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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a temporary exemption for a residence homestead |
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rendered uninhabitable. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 11, Property Tax Code, is amended by |
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adding Section 11.36 to read as follows: |
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Section 11.36. TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FOR RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD |
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RENDERED UNINHABITABLE. |
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(a) In this section: |
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(1) "Damage" means physical damage. |
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(2) "Qualified property" means an improvement to real |
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property: |
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(A) that a person owns and has qualified as his |
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residence homestead and that receives an exemption under Section |
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11.13; and |
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(B) that has been rendered uninhabitable because |
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of physical damage but that is not located in an area the governor |
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has declared a disaster area. |
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(b) A person is entitled to an exemption from taxation by a |
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taxing unit of a portion of the appraised value of qualified |
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property that the person owns in an amount determined under |
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Subsection (e}. |
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(c) On receipt of an application for the exemption |
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authorized by this section, the chief appraiser shall determine |
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whether any item of qualified property that is the subject of the |
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application has been rendered uninhabitable and assign to each such |
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item of qualified property a damage assessment rating of Level I, |
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Level II, or Level III, as appropriate, as provided by Subsection |
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(d). |
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(d) The chief appraiser shall assign to an item of qualified |
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property: |
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(1) a Level I damage assessment rating if the property |
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is at least 30 percent, but less than 60 percent, damaged, meaning |
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that the property has suffered only nonstructural damage, including |
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nonstructural damage to the roof, walls, foundation, or mechanical |
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components, and the waterline, if any, is less than 18 inches above |
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the floor; |
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(2) a Level II damage assessment rating if the |
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property is at least 60 percent damaged but is not a total loss, |
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meaning that the property has suffered significant structural |
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damage requiring extensive repair due to the failure or partial |
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failure of structural elements, wall elements, or the foundation, |
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or the waterline, if any, is at least 18 inches above the floor; or |
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(3) a Level III damage assessment rating if the |
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property is a total loss, meaning that repair of the property is not |
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feasible. |
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(e) Subject to Subsection (f), the amount of the exemption |
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authorized by this section for an item of qualified property is |
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determined by multiplying the appraised value, determined for the |
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tax year in which the disaster occurred, of the property by: |
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(1) 30 percent, if the property is assigned a Level I |
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damage assessment rating; |
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(2) 60 percent, if the property is assigned a Level II |
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damage assessment rating; or |
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(3) 100 percent, if the property is assigned a Level |
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III damage assessment rating. |
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(f) If a person qualifies for the exemption authorized by |
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this section after the beginning of the tax year, the amount of the |
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exemption is calculated by multiplying the amount determined under |
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Subsection (e) by a fraction, the denominator of which is 365 and |
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the numerator of which is the number of days remaining in the tax |
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year after the day on which the person's qualified property is |
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damaged, including the day on which the damage occurred. |
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(g) If a person qualifies for the exemption authorized by |
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this section after the amount of the tax due on the qualified |
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property is calculated and the effect of the qualification is to |
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reduce the amount of the tax due on the property, the assessor for |
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each applicable taxing unit shall recalculate the amount of the tax |
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due on the property and correct the tax roll. If the tax bill has |
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been mailed and the tax on the property has not been paid, the |
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assessor shall mail a corrected tax bill to the person in whose name |
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the property is listed on the tax roll or to the person's authorized |
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agent. If the tax on the property has been paid, the tax collector |
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for the taxing unit shall refund to the person who paid the tax the |
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amount by which the payment exceeded the tax due. No interest is |
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due on an amount refunded under this subsection. |
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(h) The exemption authorized by this section expires as to |
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an item of qualified property on January 1 of the first tax year in |
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which the property is reappraised under Section 25.18. |
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SECTION 2. The exemption provided by this action applies |
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only to an application received on or after the effective date of |
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this section. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |