79R7454 JD-F
By: Villarreal H.B. No. 3222
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the state administration of taxation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 403.303(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) After receipt of a petition, the comptroller shall hold
a hearing. The comptroller has the burden to prove the accuracy of
the findings. Until a final decision is made by the comptroller,
the taxable value of property in the district is determined, with
respect to property subject to the protest, according to the value
claimed by the school district or property owner, except that the
value to be used while a final decision is pending may not be less
than the appraisal roll value for the year of the study. If after a
hearing the comptroller concludes that the findings should be
changed, the comptroller shall order the appropriate changes and
shall certify [the changes] to the commissioner of education the
changes in the values of the school district that brought the
protest, the values of the school district named by the property
owner who brought the protest, or, if the comptroller by rule allows
an appraisal district to bring a protest, the values of the school
district named by the appraisal district that brought the protest.
The comptroller may not order a change in the values of a school
district as a result of a protest brought by another school
district, a property owner in the other school district, or an
appraisal district that appraises property for the other school
district. The comptroller shall complete all protest hearings and
certify all changes as necessary to comply with Chapter 42,
Education Code. A hearing conducted under this subsection is not a
contested case for purposes of Section 2001.003.
SECTION 2. Sections 5.05(a) and (b), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) The comptroller may [shall] prepare and issue
publications relating to the appraisal of property and the
administration of taxes, or may approve other publications relating
to those matters, including materials published by The Appraisal
Foundation, the International Association of Assessing Officers,
or other professionally recognized organizations, for use in the
administration of property taxes, including:
(1) a general appraisal manual;
(2) special appraisal manuals as authorized by law;
(3) cost, price, and depreciation schedules as
authorized by law[, with provision for inserting local market index
factors and with a standard procedure for determining local market
index factors];
(4) periodic news and reference bulletins;
(5) an annotated version of this title and Title 3
[digests of all laws relating to property taxation]; and
(6) a handbook containing selected laws and [of] all
rules promulgated by the comptroller relating to the property tax
and its administration.
(b) The comptroller shall revise or supplement all
materials issued by the comptroller or approve other publications
periodically as necessary to keep them current.
SECTION 3. Section 111.301(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) An eligible person is entitled to a refund of state
sales and use taxes imposed under Chapter 151 and state franchise
taxes imposed under Chapter 171 paid in a calendar year for which
the person paid ad valorem taxes to a school district on property
that in that year is:
(1) located in a reinvestment zone established under
Chapter 312;
(2) exempt in whole or in part from the payment of ad
valorem taxes imposed by a municipality or a county under a tax
abatement agreement entered into with the municipality or county
under Chapter 312; and
(3) not subject to a tax abatement agreement or an
agreement to limit the appraised value of property under Chapter
313 entered into by the school district.
SECTION 4. Section 111.304, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 111.304. EVALUATION; BIENNIAL [ANNUAL] REPORT. Not
later than December 31 [1] of each even-numbered year, the
comptroller shall submit a [an annual] report to the legislature.
The report:
(1) must document the applications for refunds filed
with the comptroller under this subchapter;
(2) must document the refunds paid by the comptroller
under this chapter; and
(3) may include any other relevant information that
the comptroller determines is applicable to this subchapter or to
Chapter 312.
SECTION 5. Section 39.903(e), Utilities Code, as amended by
Chapters 1394, 1451, and 1466, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2003, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(e) Money in the system benefit fund may be appropriated to
provide funding solely for the following regulatory purposes, [and]
in the following order of priority:
(1) programs to assist low-income electric customers
by providing the 10 percent reduced rate prescribed by Subsection
(h);
(2) customer education programs, administrative
expenses incurred by the commission in implementing and
administering this chapter, and expenses incurred by the office
under this chapter;
(3) programs to assist low-income electric customers
by providing the targeted energy efficiency programs described by
Subsection (f)(2);
(4) [the school funding loss mechanism provided by
Section 39.901;
[(5)] programs to assist low-income electric
customers by providing the 20 percent reduced rate prescribed by
Subsection (h); and
(5) [(6)] reimbursement to the commission and the
Health and Human Services Commission [Texas Department of Human
Services] for expenses incurred in the implementation and
administration of an integrated eligibility process created under
Section 17.007 for customer service discounts relating to retail
electric service, including outreach expenses the commission
determines are reasonable and necessary.
SECTION 6. Section 39.901, Utilities Code, is repealed.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.