Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1660 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R24002 SMH-D
2	2	By: King of Parker H.B. No. 1660
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1660:
4	4	By: Oliveira C.S.H.B. No. 1660
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the composition of the board of directors of an
10	10	appraisal district.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 5.12(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
13	13	follows:
14	14	(b) At the written request of the governing bodies of a
15	15	majority of the taxing units participating in an appraisal district
16	16	[or of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the
17	17	appointment of appraisal district directors], the comptroller
18	18	shall audit the performance of the appraisal district. The
19	19	governing bodies may request a general audit of the performance of
20	20	the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or more
21	21	particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other
22	22	appraisal district matters.
23	23	SECTION 2. Section 5.13(h), Tax Code, is amended to read as
24	24	follows:
25	25	(h) At any time after the request for an audit is made, the
26	26	comptroller may discontinue the audit in whole or in part if
27	27	requested to do so by:
28	28	(1) the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
29	29	units participating in the district, if the audit was requested by a
30	30	majority of those units; or
31	31	(2) [the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
32	32	units entitled to vote on the appointment of appraisal district
33	33	directors, if the audit was requested by a majority of those units;
34	34	or
35	35	[(3)] if the audit was requested under Section 5.12(c)
36	36	[of this code], by the taxpayers who requested the audit.
37	37	SECTION 3. Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
38	38	Subsections (a), (b), and (l) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
39	39	follows:
40	40	(a) The appraisal district is governed by a board of
41	41	directors. Five directors are appointed by the local
42	42	administrative district judge in the county in which the appraisal
43	43	district is established [taxing units that participate in the
44	44	district as provided by this section]. If the county
45	45	assessor-collector is not appointed to the board of directors, the
46	46	county assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting director. The
47	47	county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if the board
48	48	enters into a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the
49	49	commissioners court of the county enters into a contract under
50	50	Section 6.24(b).
51	51	(a-1) To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, an
52	52	individual, other than a county assessor-collector serving as a
53	53	nonvoting director, must be a resident of the appraisal district
54	54	and must have resided in the district for at least two years
55	55	immediately preceding the date the individual takes office. An
56	56	individual who is otherwise eligible to serve on the board is not
57	57	ineligible because of membership on the governing body of a taxing
58	58	unit. An employee of a taxing unit that participates in the
59	59	district is not eligible to serve on the board [unless the
60	60	individual is also a member of the governing body or an elected
61	61	official of a taxing unit that participates in the district].
62	62	(b) Members of the board of directors, other than a county
63	63	assessor-collector serving as a nonvoting director, serve two-year
64	64	terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered [even-numbered] years.
65	65	(l) If a vacancy occurs on the board of directors, other
66	66	than a vacancy in the position held by a county assessor-collector
67	67	serving as a nonvoting director, the local administrative district
68	68	judge shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy [each taxing unit
69	69	that is entitled to vote by this section may nominate by resolution
70	70	adopted by its governing body a candidate to fill the vacancy. The
71	71	unit shall submit the name of its nominee to the chief appraiser
72	72	within 45 days after notification from the board of directors of the
73	73	existence of the vacancy, and the chief appraiser shall prepare and
74	74	deliver to the board of directors within the next five days a list
75	75	of the nominees. The board of directors shall elect by majority
76	76	vote of its members one of the nominees to fill the vacancy].
77	77	SECTION 4. Section 6.051(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
78	78	follows:
79	79	(b) The acquisition or conveyance of real property or the
80	80	construction or renovation of a building or other improvement by an
81	81	appraisal district must be approved by the governing bodies of
82	82	three-fourths of the taxing units that participate in the district
83	83	[entitled to vote on the appointment of board members]. The board
84	84	of directors by resolution may propose a property transaction or
85	85	other action for which this subsection requires approval of the
86	86	taxing units. The chief appraiser shall notify the presiding
87	87	officer of each governing body entitled to vote on the approval of
88	88	the proposal by delivering a copy of the board's resolution,
89	89	together with information showing the costs of other available
90	90	alternatives to the proposal. On or before the 30th day after the
91	91	date the presiding officer receives notice of the proposal, the
92	92	governing body of a taxing unit by resolution may approve or
93	93	disapprove the proposal. If a governing body fails to act on or
94	94	before that 30th day or fails to file its resolution with the chief
95	95	appraiser on or before the 10th day after that 30th day, the
96	96	proposal is treated as if it were disapproved by the governing body.
97	97	SECTION 5. Sections 6.06(a), (b), and (i), Tax Code, are
98	98	amended to read as follows:
99	99	(a) Each year the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
100	100	budget for the operations of the district for the following tax year
101	101	and shall submit copies to each taxing unit participating in the
102	102	district and to the district board of directors before June 15. The
103	103	chief appraiser [He] shall include in the budget a list showing each
104	104	proposed position, the proposed salary for the position, all
105	105	benefits proposed for the position, each proposed capital
106	106	expenditure, and an estimate of the amount of the budget that will
107	107	be allocated to each taxing unit. Each taxing unit participating in
108	108	the district [entitled to vote on the appointment of board members]
109	109	shall maintain a copy of the proposed budget for public inspection
110	110	at its principal administrative office.
