81R6855 JD-D
By: Parker H.B. No. 1092
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of the voters of a county to allow the
owners of certain real property to require that county and any
municipal ad valorem taxes be imposed on that real property on the
basis of a five-year average of the property's value.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.19, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (b-3) to read as follows:
(b-3) For real property located in a county in which the
voters have approved the alternative method for calculating county
and municipal taxes under Section 26.095, other than land appraised
as provided by Subchapter C, D, E, or H, Chapter 23, in addition to
the information required by Subsections (b), (b-1), (b-2), and (f),
the chief appraiser shall state in a notice required to be delivered
under Subsection (a) or (g):
(1) the taxable value of the property in each of the
four years preceding the current tax year;
(2) the average taxable value of the property over the
five-year period ending with the current tax year; and
(3) a statement that the property owner may elect to
require county taxes and any municipal taxes for the current tax
year and the next four tax years to be imposed on the property on the
basis of the five-year average taxable value in each year instead of
on the basis of the taxable value for that year by filing a request
with the chief appraiser, including an explanation of the deadline
for filing the request.
SECTION 2. Section 26.09(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) Except as provided by Section 26.095, the [The] tax is
calculated by:
(1) subtracting from the appraised value of a property
as shown on the appraisal roll for the unit the amount of any
partial exemption allowed the property owner that applies to
appraised value to determine net appraised value;
(2) multiplying the net appraised value by the
assessment ratio to determine assessed value;
(3) subtracting from the assessed value the amount of
any partial exemption allowed the property owner to determine
taxable value; and
(4) multiplying the taxable value by the tax rate.
SECTION 3. Chapter 26, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 26.095 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.095. ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR CALCULATION OF COUNTY
AND MUNICIPAL TAX ON CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY. (a) At an election
held in the county, the voters may allow an owner of real property
other than land appraised as provided by Subchapter C, D, E, or H,
Chapter 23, to require that county taxes and any municipal taxes on
the owner's real property be calculated under the method provided
by this section.
(b) An election authorized by this section is called by the
adoption of an order by the commissioners court of the county.
(c) The commissioners court shall call an election if a
number of qualified voters of the county equal to at least 10
percent of the number of voters in the county who voted in the most
recent gubernatorial election petition the commissioners court to
call the election.
(d) An election under this section must be held on the next
uniform election date that occurs after the date of the election
order and that allows sufficient time to comply with the
requirements of other law.
(e) At an election under this section, the ballot shall be
prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition:
"Authorizing an optional method of assessing county and any
municipal ad valorem taxes on certain real property in (name of
county) on the basis of a five-year average value."
(f) If a majority of the qualified voters voting at the
election favor the proposition, for any tax year that begins after
the date of the canvass of the election, an owner of real property
other than land appraised as provided by Subchapter C, D, E, or H,
Chapter 23, may elect to require that the county tax and any
municipal tax imposed on that property for the current tax year and
each of the subsequent four tax years be calculated on the basis of
the average taxable value of the property over the five-year period
ending with the tax year for which the taxes are imposed.
(g) To require that the county tax and any municipal tax be
calculated under this section, the owner of the property must file a
request with the chief appraiser of the appraisal district
established for the county or that appraises property for the
county. The request must include a statement by the property owner
requesting that for the current tax year and each of the subsequent
four tax years, the county and any municipal taxes on the property
described in the request be calculated under the method described
by Subsection (f), subject to Subsections (i)-(k). If the real
property is appraised for municipal taxation by another appraisal
district, the chief appraiser shall forward a copy of the property
owner's request to the chief appraiser of the other appraisal
district. The comptroller by rule shall prescribe the form of the
request.
(h) A completed request must be filed not later than the
later of June 15 or, if the notice is required to be delivered to the
property owner, the 21st day after the date the property owner
receives notice of the appraised value of the real property for the
current tax year. If a property owner timely files a completed
request with the chief appraiser, the county tax and any municipal
tax for the current tax year on the real property described in the
request shall be calculated under the method described by
Subsection (f). If a property owner fails to timely file a
completed request, the county tax and any municipal tax may not be
calculated under the method described by Subsection (f) unless in a
prior tax year the property owner requested the taxes on the
property to be calculated under that method in the current tax year
as one of the subsequent four years covered by the request made in
the prior tax year.
(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (g), the owner of real
property who has previously requested that county and any municipal
taxes on the property be calculated under the method described by
Subsection (f) may waive the owner's entitlement to taxation of
that property under that method in the current tax year. A waiver
under this subsection must be made in writing and filed with the
chief appraiser of the appraisal district established for the
county or that appraises property for the county not later than the
later of June 15 or, if the notice is required to be delivered to the
property owner, the 21st day after the date the property owner
receives notice of the appraised value of the real property for the
current tax year.
(j) If a property owner timely files a waiver under
Subsection (i):
(1) the county tax and any municipal tax for the
current tax year on the real property described in the waiver may
not be calculated under the method described by Subsection (f); and
(2) an additional tax is imposed on the real property
equal to the positive difference, if any, between the taxes imposed
on the property for each of the five preceding tax years, if any, in
which county and any municipal taxes on the property were
calculated under the method described by Subsection (f) and the
taxes that would have been imposed had those taxes on the property
in each of those tax years not been calculated under that method.
(k) A tax lien attaches to the real property to secure
payment of the additional tax imposed by Subsection (j). The lien
exists in favor of the county and the municipality, if any, for
which the additional tax is imposed.
SECTION 4. Section 31.01, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (c-2) to read as follows:
(c-2) For real property located in a county in which the
voters have approved the alternative method for calculating county
and municipal taxes under Section 26.095, other than land appraised
as provided by Subchapter C, D, E, or H, Chapter 23, in addition to
the information required by Subsections (c) and (c-1), the assessor
for the county shall include in the tax bill or separate statement
the average taxable value of the property over the five-year period
ending with the current tax year.
SECTION 5. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed
for a tax year beginning on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010, but only
if the constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to
permit the voters of a county to allow an owner of real property
other than land appraised for agricultural use or timber production
to require that county and any municipal ad valorem taxes be imposed
on the real property on the basis of a five-year average of the
property's value is approved by the voters. If that amendment is
not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.