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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Section 1.07(d),
Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) A notice required by
Section 11.43(c), (h), or (q), 11.45(d), 23.44(d), 23.46(c),
23.54(e), 23.541(c), 23.55(e), 23.57(d), 23.76(e), 23.79(d), or 23.85(d)
must be sent by certified mail.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 2. Section 6.41, Tax
Code, is amended by amending Subsections (d-1), (d-6), and (i) and adding
Subsection (d-10) to read as follows:
(d-1) In a county with a
population of 120,000 or more the members of the board, including
auxiliary board members, are appointed by the local administrative
district judge under Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Government Code, in the
county in which the appraisal district is established. All applications
submitted to the appraisal district or to the appraisal review board from
persons seeking appointment as a member of the appraisal review board shall
be delivered to the local administrative district judge. The appraisal
district may provide the local administrative district judge with
information regarding whether an applicant for appointment to or a member
of the board owes any delinquent ad valorem taxes to a taxing unit
participating in the appraisal district.
(d-6) An appraisal review
board commissioner may [is] not serve [disqualified
from serving] as a member of the appraisal review board.
(d-10) An individual appointed to the appraisal review board under
Subsection (d-1) who has served for all or part of three consecutive terms is ineligible to serve on the
board during the term that begins on the next January 1 following the third
of those three consecutive terms.
(i) This subsection applies
only to an appraisal district described by Subsection (d-1). A chief
appraiser or another employee or agent of the appraisal district, a member
of the appraisal review board for the appraisal district, a member of the
board of directors of the appraisal district, a property tax consultant, or
an agent of a property owner commits an offense if the person communicates
with the local administrative district judge or an appraisal review
board commissioner regarding the appointment of appraisal review board
members. This subsection does not apply to:
(1) a communication between a
member of the appraisal review board and the local administrative district
judge regarding the member's reappointment to the board;
(2) a communication between
the taxpayer liaison officer for the appraisal district and the local
administrative district judge in the course of the performance of the
officer's clerical duties so long as the officer does not offer an opinion
or comment regarding the appointment of appraisal review board members; or
(3) a communication between a
chief appraiser or another employee or agent of the appraisal district, a
member of the appraisal review board for the appraisal district, or a
member of the board of directors of the appraisal district and the local
administrative district judge regarding information described by Subsection
(d-1) of this section or Section 411.1296, Government Code.
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SECTION 1. Section 6.41, Tax
Code, is amended by amending Subsections (d-1), (d-6), and (i) and adding
Subsection (d-10) to read as follows:
(d-1) In a county with a
population of 120,000 or more the members of the board, including
auxiliary board members, are appointed by the local administrative
district judge under Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Government Code, in the county
in which the appraisal district is established. All applications submitted
to the appraisal district or to the appraisal review board from persons
seeking appointment as a member of the appraisal review board shall be
delivered to the local administrative district judge. The appraisal
district may provide the local administrative district judge with
information regarding whether an applicant for appointment to or a member
of the board owes any delinquent ad valorem taxes to a taxing unit
participating in the appraisal district.
(d-6) An appraisal review
board commissioner may [is] not serve [disqualified
from serving] as a member of the appraisal review board.
(d-10) An individual is ineligible to serve on an appraisal review
board described by Subsection (d-1) if the individual has served on
the board for all or part of three previous
terms.
(i) This subsection applies
only to an appraisal district described by Subsection (d-1). A chief
appraiser or another employee or agent of the appraisal district, a member
of the appraisal review board for the appraisal district, a member of the
board of directors of the appraisal district, a property tax consultant, or
an agent of a property owner commits an offense if the person communicates
with the local administrative district judge or an appraisal review
board commissioner regarding the appointment of appraisal review board
members. This subsection does not apply to:
(1) a communication between a
member of the appraisal review board and the local administrative district
judge regarding the member's reappointment to the board;
(2) a communication between
the taxpayer liaison officer for the appraisal district and the local
administrative district judge in the course of the performance of the
officer's clerical duties so long as the officer does not offer an opinion
or comment regarding the appointment of appraisal review board members; or
(3) a communication between a
chief appraiser or another employee or agent of the appraisal district, a
member of the appraisal review board for the appraisal district, or a
member of the board of directors of the appraisal district and the local
administrative district judge regarding information described by Subsection
(d-1) of this section or Section 411.1296, Government Code.
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SECTION 3. Sections 6.42(a)
and (b), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A majority of the
appraisal review board constitutes a quorum. The board may not take
formal action at a meeting unless a quorum of board members is present.
The board of directors of the appraisal
district by resolution adopted by majority vote shall select
a chairman and a secretary from among the
members of the appraisal review board. The board of directors of the appraisal district is
encouraged to select as chairman of the appraisal
review board a member of the appraisal
review board, if any, who has a background in law and property
appraisal.
(b)
The board may meet at any time at the call of the chairman or as provided
by rule of the board, except that the board may not schedule a meeting
on a Sunday. The board shall meet to examine the appraisal records
within 10 days after the date the chief appraiser submits the records to
the board.
