LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 86TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
March 5, 2019

TO:
Honorable Paul Bettencourt, Chair, Senate Committee on Property Tax
 
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director
Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
SB955 by Bettencourt (Relating to the matters that a taxing unit is entitled to challenge before an appraisal review board.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend Chapter 41 of the Tax Code, regarding local property tax review, to strike language entitling a taxing unit to challenge before the appraisal review board the level of appraisals of any category of property in the district or in any territory in the district, but not the appraised value of a single taxpayer's property.

The bill's proposed removal of the right of taxing units to challenge an appraisal district's level of appraisal of a property category could create a cost to local taxing units and to the state through the school finance formulas. Taxing unit appraisal review board challenges that an appraisal district's level of appraisal of a property category is too low are rare and the property value involved in future challenges that might be decided in favor of taxing units is unknown; consequently, the cost of the bill cannot be estimated but is not expected to be significant.

The bill would take effect immediately upon enactment, assuming it received the requisite two-thirds majority votes in both houses of the Legislature. Otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2019. 

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.


Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:
WP, KK, SD, SJS