81R21107 JAM-F
By: Thompson H.B. No. 2591
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2591:
By: Hamilton C.S.H.B. No. 2591
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of property tax consultants.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1152.152, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A registered senior property tax consultant or an
attorney described by Subsection (a)(2) may not employ, claim an
association with, or sponsor more than 10 registered property tax
consultants.
SECTION 2. Section 1152.156(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) In addition to satisfying the requirements of Section
1152.155, an applicant for registration as a property tax
consultant must:
(1) complete at least 40 [15] classroom hours of
educational courses approved by the executive director, including
at least four hours of instruction on laws and legal issues in this
state related to property tax consulting services and pass a
competency examination under Section 1152.161; or
(2) if the person is eligible for registration under
Section 1152.155(b), submit to the commission evidence that the
applicant has completed at least four classroom hours of
educational programs or courses on the laws and legal issues in this
state related to property tax consulting services.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 1152, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1152.161 to read as follows:
Sec. 1152.161. PROPERTY TAX CONSULTANT REGISTRATION
EXAMINATION. (a) The executive director shall:
(1) adopt a competency examination for registration
as a property tax consultant; and
(2) establish the standards for grading and passing
the examination.
(b) To be eligible to take the examination, an applicant
must pay to the department an examination fee.
(c) The examination must:
(1) test the applicant's knowledge of:
(A) property taxation;
(B) the property tax system;
(C) property tax administration;
(D) ethical standards; and
(E) general principles of appraisal, accounting,
and law as they relate to property tax consulting services; and
(2) be graded according to rules adopted by the
commission.
(d) The department shall offer the examination at times and
places designated by the executive director.
SECTION 4. Chapter 1152, Occupations Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter E-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E-1. PROHIBITED ACTS
Sec. 1152.231. GENERAL PROHIBITED ACTS. (a) A person
required to register under this chapter may not serve as a
registered senior property tax consultant for more than 10
registered property tax consultants.
(b) A person required to register under this chapter may not
file a protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code, without the approval of
the property owner.
(c) A person required to register under this chapter may not
falsify an agent appointment, exemption application, protest, or
other legal document that is filed with or presented to an appraisal
district, an appraisal review board, or a taxing unit.
(d) A person required to register under this chapter may not
file a motion or protest concerning residential property on behalf
of a person whom the registrant does not represent unless the
registrant has authorization from:
(1) that person; or
(2) another person, other than the agent or the firm
that employs the agent, who is authorized by the person to designate
agents under Section 1.111, Tax Code.
Sec. 1152.232. PROHIBITED ACTS: SOLICITATION OF BUSINESS
AND ADVERTISING. (a) A person required to register under this
chapter may not, in a public solicitation for business, represent
that the fee for services rendered includes the hiring of legal
services.
(b) A person required to register under this chapter may not
solicit a property tax consulting assignment by assuring a specific
outcome.
Sec. 1152.233. PROHIBITED ACTS: USE OF INTERNET WEBSITE.
(a) A person required to register under this chapter may not
maintain an Internet website for any purpose associated with the
provision of tax consulting services by the registrant that has a
domain name or other Internet address that implies that the website
is a government website.
(b) A person required to register under this chapter may not
use or maintain an Internet website for the purpose of soliciting
clients if the website does not identify the company prominently on
the home page of the website.
Sec. 1152.234. PROHIBITED ACTS: CERTAIN LEGAL ACTIONS. A
person required to register under this chapter may not engage the
services of an attorney for purposes of filing an appeal under
Chapter 42, Tax Code, without the prior consent of the client.
SECTION 5. Not later than December 31, 2009, the executive
director of the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall
adopt the examination required by Section 1152.161, Occupations
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act to Section
1152.156(a), Occupations Code, applies only to an application for
registration as a property tax consultant that is submitted to the
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on or after March 1,
2010. An application for registration submitted before that date
is governed by the law in effect at the time the application was
submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.