86R6363 JES-D
 
  By: Creighton S.B. No. 1986
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the selection and administration of an appraisal review
  board; authorizing a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 5.103(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The model hearing procedures shall address:
               (1)  the statutory duties of an appraisal review board;
               (2)  the process for conducting a hearing;
               (3)  the scheduling of hearings;
               (4)  the postponement of hearings;
               (5)  the notices required under this title;
               (6)  the determination of good cause under Section
  41.44(b);
               (7)  the determination of good cause under Sections
  41.45(e) and (e-1);
               (8)  a party's right to offer evidence and argument;
               (9)  a party's right to examine or cross-examine
  witnesses or other parties;
               (10)  a party's right to appear by an agent;
               (11)  the prohibition of an appraisal review board's
  consideration of information not provided at a hearing;
               (12)  ex parte and other prohibited communications;
               (13)  the exclusion of evidence at a hearing as
  required by Section 41.67(d);
               (14)  the postponement of a hearing as required by
  Section 41.66(h);
               (15)  conflicts of interest; and
               (16)  [the process for the administration of
  applications for membership on an appraisal review board; and
               [(17)]  any other matter related to fair and efficient
  appraisal review board hearings.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 6.41(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (j), and
  (k), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  An [The] appraisal review board is established for each
  appraisal district.
         (b)  The board consists of three members elected by the
  voters of the county in which the district is established at the
  general election for state and county officers. The members serve
  two-year terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered years.  
  [However, the district board of directors by resolution of a
  majority of its members may increase the size of the appraisal
  review board to the number of members the board of directors
  considers appropriate.]
         (c)  To be eligible to serve on the board, an individual must
  be a resident of the county in which the appraisal district is
  established and must have resided in the county [district] for at
  least two years before the date of the individual's election or
  appointment.
         (d)  [Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), members of the
  board are appointed by resolution of a majority of the appraisal
  district board of directors.]  A vacancy on the board is filled by
  appointment by a resolution of a majority of the appraisal district
  board of directors [in the same manner] for the unexpired portion of
  the term.
         (f)  For purposes of Chapter 87, Local Government Code,
  grounds [A member of the board may be removed from the board by a
  majority vote of the appraisal district board of directors, or by
  the local administrative district judge or the judge's designee, as
  applicable, that appointed the member.   Grounds] for removal of a
  member of an appraisal review board include [are]:
               (1)  a violation of Section 6.412, 6.413, 41.66(f), or
  41.69;
               (2)  good cause relating to the attendance of members
  at called meetings of the board as established by written policy
  adopted by a majority of the appraisal district board of directors;
  [or]
               (3)  clear and convincing evidence of repeated bias or
  misconduct; or
               (4)  failure to complete a course required by Section
  5.041.
         (j)  A chief appraiser or another employee or agent of an
  appraisal district commits an offense if the person communicates
  with a member of the appraisal review board for the appraisal
  district or[,] a member of the board of directors of the appraisal
  district[, or, if the appraisal district is an appraisal district
  described by Subsection (d-1), the local administrative district
  judge] regarding a ranking, scoring, or reporting of the percentage
  by which the appraisal review board or a panel of the board reduces
  the appraised value of property.
         (k)  An offense under Subsection [(i) or] (j) is a Class A
  misdemeanor.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter C, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
  adding Section 6.4101 to read as follows:
         Sec. 6.4101.  BALLOT PROCEDURES FOR APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD
  MEMBER; FILING FEE.  (a)  Except as provided by this section,
  Chapter 144, Election Code, applies to a candidate for the office of
  member of the appraisal review board of an appraisal district.
         (b)  An application for a place on the ballot must be filed
  with the county judge of the county in which the appraisal district
  is established and be accompanied by a filing fee of $250.
         (c)  A candidate's name may appear on the ballot only as an
  independent candidate.
         (d)  A filing fee received under this section shall be
  deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the county general
  fund.
