81R9093 JE-D
By: Gattis H.B. No. 2290
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration of appraisal districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 5.12(d), (e), and (h), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(d) A request for a performance audit of an appraisal
district may not be made under Subsection [(b) or] (c) [of this
section] if according to each of the two most recently published
annual studies conducted by the comptroller under Section 5.10 [of
this code]:
(1) the overall median level of appraisal for all
property in the district for which the comptroller determines a
median level of appraisal is more than 0.90 and less than 1.10;
(2) the coefficient of dispersion around the overall
median level of appraisal of the properties used to determine the
overall median level of appraisal for all property in the district
for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal is
less than 0.15; and
(3) the difference between the highest and lowest
median levels of appraisal in the district for the classes of
property for which the comptroller determines a median level of
appraisal is less than 0.20.
(e) A request for a performance audit of an appraisal
district may not be made under Subsection [(b) or] (c) [of this
section]:
(1) during the two years immediately following the
publication of the second of two consecutive annual studies
according to which the comptroller is required to conduct an audit
of the district under Subsection (a) [of this section]; or
(2) during the year immediately following the date the
results of an audit of the district conducted by the comptroller
under Subsection (a) [of this section] are reported to the chief
appraiser of the district.
(h) In addition to the performance audits required by
Subsections (a) [, (b),] and (c) and the review of appraisal
standards required by Section 5.102, the comptroller may audit an
appraisal district to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of
the policies, management, and operations of the appraisal district.
The results of the audit shall be delivered in a report that details
the comptroller's findings and recommendations for improvement to
the appraisal district's chief appraiser and board of directors and
the governing body of each taxing unit participating in the
appraisal district. The comptroller may require reimbursement by
the appraisal district for some or all of the costs of the audit,
not to exceed the actual costs associated with conducting the
audit.
SECTION 2. Sections 5.13(a) and (h), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) The comptroller shall complete an audit required by
Section 5.12(a) [of this code] within two years after the date of
the publication of the second of the two annual studies the results
of which required the audit to be conducted. The comptroller shall
complete an audit requested under Section 5.12(c) [5.12(b) or (c)
of this code] as soon as practicable after the request is made.
(h) At any time after the request for an audit is made, the
comptroller may discontinue the audit in whole or in part if
requested to do so by the taxpayers who requested the audit under
Section 5.12(c) [:
[(1) the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
units participating in the district, if the audit was requested by a
majority of those units;
[(2) the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
units entitled to vote on the appointment of appraisal district
directors, if the audit was requested by a majority of those units;
or
[(3) if the audit was requested under Section 5.12(c)
of this code, by the taxpayers who requested the audit].
SECTION 3. Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (l) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (m) to read
as follows:
(a) The appraisal district is governed by a board of five
directors. One director is elected from each of the four
commissioners precincts of the county for which the appraisal
district is established. The county assessor-collector is a
director by virtue of the person's office. The directors other than
the county assessor-collector are elected at the general election
for state and county officers and serve two-year terms beginning on
January 1 of odd-numbered years [Five directors are appointed by
the taxing units that participate in the district as provided by
this section. If the county assessor-collector is not appointed to
the board, the county assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting
director. The county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if
the board enters into a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the
commissioners court of the county enters into a contract under
Section 6.24(b)].
(a-1) To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, an
individual other than the [a] county assessor-collector [serving as
a nonvoting director] must:
(1) be a resident of the commissioners precinct from
which the office is elected; [district] and
(2) [must] have resided in the appraisal 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.]
(l) A [If a] vacancy [occurs] on the board of directors
other than a vacancy in the position held by the [a] county
assessor-collector is filled for the remainder of the unexpired
term by appointment by the commissioners court of the county for
which the appraisal district is established [serving as a nonvoting
director, each taxing unit that is entitled to vote by this section
may nominate by resolution adopted by its governing body a
candidate to fill the vacancy. The unit shall submit the name of
its nominee to the chief appraiser within 45 days after
notification from the board of directors of the existence of the
vacancy, and the chief appraiser shall prepare and deliver to the
board of directors within the next five days a list of the nominees.