111	111	(b) The board of directors shall hold a public hearing to
112	112	consider the budget. The secretary of the board shall deliver to
113	113	the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
114	114	participating in the district not later than the 10th day before the
115	115	date of the hearing a written notice of the date, time, and place
116	116	fixed for the hearing. The board shall complete its hearings, make
117	117	any amendments to the proposed budget it desires, and finally
118	118	approve a budget before September 15. If governing bodies of a
119	119	majority of the taxing units participating in the district
120	120	[entitled to vote on the appointment of board members] adopt
121	121	resolutions disapproving a budget and file them with the secretary
122	122	of the board within 30 days after its adoption, the budget does not
123	123	take effect, and the board shall adopt a new budget within 30 days
124	124	of the disapproval.
125	125	(i) The fiscal year of an appraisal district is the calendar
126	126	year unless the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
127	127	units participating in the district [entitled to vote on the
128	128	appointment of board members] adopt resolutions proposing a
129	129	different fiscal year and file them with the secretary of the board
130	130	not more than 12 and not less than eight months before the first day
131	131	of the fiscal year proposed by the resolutions. If the fiscal year
132	132	of an appraisal district is changed under this subsection, the
133	133	chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed budget for the fiscal year
134	134	as provided by Subsection (a) [of this section] before the 15th day
135	135	of the seventh month preceding the first day of the fiscal year
136	136	established by the change, and the board of directors shall adopt a
137	137	budget for the fiscal year as provided by Subsection (b) [of this
138	138	section] before the 15th day of the fourth month preceding the first
139	139	day of the fiscal year established by the change. Unless the
140	140	appraisal district adopts a different method of allocation under
141	141	Section 6.061 [of this code], the allocation of the budget to each
142	142	taxing unit shall be calculated as provided by Subsection (d) [of
143	143	this section] using the amount of property taxes imposed by each
144	144	participating taxing unit in the most recent tax year preceding the
145	145	fiscal year established by the change for which the necessary
146	146	information is available. Each taxing unit shall pay its
147	147	allocation as provided by Subsection (e) [of this section], except
148	148	that the first payment shall be made before the first day of the
149	149	fiscal year established by the change and subsequent payments shall
150	150	be made quarterly. In the year in which a change in the fiscal year
151	151	occurs, the budget that takes effect on January 1 of that year may
152	152	be amended as necessary as provided by Subsection (c) [of this
153	153	section] in order to accomplish the change in fiscal years.
154	154	SECTION 6. Sections 6.061(b) and (e), Tax Code, are amended
155	155	to read as follows:
156	156	(b) The taxing units participating in an appraisal district
157	157	may adopt a different method of allocating the costs of operating
158	158	the district if the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
159	159	units participating in the district [that are entitled to vote on
160	160	the appointment of board members] adopt resolutions providing for
161	161	the other method. However, a change under this subsection is not
162	162	valid if it requires any taxing unit to pay a greater proportion of
163	163	the appraisal district's costs than the unit would pay under
164	164	Section 6.06 [of this code] without the consent of the governing
165	165	body of that unit.
166	166	(e) A change in allocation of district costs made as
167	167	provided by this section remains in effect until changed in a manner
168	168	provided by this section or rescinded by resolution of a majority of
169	169	the governing bodies of the taxing units participating in the
170	170	district [that are entitled to vote on appointment of board members
171	171	under Section 6.03 of this code].
172	172	SECTION 7. Section 6.063(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
173	173	follows:
174	174	(b) The report of the audit is a public record. A copy of
175	175	the report shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the
176	176	governing body of each taxing unit participating in the district
177	177	[eligible to vote on the appointment of district directors], and a
178	178	reasonable number of copies shall be available for inspection at
179	179	the appraisal office.
180	180	SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Tax Code are
181	181	repealed:
182	182	(1) Sections 6.03(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i),
183	183	(j), and (k);
184	184	(2) Section 6.031;
185	185	(3) Section 6.033;
186	186	(4) Section 6.034;
187	187	(5) Section 6.037; and
188	188	(6) Section 6.10.
189	189	SECTION 9. Five directors shall be appointed in each
190	190	appraisal district by the local administrative district judge in
191	191	the county in which the appraisal district is established as
192	192	provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, to serve
193	193	terms that begin January 1, 2011.
194	194	SECTION 10. (a) The change in law made by this Act does not
195	195	affect the selection of appraisal district directors serving before
196	196	January 1, 2011.
197	197	(b) The term of an appraisal district director serving on
198	198	December 31, 2010, expires on January 1, 2011.
199	199	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.