By: Muñoz, Jr. H.B. No. 45
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the selection of the board of directors of an appraisal
  district; authorizing the imposition of a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 5.12(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  At the written request of the governing bodies of a
  majority of all the taxing units participating in an appraisal
  district or of a majority of the group of taxing units composed of
  the municipalities, school districts, junior college districts,
  and county participating in the appraisal district [entitled to
  vote on the appointment of appraisal district directors], the
  comptroller shall audit the performance of the appraisal district.
  The governing bodies may request a general audit of the performance
  of the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or
  more particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or
  other appraisal district matters.
         SECTION 2.  Section 5.13(h), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (h)  At any time after the request for an audit is made, the
  comptroller may discontinue the audit in whole or in part if
  requested to do so by:
               (1)  the governing bodies of a majority of all the
  taxing units participating in the district, if the audit was
  requested by a majority of those taxing units;
               (2)  the governing bodies of a majority of the group of
  taxing units composed of the municipalities, school districts,
  junior college districts, and county participating in the appraisal
  district [entitled to vote on the appointment of appraisal district
  directors], if the audit was requested by a majority of those taxing
  units; or
               (3)  the taxpayers who requested the audit, if the
  audit was requested under Section 5.12(c) [of this code, by the
  taxpayers who requested the audit].
         SECTION 3.  Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
  Subsections (a) and (l) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (m) to read
  as follows:
         (a)  The appraisal district is governed by a board of five
  directors. One director is elected from each of the four
  commissioners precincts of the county for which the appraisal
  district is established. The county assessor-collector is a
  director by virtue of the person's office. The directors other than
  the county assessor-collector are elected at the general election
  for state and county officers and serve two-year terms beginning on
  January 1 of odd-numbered years. [Five directors are appointed by
  the taxing units that participate in the district as provided by
  this section. If the county assessor-collector is not appointed to
  the board, the county assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting
  director.] The county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if
  the board enters into a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the
  commissioners court of the county enters into a contract under
  Section 6.24(b). If the county assessor-collector is ineligible to
  serve, the appraisal district is governed by the four directors
  elected from the commissioners precincts and a director elected
  from the county at large. The director elected from the county at
  large is elected at the same election and serves the same term of
  office as the four directors elected from the commissioners
  precincts.
         (a-1)  To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, an
  individual other than the [a] county assessor-collector [serving as
  a nonvoting director] must:
               (1)  be a resident of:
                     (A)  the commissioners precinct from which the
  office is elected, in the case of a director elected from a
  commissioners precinct; or
                     (B)  the county for which the appraisal district
  is established, in the case of a director elected from the county at
  large; [district] and
               (2)  [must] have resided in the appraisal district for
  at least two years immediately preceding the date the individual
  takes office. [An individual who is otherwise eligible to serve on
  the board is not ineligible because of membership on the governing
  body of a taxing unit. An employee of a taxing unit that
  participates in the district is not eligible to serve on the board
  unless the individual is also a member of the governing body or an
  elected official of a taxing unit that participates in the
  district.]
         (l)  A [If a] vacancy [occurs] on the board of directors
  other than a vacancy in the position held by the [a] county
  assessor-collector is filled for the remainder of the unexpired
  term by appointment by the commissioners court of the county for
  which the appraisal district is established. A person appointed to
  fill a vacancy on the board of directors must meet the
  qualifications of the vacated position [serving as a nonvoting
  director, each taxing unit that is entitled to vote by this section
  may nominate by resolution adopted by its governing body a
  candidate to fill the vacancy. The unit shall submit the name of
  its nominee to the chief appraiser within 45 days after
  notification from the board of directors of the existence of the
  vacancy, and the chief appraiser shall prepare and deliver to the
  board of directors within the next five days a list of the nominees.
  The board of directors shall elect by majority vote of its members
  one of the nominees to fill the vacancy].
         (m)  If as a result of a change in the boundaries of a
  commissioners precinct an individual serving as a director no
  longer resides in the precinct from which the office is elected, the
  individual is not for that reason disqualified from office during
  the remainder of the term of office being served at the time the
  boundary change takes effect. If as a result of a change in the
  boundaries of a commissioners precinct an individual elected as a
  director before the boundary change to a term that begins after the
  boundary change no longer resides in the precinct from which
  elected, the individual is not for that reason disqualified from
  serving the term to which elected.
