83R7768 ADM-D
 
  By: Thompson of Brazoria H.B. No. 1162
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to a sales and use tax exemption for certain disabled
  veterans and surviving spouses of certain disabled veterans.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter H, Chapter 151, Tax Code, is amended
  by adding Section 151.356 to read as follows:
         Sec. 151.356.  PURCHASES BY CERTAIN DISABLED VETERANS. (a)
  A taxable item sold, leased, or rented to, or stored, used, or
  consumed by, any of the following persons is exempted from the taxes
  imposed by this chapter:
               (1)  a person who holds a registration number issued
  under this section; or
               (2)  a member of the household where a person described
  by Subdivision (1) resides, if the purchase, lease, or rental is
  made for the benefit of the person and the household member is
  authorized to make purchases on the person's behalf.
         (b)  To claim an exemption under Subsection (a), the
  purchaser must state a registration number issued by the
  comptroller under this section on the exemption certificate
  provided by the purchaser of the item.
         (c)  A person is eligible to apply to the comptroller for and
  receive a registration number if:
               (1)  the person:
                     (A)  is a resident of this state;
                     (B)  enlisted in any branch of the armed forces of
  the United States, including the Texas National Guard, and has been
  honorably discharged; and
                     (C)  has been certified by the United States
  Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor to be in receipt of
  disability compensation at the 100 percent rate as a result of a
  permanent disability that:
                           (i)  was sustained through military action
  or accident; or
                           (ii)  resulted from disease contracted while
  in active service; or
               (2)  the person is the surviving spouse of a person
  described by Subdivision (1), the person described by Subdivision
  (1) is deceased, and the surviving spouse is not remarried.
         (d)  A person who is eligible may apply to the comptroller
  for a registration number.  The application must:
               (1)  be on a form prescribed by the comptroller; and
               (2)  contain any other information required by the
  comptroller.
         (e)  The comptroller shall develop and implement a procedure
  by which an applicant may submit an application described by
  Subsection (d) electronically.
         (f)  The comptroller by rule shall establish a uniform date
  on which all registration numbers issued under this section must be
  renewed, regardless of the date on which a registration number is
  initially issued.  The rules must require registration numbers to
  be renewed every four years.
         (g)  The comptroller may not issue a registration number that
  contains an individual's social security number.
         (h)  The comptroller, after written notice and a hearing, may
  revoke the registration number issued to a person who fails to
  comply with this chapter or with a rule adopted under this chapter,
  or who is no longer eligible for a registration number.  A person
  whose registration number the comptroller proposes to revoke under
  this section is entitled to 20 days' written notice of the time and
  place of the hearing on the revocation.  The notice must state the
  reason the comptroller is seeking to revoke the person's
  registration number.  At the hearing the person must show cause why
  the person's registration number should not be revoked.
         (i)  The comptroller shall give written notice of the
  revocation of a registration number under Subsection (h) to the
  person to whom the number was issued.  The notice may be personally
  served on the person or sent by mail to the person's address as
  shown in the comptroller's records.
         (j)  If the comptroller revokes a person's registration
  number under Subsection (h), the comptroller may not revive the
  registration number unless the comptroller is satisfied that the
  person will comply with this chapter and the rules adopted under
  this chapter.  The comptroller may prescribe the terms under which a
  revoked registration number may be revived.
         (k)  Following the revocation of a registration number by the
  comptroller, the person who held the registration number must, on
  the next transaction with each seller to whom the person previously
  issued a claim for exemption with a registration number, notify
  that seller that the person's registration number is no longer
  valid.  The failure of a person to notify a seller as required by
  this subsection is considered a failure and refusal to pay the taxes
  imposed by this chapter by the person required to make the
  notification.
         (l)  The comptroller shall develop and operate an online
  system to enable a seller to search and verify the validity of the
  registration number stated on an exemption certificate.  A seller
  is not required to use the online system.
         (m)  An exemption certificate that states a registration
  number issued by the comptroller to claim an exemption to which this
  section applies is sufficient documentation of the seller's receipt
  of the certificate in good faith for purposes of Sections 151.054
  and 151.104.
         (n)  The comptroller by rule shall establish procedures by
  which a seller may accept a blanket exemption certificate with a
  registration number issued by the comptroller to claim exemptions
  under this section.
         (o)  A person eligible for a registration number who, at the
  time of purchasing, leasing, renting, or otherwise consuming an
  item for which the person may otherwise claim an exemption, has not
  obtained a registration number from the comptroller must pay the
  tax on the item to the seller at the time of the transaction.  The
  person may then apply for a registration number and, on receipt of
  the number, may apply to the comptroller for a refund of the tax
  paid, subject to the statute of limitations.  The comptroller by
  rule shall establish procedures for processing the refund requests.  
  Tax collected by a seller under this subsection is not tax collected
  in error, and Section 111.104 does not apply to a refund request
  submitted under this subsection.
         (p)  The comptroller may adopt rules to implement this
  section.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act does not
  affect tax liability accruing before the effective date of this
  Act. That liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been
  enacted, and the former law is continued in effect for the
  collection of taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of
  the liability for those taxes.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.