83R4801 SMH-F

By: Otto H.B. No. 3437

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the procedure for obtaining an allocation for ad valorem tax purposes of the value of certain property that is used in this state and outside this state.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Tax Code, is amended by adding Sections 21.09 and 21.10 to read as follows:

Sec. 21.09. ALLOCATION APPLICATION. (a) To receive an allocation authorized by Section 21.03, 21.031, 21.05, or 21.055, a person claiming the allocation must apply for the allocation. To apply for an allocation, a person must file an allocation application form with the chief appraiser in the appraisal district in which the property subject to the claimed allocation has taxable situs.

(b) A person claiming an allocation must apply for the allocation each year the person claims the allocation. A person claiming an allocation must file a completed allocation application form before May 1 and must provide the information required by the form. If the property was not on the appraisal roll in the preceding year, the deadline for filing the allocation application form is extended to the 30th day after the date of receipt of the notice of appraised value required by Section 25.19(a)(3). For good cause shown, the chief appraiser shall extend the deadline for filing an allocation application form by written order for a period not to exceed 60 days.

(c) The comptroller shall prescribe the contents of the allocation application form and shall ensure that the form requires an applicant to provide the information necessary to determine the validity of the allocation claim.

(d) If the chief appraiser learns of any reason indicating that an allocation previously allowed should be canceled, the chief appraiser shall investigate. If the chief appraiser determines that the property is not entitled to an allocation, the chief appraiser shall cancel the allocation and deliver written notice of the cancellation not later than the fifth day after the date the chief appraiser makes the cancellation. A person may protest the cancellation of an allocation.

(e) The filing of a rendition under Chapter 22 is not a condition of qualification for an allocation.

Sec. 21.10. LATE APPLICATION FOR ALLOCATION. (a) The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny an application for an allocation under Section 21.09 after the deadline for filing the application has passed if the application is filed before the date the appraisal review board approves the appraisal records.

(b) If the application is approved, the property owner is liable to each taxing unit for a penalty in an amount equal to 10 percent of the difference between the amount of tax imposed by the taxing unit on the property without the allocation and the amount of tax imposed on the property with the allocation.

(c) The chief appraiser shall make an entry on the appraisal records for the property indicating the property owner's liability for the penalty and shall deliver a written notice of imposition of the penalty, explaining the reason for its imposition, to the property owner.

(d) The tax assessor for a taxing unit that taxes the property shall add the amount of the penalty to the property owner's tax bill, and the tax collector for the unit shall collect the penalty at the time and in the manner the collector collects the tax. The amount of the penalty constitutes a lien against the property against which the penalty is imposed, as if the penalty were a tax, and accrues penalty and interest in the same manner as a delinquent tax.

SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to the allocation of the value of property for ad valorem tax purposes beginning with the 2013 tax year, except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section.

(b) If the allocation of the value of property for ad valorem tax purposes for the 2013 tax year was finally determined before the effective date of this Act, the change in law made by this Act applies to the allocation of the value of that property beginning with the 2014 tax year, and the law in effect when the allocation of the value of that property was finally determined applies to the 2013 tax year with respect to that property.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.