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SECTION 2. Section 6.42(a),
Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A majority of the
appraisal review board constitutes a quorum. The board may not take
formal action at a meeting unless a quorum of board members is present.
The board [of directors of the appraisal
district] by resolution adopted by majority vote shall
select a chairman and a secretary from among its [the] members
[of the appraisal review board]. The board [of directors of the appraisal district]
is encouraged to select as chairman of the [appraisal
review] board a member of the [appraisal
review] board, if any, who has a background in law and property
appraisal.
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SECTION 4. Section 11.43, Tax
Code, is amended by amending Subsections (c) and (h) and adding Subsection
(q) to read as follows:
(c) An exemption provided by
Section 11.13, 11.131, 11.132, 11.17, 11.18, 11.182, 11.1827, 11.183,
11.19, 11.20, 11.21, 11.22, 11.23(h), (j), or (j-1), 11.231, 11.254,
11.271, 11.29, 11.30, 11.31, or 11.315, once allowed, need not be claimed
in subsequent years, and except as otherwise provided by Subsection (e),
the exemption applies to the property until it changes ownership or the
person's qualification for the exemption changes. However, the chief
appraiser may require a person allowed one of the exemptions in a prior
year to file a new application to confirm the person's current
qualification for the exemption by delivering a written notice that a new
application is required, accompanied by an appropriate application form, to
the person previously allowed the exemption or, if that person has
designated an agent under Section 1.111, to the designated agent.
(h) If the chief appraiser
learns of any reason indicating that an exemption previously allowed should
be canceled, the chief appraiser [he] shall investigate. If the
chief appraiser [he] determines that the property should not be
exempt, the chief appraiser [he] shall cancel the exemption
and deliver written notice of the cancellation within five days after the
date on which the exemption is canceled to the person previously allowed
the exemption or, if that person has designated an agent under Section
1.111, to the designated agent [he makes the cancellation].
(q) If the chief appraiser
denies an applicant's application for an exemption, the chief appraiser
shall deliver written notice of the denial within five days after the date
on which the application is denied to the applicant or, if the applicant
has designated an agent under Section 1.111, to the designated agent.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 5. Section 23.54(e),
Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:
(e) If a person fails to file
a valid application on time, the land is ineligible for appraisal as
provided by this subchapter for that year. Once an application is filed and
appraisal under this subchapter is allowed, the land is eligible for
appraisal under this subchapter in subsequent years without a new
application unless the ownership of the land changes or its eligibility
under this subchapter ends. However, if the chief appraiser [if
he] has good cause to believe that land is no longer eligible for
appraisal [the land's eligibility] under this subchapter [has
ended], the chief appraiser may require a person allowed
appraisal under this subchapter in a prior year to file a new application
to confirm that the land is currently eligible for appraisal under
this subchapter by delivering a written notice that a new application is
required, accompanied by the application form, to the person who filed the
application that was previously allowed or, if that person has
designated an agent under Section 1.111, to the designated agent.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 6. Section 23.55(e),
Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:
(e) A determination that a
change in use of the land has occurred is made by the chief appraiser. The
chief appraiser shall deliver a notice of the determination to the owner of
the land or, if the owner has designated an agent under Section 1.111,
to the designated agent, as soon as possible after making the
determination and shall include in the notice an explanation of the owner's
right to protest the determination. If the owner does not file a timely
protest or if the final determination of the protest is that the additional
taxes are due, the assessor for each taxing unit shall prepare and deliver
a bill for the additional taxes plus interest as soon as practicable. The
taxes and interest are due and become delinquent and incur penalties and
interest as provided by law for ad valorem taxes imposed by the taxing unit
if not paid before the next February 1 that is at least 20 days after the
date the bill is delivered to the owner of the land.
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No
equivalent provision.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 3. Section 41.71, Tax
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 41.71. EVENING AND
WEEKEND HEARINGS. An appraisal review board by rule shall provide for
hearings on protests in the evening or on a Saturday [or Sunday]. The
board may not schedule a hearing on a protest on a Sunday.
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SECTION 7. The changes made
to Section 6.41, Tax Code, by this Act do not affect the right of a person
serving on the appraisal review board of an appraisal district on the
effective date of this Act to complete the person's term on the board.
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SECTION 4. Substantially the
same as introduced version.
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SECTION 8. The change in law
made by this Act applies only to an action taken by a chief appraiser to
cancel or deny an exemption from ad valorem taxation or to a determination
made by a chief appraiser that land is no longer eligible for appraisal
under Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, on or after the effective date of
this Act. An action taken or a determination made by a chief appraiser
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
the action was taken or the determination was made, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
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No
equivalent provision.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 5. The change in law
made by this Act to Section 41.71, Tax Code, applies only to a hearing on a
protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code, that is scheduled on or after the
effective date of this Act. A hearing on a protest under Chapter 41, Tax
Code, that is scheduled before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the hearing was scheduled, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
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SECTION 9. This Act takes
effect September 1, 2015.
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SECTION 6. Same as introduced
version.
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