81R16149 UM-D
By: Otto, Thompson H.B. No. 4229
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the award of attorney's fees in a judicial appeal of
certain ad valorem tax determinations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.29(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) A property owner who prevails in an appeal to the court
under Section 42.25 or 42.26 or in an appeal to the court of a
determination of an appraisal review board on a motion filed under
Section 25.25 may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees. The
amount of the award may not exceed the greater of:
(1) $15,000; or
(2) 20 percent of the total amount by which the
property owner's tax liability is reduced as a result of the appeal.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
42.29, Tax Code, applies only to an appeal under Chapter 42, Tax
Code, of a determination of an appraisal review board that is filed
on or after the effective date of this Act. An appeal under Chapter
42, Tax Code, of a determination of an appraisal review board that
was filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the appeal was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. 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, 2009.