on or before the 10th day after that 30th day, the
proposal is treated as if it were disapproved by the governing body.
SECTION 9. Sections 6.06(a), (b), and (i), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Each year the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
budget for the operations of the district for the following tax year
and shall submit copies to each taxing unit participating in the
district and to the district board of directors before June 15. The
chief appraiser [He] shall include in the budget a list showing each
proposed position, the proposed salary for the position, all
benefits proposed for the position, each proposed capital
expenditure, and an estimate of the amount of the budget that will
be allocated to each taxing unit. Each taxing unit that
participates in the district [entitled to vote on the appointment
of board members] shall maintain a copy of the proposed budget for
public inspection at its principal administrative office.
(b) The board of directors shall hold a public hearing to
consider the budget. The secretary of the board shall deliver to
the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
participating in the district not later than the 10th day before the
date of the hearing a written notice of the date, time, and place
fixed for the hearing. The board shall complete its hearings, make
any amendments to the proposed budget it desires, and finally
approve a budget before September 15. If governing bodies of a
majority of the taxing units participating in the district
[entitled to vote on the appointment of board members] adopt
resolutions disapproving a budget and file them with the secretary
of the board within 30 days after its adoption, the budget does not
take effect, and the board shall adopt a new budget within 30 days
of the disapproval.
(i) The fiscal year of an appraisal district is the calendar
year unless the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
units participating in the district [entitled to vote on the
appointment of board members] adopt resolutions proposing a
different fiscal year and file them with the secretary of the board
not more than 12 and not less than eight months before the first day
of the fiscal year proposed by the resolutions. If the fiscal year
of an appraisal district is changed under this subsection, the
chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed budget for the fiscal year
as provided by Subsection (a) [of this section] before the 15th day
of the seventh month preceding the first day of the fiscal year
established by the change, and the board of directors shall adopt a
budget for the fiscal year as provided by Subsection (b) [of this
section] before the 15th day of the fourth month preceding the first
day of the fiscal year established by the change. Unless the
appraisal district adopts a different method of allocation under
Section 6.061 [of this code], the allocation of the budget to each
taxing unit shall be calculated as provided by Subsection (d) [of
this section] using the amount of property taxes imposed by each
participating taxing unit in the most recent tax year preceding the
fiscal year established by the change for which the necessary
information is available. Each taxing unit shall pay its
allocation as provided by Subsection (e) [of this section], except
that the first payment shall be made before the first day of the
fiscal year established by the change and subsequent payments shall
be made quarterly. In the year in which a change in the fiscal year
occurs, the budget that takes effect on January 1 of that year may
be amended as necessary as provided by Subsection (c) [of this
section] in order to accomplish the change in fiscal years.
SECTION 10. Sections 6.061(b) and (e), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The taxing units participating in an appraisal district
may adopt a different method of allocating the costs of operating
the district if the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
units that participate in the district [are entitled to vote on the
appointment of board members] adopt resolutions providing for the
other method. However, a change under this subsection is not valid
if it requires any taxing unit to pay a greater proportion of the
appraisal district's costs than the unit would pay under Section
6.06 [of this code] without the consent of the governing body of
that unit.
(e) A change in allocation of district costs made as
provided by this section remains in effect until changed in a manner
provided by this section or rescinded by resolution of a majority of
the governing bodies of the taxing units that participate in the
district [are entitled to vote on appointment of board members
under Section 6.03 of this code].
SECTION 11. Section 6.063(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) The report of the audit is a public record. A copy of
the report shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the
governing body of each taxing unit that participates in the
appraisal district [eligible to vote on the appointment of district
directors], and a reasonable number of copies shall be available
for inspection at the appraisal office.
SECTION 12. Section 52.092, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures for
the listing of the office of appraisal district director on the
ballot.
SECTION 13. Sections 6.031(d), (e), (f), and (g), 6.033,
6.034, 6.037, and 6.10, Tax Code, are repealed.
SECTION 14. Appraisal district directors shall be elected
as provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
beginning with the general election for state and county officers
conducted in 2008. Members then elected take office January 1,
2009.
SECTION 15. (a) The change in law made by this Act does not
affect the selection of appraisal district directors appointed
before January 1, 2009, by the taxing units participating in the
district.
(b) The term of an appraisal district director serving on
December 31, 2008, expires on January 1, 2009.
SECTION 16. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2009.
(b) This section and Sections 12, 14, and 15 of this Act take
effect September 1, 2006.