89R16229 MLH-D

By: Plesa H.B. No. 4013

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the composition of the board of directors of certain appraisal districts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 6.0301, Tax Code, is amended by amending Subsections (c), (d), and (g) and adding Subsections (b-1), (c-1), (c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows:

(b-1) The board of directors of the appraisal district shall divide the district into four numbered, single-member districts for electing directors.

(c) The appraisal district is governed by a board of nine directors. Four [Five] directors are appointed by the taxing units that participate in the district in the manner prescribed by Section 6.03. One director is elected from each single-member district. To be elected to a position on the board of directors of the district, a candidate must receive more votes than any other candidate for that position. The district shall hold an election to elect the appropriate number of directors on the uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, in November of each even-numbered year. [Three directors are elected by majority vote at the general election for state and county officers by the voters of the county in which the district is established.] The county assessor-collector serves as an ex officio director.

(c-1) The board of directors may revise the single-member districts as necessary or appropriate.

(c-2) The board of directors shall revise each single-member district after each federal decennial census to reflect population changes.

(c-3) When the boundaries of the single-member districts are changed, a director in office on the effective date of the change, or elected or appointed before the effective date of the change to a term of office beginning on or after the effective date of the change, is entitled to serve the term or the remainder of the term in the single-member district to which elected or appointed even though the change in boundaries places the director's residence outside the single-member district from which the director was elected or appointed.

(d) To be eligible to serve in an appointive position on the board of directors, an individual [other than the county assessor-collector] must be a resident of the district and must have resided in the district for at least two years immediately preceding the date the individual takes office. To be eligible to serve in an elective position on the board of directors, an individual must be a resident of the single-member district from which the individual is elected and have resided in the single-member 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.

(g) If a vacancy occurs in an elective position on the board of directors, the board of directors shall appoint by majority vote of its members a person to fill the vacancy. A person appointed to fill a vacancy in an elective position must have the qualifications required of a director elected at a general election for the position on the board to which the person is appointed.

SECTION 2. Section 6.032, Tax Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) A person shall indicate on the application for a place on the ballot the single-member district that the person seeks to represent.

SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2026, the board of directors of each appraisal district established in a county with a population of 75,000 or more shall divide the district into single-member districts as required by Section 6.0301(b-1), Tax Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. Sections 5.13(b), (c), and (d), Chapter 1 (S.B. 2), Acts of the 88th Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 2023, are repealed.

SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an election of members of the board of directors of an appraisal district that is held on or after January 1, 2026.

(b) At the first meeting of the board of directors of an appraisal district described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, that is held on or after January 1, 2027, the four directors elected on the uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, in November 2026 shall draw lots to determine which two directors shall serve a term of two years and which two directors shall serve a term of four years. Thereafter, all elected directors serve four-year terms.

(c) The term of an appointed appraisal district director serving on December 31, 2026, on the board of directors of an appraisal district described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, expires on January 1, 2027. Not later than December 31, 2026, the taxing units participating in the appraisal district that are entitled to appoint directors shall appoint four directors to serve terms that begin on January 1, 2027. Two directors shall be appointed to serve a term of one year, and the other two directors shall be appointed to serve a term of three years. Thereafter, all appointed directors serve four-year terms.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.