         SECTION 4.  Section 6.036(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (a)  An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for, to
  be appointed to, or to serve on the board of directors of 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:
               (1)  the appraisal district; or
               (2)  a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal
  district, if the contract relates to the performance of an activity
  governed by this title.
         SECTION 5.  Section 6.051(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The acquisition or conveyance of real property or the
  construction or renovation of a building or other improvement by an
  appraisal district must be approved by the governing bodies of
  three-fourths of the group of taxing units composed of the
  municipalities, school districts, junior college districts, and
  county participating in the appraisal district [entitled to vote on
  the appointment of board members]. The board of directors by
  resolution may propose a property transaction or other action for
  which this subsection requires approval of those [the] taxing
  units. The chief appraiser shall notify the presiding officer of
  each governing body entitled to vote on the approval of the proposal
  by delivering a copy of the board's resolution, together with
  information showing the costs of other available alternatives to
  the proposal. On or before the 30th day after the date the
  presiding officer receives notice of the proposal, the governing
  body of a taxing unit by resolution may approve or disapprove the
  proposal. If a governing body fails to act on or before that 30th
  day or fails to file its resolution with the chief appraiser on or
  before the 10th day after that 30th day, the proposal is treated as
  if it were disapproved by the governing body.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 6.06(a), (b), and (i), Tax Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Each year the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
  budget for the operations of the district for the following tax year
  and shall submit copies to each taxing unit participating in the
  district and to the district board of directors before June 15. The
  chief appraiser [He] shall include in the budget a list showing each
  proposed position, the proposed salary for the position, all
  benefits proposed for the position, each proposed capital
  expenditure, and an estimate of the amount of the budget that will
  be allocated to each taxing unit. Each municipality, each school
  district, each junior college district, and the county
  participating in the appraisal district [taxing unit entitled to
  vote on the appointment of board members] shall maintain a copy of
  the proposed budget for public inspection at its principal
  administrative office.
         (b)  The board of directors shall hold a public hearing to
  consider the budget. The secretary of the board shall deliver to
  the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
  participating in the district not later than the 10th day before the
  date of the hearing a written notice of the date, time, and place
  fixed for the hearing. The board shall complete its hearings, make
  any amendments to the proposed budget it desires, and finally
  approve a budget before September 15. If governing bodies of a
  majority of the group of taxing units composed of the
  municipalities, school districts, junior college districts, and
  county participating in the appraisal district [taxing units
  entitled to vote on the appointment of board members] adopt
  resolutions disapproving a budget and file them with the secretary
  of the board within 30 days after its adoption, the budget does not
  take effect, and the board shall adopt a new budget within 30 days
  of the disapproval.
         (i)  The fiscal year of an appraisal district is the calendar
  year unless the governing bodies of three-fourths of the group of
  taxing units composed of the municipalities, school districts,
  junior college districts, and county participating in the appraisal
  district [taxing units entitled to vote on the appointment of board
  members] adopt resolutions proposing a different fiscal year and
  file them with the secretary of the board not more than 12 and not
  less than eight months before the first day of the fiscal year
  proposed by the resolutions. If the fiscal year of an appraisal
  district is changed under this subsection, the chief appraiser
  shall prepare a proposed budget for the fiscal year as provided by
  Subsection (a) [of this section] before the 15th day of the seventh
  month preceding the first day of the fiscal year established by the
  change, and the board of directors shall adopt a budget for the
  fiscal year as provided by Subsection (b) [of this section] before
  the 15th day of the fourth month preceding the first day of the
  fiscal year established by the change. Unless the appraisal
  district adopts a different method of allocation under Section
  6.061 [of this code], the allocation of the budget to each taxing
  unit shall be calculated as provided by Subsection (d) [of this
  section] using the amount of property taxes imposed by each
  participating taxing unit in the most recent tax year preceding the
  fiscal year established by the change for which the necessary
  information is available. Each taxing unit shall pay its
  allocation as provided by Subsection (e) [of this section], except
  that the first payment shall be made before the first day of the
  fiscal year established by the change and subsequent payments shall
  be made quarterly. In the year in which a change in the fiscal year
  occurs, the budget that takes effect on January 1 of that year may
  be amended as necessary as provided by Subsection (c) [of this
  section] in order to accomplish the change in fiscal years.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 6.061(b) and (e), Tax Code, are amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The taxing units participating in an appraisal district
  may adopt a different method of allocating the costs of operating
  the district if the governing bodies of three-fourths of the group
  of taxing units composed of the municipalities, school districts,
  junior college districts, and county participating in the appraisal
  district [taxing units that are entitled to vote on the appointment
  of board members] adopt resolutions providing for the other method.