         SECTION 4.  Section 6.411(c-1), Tax Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         (c-1)  This section does not apply to communications with a
  member of an appraisal review board by the chief appraiser or
  another employee or a member of the board of directors of an
  appraisal district or a property tax consultant or attorney
  representing a party to a proceeding before the appraisal review
  board:
               (1)  during a hearing on a protest or other proceeding
  before the appraisal review board;
               (2)  that constitute social conversation;
               (3)  that are specifically limited to and involve
  administrative, clerical, or logistical matters related to the
  scheduling and operation of hearings, the processing of documents,
  the issuance of orders, notices, and subpoenas, and the operation,
  appointment, composition, or attendance at training of the
  appraisal review board; or
               (4)  that are necessary and appropriate to enable the
  appraisal review board [of directors of the appraisal district] to
  determine whether to appoint, reappoint, or remove a person as [a
  member or] the chairman or secretary of the appraisal review board.
         SECTION 5.  Section 6.413(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (a)  An individual is not eligible to be elected or appointed
  to or to serve on the appraisal review board established for an
  appraisal district if the individual or a business entity in which
  the individual has a substantial interest is a party to a contract
  with the appraisal district or with a taxing unit that participates
  in the appraisal district.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 6.414(a) and (b), Tax Code, are amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  An [The board of directors of an] appraisal review board
  [district] by resolution of a majority of the members may provide
  for a number of auxiliary appraisal review board members that the
  board considers appropriate to hear taxpayer protests before the
  appraisal review board and to assist the board in performing its
  duties.  The appraisal review board shall prepare a list of names of
  potential auxiliary board members who meet the qualifications for
  appointment as an auxiliary board member and submit the list to the
  commissioners court of the county in which the appraisal district
  is established.
         (b)  An auxiliary board member is appointed by the
  commissioners court of the county in which the appraisal district
  is established from the list of potential members provided by the
  appraisal review board under Subsection (a) [in the same manner and
  for the same term as an appraisal review board member under Section
  6.41] and is subject to the same eligibility requirements and
  restrictions as a board member under Sections 6.41, 6.411, 6.412,
  and 6.413. An auxiliary board member is appointed for a two-year
  term. A vacancy among the auxiliary board members is filled in the
  same manner as the original appointment to the appraisal review
  board.
         SECTION 7.  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 [of directors of the appraisal district] by
  resolution shall select a chairman and a secretary from among the
  board's [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.
         SECTION 8.  Section 41.66(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (g)  At the beginning of a hearing on a protest, each member
  of the appraisal review board hearing the protest must sign an
  affidavit stating that the board member has not communicated with
  another person in violation of Subsection (f).  If a board member
  has communicated with another person in violation of Subsection
  (f), the member must be recused from the proceeding and may not
  hear, deliberate on, or vote on the determination of the protest.
  The appraisal review board [of directors of the appraisal district]
  shall adopt and implement a policy concerning the temporary
  replacement of an appraisal review board member who has
  communicated with another person in violation of Subsection (f).
         SECTION 9.  The following provisions of the Tax Code are
  repealed:
               (1)  Section 6.052(f);
               (2)  Sections 6.41(d-1), (d-2), (d-3), (d-4), (d-5),
  (d-6), (d-7), (d-8), (d-9), (e), and (i); and
               (3)  Section 6.412(e).
         SECTION 10.  (a)  Appraisal review board members shall be
  elected under Section 6.41, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
  beginning with the general election conducted in 2020.  Members
  then elected take office January 1, 2021.
         (b)  The change in the manner of selection of appraisal
  review board members made by Section 6.41, Tax Code, as amended by
  this Act, does not affect the selection of members who serve on the
  board before January 1, 2021.
         (c)  The term of an appraisal review board member serving on
  December 31, 2020, expires on January 1, 2021.
         (d)  Auxiliary members may be appointed under Section 6.414,
  Tax Code, as amended by this Act, by a commissioners court on or
  after January 1, 2021.
         (e)  The change in the manner of selection of auxiliary
  members made by Section 6.414, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
  does not affect the selection of auxiliary members who serve before
  January 1, 2021.
         (f)  The term of an auxiliary member serving on December 31,
  2020, expires on January 1, 2021.
         SECTION 11.  The repeal by this Act of Section 6.41(i), Tax
  Code, and the change in law made by this Act to Section 6.41(j), Tax
  Code, do not apply to an offense committed under either of those
  subsections before January 1, 2021. An offense committed before
  January 1, 2021, is governed by the applicable subsection as it
  existed on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section,
  an offense was committed before January 1, 2021, if any element of
  the offense occurred before that date.
         SECTION 12.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided by this
  section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2021.
         (b)  This section and Sections 3 and 10 of this Act take
  effect January 1, 2020.