BILL ANALYSIS |
S.B. 2521 |
By: Bettencourt |
Ways & Means |
Committee Report (Unamended) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The bill sponsor has informed the committee that some squatters may take advantage of properties whose owner is recently deceased. The bill sponsor has also informed the committee that taxing units and appraisal districts may not be aware of when a homestead property owner passes away and that the property's homestead exemption should be lifted. S.B. 2521 seeks to address these issues by requiring a local registrar to provide monthly reports to appraisal districts that list each death certificate filed with the registrar and requires the chief appraiser to periodically review the tax roll to determine if any homestead exemptions should be lifted due to the death of the owner.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
S.B. 2521 amends the Health and Safety Code to require the local registrar of an applicable registration district with whom a death certificate is filed to do the following: · prepare an abstract of each death certificate filed with the local registrar during a month for a decedent 18 years of age or older at the time of death; and · not later than the last day of the following month, file each such abstract with the chief appraiser of the appraisal district for the decedent's county of residence.
S.B. 2521 amends the Tax Code to require a chief appraiser to review each death certificate abstract received from the local registrar under the bill's provisions and investigate to determine whether the decedent was allowed an exemption on property that no longer qualifies for the exemption due to the decedent's death and whether an individual qualifies for an exemption on the property as the surviving spouse or a surviving child of the decedent. Subject to the prohibition against a chief appraiser canceling a residence homestead property tax exemption that is received by an individual who is 65 years of age or older without first providing written notice of the cancellation to the individual receiving the exemption, if the chief appraiser determines that the property should not be exempt, the chief appraiser must cancel the exemption and enter notice of the cancellation in the appraisal record pertaining to the property not later than the fifth day after the date the exemption is canceled.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025. |