  However, a change under this subsection is not valid if it requires
  any taxing unit to pay a greater proportion of the appraisal
  district's costs than the taxing unit would pay under Section 6.06
  [of this code] without the consent of the governing body of that
  taxing unit.
         (e)  A change in allocation of district costs made as
  provided by this section remains in effect until changed in a manner
  provided by this section or rescinded by resolution of a majority of
  the governing bodies of the group of taxing units composed of the
  municipalities, school districts, junior college districts, and
  county participating in the appraisal district [that are entitled
  to vote on appointment of board members under Section 6.03 of this
  code].
         SECTION 8.  Section 6.063(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The report of the audit is a public record. A copy of
  the report shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the
  governing body of each municipality, each school district, each
  junior college district, and the county participating in the
  appraisal district [taxing unit eligible to vote on the appointment
  of district directors], and a reasonable number of copies shall be
  available for inspection at the appraisal office.
         SECTION 9.  Section 6.15(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a routine
  communication between the chief appraiser and the county
  assessor-collector that relates to the administration of an
  appraisal roll, including a communication made in connection with
  the certification, correction, or collection of an account,
  regardless of whether the county assessor-collector serves on [was
  appointed to] the board of directors of the appraisal district [or
  serves as a nonvoting director].
         SECTION 10.  Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
  general primary election is as follows:
               (1)  United States senator$5,000
               (2)  office elected statewide, except United States
  senator3,750
               (3)  United States representative3,125
               (4)  state senator1,250
               (5)  state representative750
               (6)  member, State Board of Education300
               (7)  chief justice or justice, court of appeals, other
  than a justice specified by Subdivision (8)1,875
               (8)  chief justice or justice of a court of appeals that
  serves a court of appeals district in which a county with a
  population of more than one million is wholly or partly
  situated2,500
               (9)  district judge or judge specified by Section
  52.092(d) for which this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a
  fee1,500
               (10)  district or criminal district judge of a court in
  a judicial district wholly contained in a county with a population
  of more than 1.5 million2,500
               (11)  judge, statutory county court, other than a judge
  specified by Subdivision (12)1,500
               (12)  judge of a statutory county court in a county with
  a population of more than 1.5 million2,500
               (13)  district attorney, criminal district attorney,
  or county attorney performing the duties of a district
  attorney1,250
               (14)  county commissioner, district clerk, county
  clerk, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county treasurer,
  or judge, constitutional county court:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or
  more1,250
                     (B)  county with a population of under
  200,000750
               (15)  justice of the peace or constable:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or
  more1,000
                     (B)  county with a population of under
  200,000375
               (16)  county surveyor75
               (17)  office of the county government for which this
  schedule does not otherwise prescribe a fee750
               (18)  appraisal district director:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or more
  400
                     (B)  county with a population of under 200,000 200
         SECTION 11.  The following provisions of the Tax Code are
  repealed:
               (1)  Sections 6.03(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h),
  (i), (j), (k), and (k-1);
               (2)  Section 6.031;
               (3)  Section 6.033;
               (4)  Section 6.034;
               (5)  Section 6.037; and
               (6)  Section 6.10.
         SECTION 12.  (a) Appraisal district directors shall be
  elected as provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this
  Act, beginning with the primary and general elections conducted in
  2024. Members then elected take office January 1, 2025.
         (b)  The change in the manner of selection of appraisal
  district directors made by this Act does not affect the selection of
  directors who serve on the board before January 1, 2025.
         (c)  The term of an appraisal district director serving on
  December 31, 2024, expires on January 1, 2025.
         SECTION 13.  (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
  section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2025.
         (b)  This section and Sections 10 and 12 of this Act take
  effect September 1, 2023.