Honorable Steve Ogden, Chair, Senate Committee on Finance
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2317 by Villarreal (Relating to appraisal review board members.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
This bill would amend the Tax Code and require the Comptroller to supervise a comprehensive course for training Appraisal Review Board members, assist with training materials, assist with answering technical questions and providing technical assistance relating to duties and responsibilities of Appraisal Review Board members. It is assumed that any additional costs associated with implementation of the bill could be absorbed within existing state resources.
Local Government Impact
The bill would require appraisal review board (ARB) members to complete an additional course of instruction after the beginning of the member’s second year as a board member. The Comptroller is required to develop and conduct the class, and can charge a fee not to exceed $50 per attendee or board member. If the class is not available locally, the appraisal districts would be required to pay for travel and lodging expenses which could average about $250, including hotel expenses. That amount would be expected to rise annually due to inflation and possibly from increases in the number of ARB members.
Each appraisal district has at least three members on its appraisal review board, although they can have more. The “Appraisal District Operations Report: 2006 and 2007 Data” by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts reported that in tax year 2006, CAD boards appointed 1,524 ARB members for an average of six members per CAD. Local taxing entities share in the expenses incurred by the appraisal districts for which funding is based on a formula related to the amount of property taxes each entity collects as a percentage of the total property taxes collected by all taxing entities in that district.
Though local governmental entities would incur costs associated with the required training, according to the Texas Association of Counties, those costs are not anticipated to be significant.