The board of directors shall elect by majority vote of its members
one of the nominees to fill the vacancy].
(m) If as a result of a change in the boundaries of a
commissioners precinct an individual serving as a director no
longer resides in the precinct from which the office is elected, the
individual is not for that reason disqualified from office during
the remainder of the term of office being served at the time the
boundary change takes effect. If as a result of a change in the
boundaries of a commissioners precinct an individual elected as a
director before the boundary change to a term that begins after the
boundary change no longer resides in the precinct from which
elected, the individual is not for that reason disqualified from
serving the term to which elected.
SECTION 4. Section 6.036(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for the
office of appraisal district director [appointed to] or to serve on
the board of directors of an appraisal district if [the individual
or a business entity in which the individual has a substantial
interest is a party to a contract with]:
(1) the individual or a business entity in which the
individual has a substantial interest is a party to a contract with
the appraisal district; [or]
(2) the individual or a business entity in which the
individual has a substantial interest is a party to a contract with
a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district, if the
contract relates to the performance of an activity governed by this
title; or
(3) the individual is an employee of a taxing unit.
SECTION 5. Sections 6.05(a) and (c), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) Each [Except as authorized by Subsection (b) of this
section, each] appraisal district shall establish an appraisal
office. The appraisal office must be located in the county for
which the district is established. An appraisal district may
establish branch appraisal offices outside the county for which the
district is established.
(c) The chief appraiser is the chief administrator of the
appraisal office. The chief appraiser is appointed by and serves at
the pleasure of the appraisal district board of directors. [If a
taxing unit performs the duties of the appraisal office pursuant to
a contract, the assessor for the unit is the chief appraiser.]
SECTION 6. Section 6.051(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) The board of directors of an appraisal district may:
(1) purchase or lease real property and may construct
improvements as necessary to establish and operate the appraisal
office or a branch appraisal office;
(2) acquire or convey real property; and
(3) construct or renovate a building or other
improvement.
SECTION 7. Sections 6.06(a), (b), (e), and (i), Tax Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Each year the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
budget for the operations of the district for the following tax year
[and shall submit copies to each taxing unit participating in the
district and to the district board of directors before June 15].
The chief appraiser [He] shall include in the budget a list showing
each proposed position, the proposed salary for the position, all
benefits proposed for the position, each proposed capital
expenditure, and an estimate of the amount of the budget that will
be allocated to each taxing unit. [Each taxing unit entitled to
vote on the appointment of board members shall maintain a copy of
the proposed budget for public inspection at its principal
administrative office.]
(b) The board of directors shall hold a public hearing to
consider the budget. The secretary of the board shall deliver to
the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
participating in the district not later than the 10th day before the
date of the hearing a written notice of the date, time, and place
fixed for the hearing. The board shall complete its hearings, make
any amendments to the proposed budget it desires, and finally
approve a budget before September 15. [If governing bodies of a
majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the appointment of
board members adopt resolutions disapproving a budget and file them
with the secretary of the board within 30 days after its adoption,
the budget does not take effect, and the board shall adopt a new
budget within 30 days of the disapproval.]
(e) Each [Unless the governing body of a unit and the chief
appraiser agree to a different method of payment, each] taxing unit
shall pay its allocation in four equal payments to be made at the
end of each calendar quarter, and the first payment shall be made
before January 1 of the year in which the budget takes effect. A
payment is delinquent if not paid on the date it is due. A
delinquent payment incurs a penalty of 5 percent of the amount of
the payment and accrues interest at an annual rate of 10 percent.
If the budget is amended, any change in the amount of a unit's
allocation is apportioned among the payments remaining.
(i) The fiscal year of an appraisal district is the calendar
year [unless the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
units entitled to vote on the appointment of board members adopt
resolutions proposing a different fiscal year and file them with
the secretary of the board not more than 12 and not less than eight
months before the first day of the fiscal year proposed by the
resolutions. If the fiscal year of an appraisal district is changed
under this subsection, the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
budget for the fiscal year as provided by Subsection (a) of this
section before the 15th day of the seventh month preceding the first
day of the fiscal year established by the change, and the board of
directors shall adopt a budget for the fiscal year as provided by
Subsection (b) of this section before the 15th day of the fourth
month preceding the first day of the fiscal year established by the
change. Unless the appraisal district adopts a different method of
allocation under Section 6.061 of this code, the allocation of the
budget to each taxing unit shall be calculated as provided by
Subsection (d) of this section using the amount of property taxes
imposed by each participating taxing unit in the most recent tax
year preceding the fiscal year established by the change for which
the necessary information is available. Each taxing unit shall pay
its allocation as provided by Subsection (e) of this section,
except that the first payment shall be made before the first day of
the fiscal year established by the change and subsequent payments
shall be made quarterly. In the year in which a change in the fiscal
year occurs, the budget that takes effect on January 1 of that year
may be amended as necessary as provided by Subsection (c) of this
section in order to accomplish the change in fiscal years].
SECTION 8. Sections 6.061(a) and (e), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) The board of directors of an appraisal district, by
resolution adopted and delivered to each taxing unit participating
in the district after June 15 and before August 15, may prescribe a
different method of allocating the costs of operating the district
[unless the governing body of any taxing unit that participates in
the district adopts a resolution opposing the different method, and
files it with the board of directors before September 1. If a board
proposal is rejected, the board shall notify, in writing, each
taxing unit participating in the district before September 15].
(e) A change in allocation of district costs made as
provided by this section remains in effect until changed in a manner
provided by this section or rescinded by resolution of the board of
directors [a majority of the governing bodies that are entitled to
vote on appointment of board members under Section 6.03 of this
code].
SECTION 9. Section 6.062(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) The notice must state that the appraisal district is
supported solely by payments from the local taxing units served by
the appraisal district. The notice must also contain the following
statement: "If approved by the appraisal district board of
directors at the public hearing, this proposed budget will take
effect automatically [unless disapproved by the governing bodies of
the county, school districts, cities, and towns served by the
appraisal district. A copy of the proposed budget is available for
public inspection in the office of each of those governing
bodies]."
SECTION 10. Section 6.063(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) The report of the audit is a public record. A [copy of
the report shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the
governing body of each taxing unit eligible to vote on the
appointment of district directors, and a] reasonable number of
copies shall be available for inspection at the appraisal office.
SECTION 11. Section 52.092(d), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) District offices of the state government shall be listed
in the following order:
(1) member, State Board of Education;
(2) state senator;
(3) state representative;
(4) chief justice, court of appeals;
(5) justice, court of appeals;
(6) district judge;
(7) criminal district judge;
(8) family district judge;
(9) district attorney;
(10) criminal district attorney;
(11) appraisal district director.
SECTION 12. Section 172.024, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) For the office of appraisal district director, the
filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the general primary
election is $250.
SECTION 13. The following provisions of the Tax Code are
repealed:
(1) Section 5.12(b);
(2) Sections 6.03(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i),
(j), and (k);
(3) Section 6.031;
(4) Section 6.033;
(5) Section 6.034;
(6) Section 6.037;
(7) Section 6.05(b);
(8) Sections 6.061(b) and (d); and
(9) Section 6.10.
SECTION 14. (a) Appraisal district directors shall be
elected as provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, beginning with the primary and general elections conducted in
2010. Members then elected take office January 1, 2011.
(b) The change in the manner of selection of appraisal
district directors made by this Act does not affect the selection of
directors who serve on the board before January 1, 2011.
(c) The term of an appraisal district director serving on
December 31, 2010, expires on January 1, 2011.
SECTION 15. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2011.
(b) This section and Section 14 of this Act take effect
September 1, 2009.