By: Otto H.B. No. 4230
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to good cause for rescheduling a hearing by an appraisal
review board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.04, Tax Code is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 1.04. DEFINITIONS. In this title:
(1) "Property" means any matter or thing capable of
private ownership.
(2) "Real property" means:
(A) land;
(B) an improvement;
(C) a mine or quarry;
(D) a mineral in place;
(E) standing timber; or
(F) an estate or interest, other than a mortgage
or deed of trust creating a lien on property or an interest securing
payment or performance of an obligation, in a property enumerated
in Paragraphs (A) through (E) of this subdivision.
(3) "Improvement" means:
(A) a building, structure, fixture, or fence
erected on or affixed to land;
(B) a transportable structure that is designed to
be occupied for residential or business purposes, whether or not it
is affixed to land, if the owner of the structure owns the land on
which it is located, unless the structure is unoccupied and held for
sale or normally is located at a particular place only temporarily;
or
(C) for purposes of an entity created under
Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution, the:
(i) subdivision of land by plat;
(ii) installation of water, sewer, or
drainage lines; or
(iii) paving of undeveloped land.
(3-a) Notwithstanding anything contained herein to
the contrary, a manufactured home is an improvement to real
property only if the owner of the home has elected to treat the
manufactured home as real property pursuant to Section 1201.2055,
Occupations Code, and a certified copy of the statement of
ownership and location has been filed with the real property
records of the county in which the home is located as provided in
Section 1201.2055(d), Occupations Code.
(4) "Personal property" means property that is not
real property.
(5) "Tangible personal property" means personal
property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or otherwise
perceived by the senses, but does not include a document or other
perceptible object that constitutes evidence of a valuable
interest, claim, or right and has negligible or no intrinsic value.
(6) "Intangible personal property" means a claim,
interest (other than an interest in tangible property), right, or
other thing that has value but cannot be seen, felt, weighed,
measured, or otherwise perceived by the senses, although its
existence may be evidenced by a document. It includes a stock,
bond, note or account receivable, franchise, license or permit,
demand or time deposit, certificate of deposit, share account,
share certificate account, share deposit account, insurance
policy, annuity, pension, cause of action, contract, and goodwill.
(7) "Market value" means the price at which a property
would transfer for cash or its equivalent under prevailing market
conditions if:
(A) exposed for sale in the open market with a
reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser;
(B) both the seller and the purchaser know of all
the uses and purposes to which the property is adapted and for which
it is capable of being used and of the enforceable restrictions on
its use; and
(C) both the seller and purchaser seek to
maximize their gains and neither is in a position to take advantage
of the exigencies of the other.
(8) "Appraised value" means the value determined as
provided by Chapter 23 of this code.
(9) "Assessed value" means, for the purposes of
assessment of property for taxation, the amount determined by
multiplying the appraised value by the applicable assessment ratio,
but, for the purposes of determining the debt limitation imposed by
Article III, Section 52, of the Texas Constitution, shall mean the
market value of the property recorded by the chief appraiser.
(10) "Taxable value" means the amount determined by
deducting from assessed value the amount of any applicable partial
exemption.
(11) "Partial exemption" means an exemption of part of
the value of taxable property.
(12) "Taxing unit" means a county, an incorporated
city or town (including a home-rule city), a school district, a
special district or authority (including a junior college district,
a hospital district, a district created by or pursuant to the Water
Code, a mosquito control district, a fire prevention district, or a
noxious weed control district), or any other political unit of this
state, whether created by or pursuant to the constitution or a
local, special, or general law, that is authorized to impose and is
imposing ad valorem taxes on property even if the governing body of
another political unit determines the tax rate for the unit or
otherwise governs its affairs.
(13) "Tax year" means the calendar year.
(14) "Assessor" means the officer or employee
responsible for assessing property taxes as provided by Chapter 26
of this code for a taxing unit by whatever title he is designated.
(15) "Collector" means the officer or employee
responsible for collecting property taxes for a taxing unit by
whatever title he is designated.
(16) "Possessory interest" means an interest that
exists as a result of possession or exclusive use or a right to
possession or exclusive use of a property and that is unaccompanied
by ownership of a fee simple or life estate in the property.
However, "possessory interest" does not include an interest,
whether of limited or indeterminate duration, that involves a right
to exhaust a portion of a real property.
(17) "Conservation and reclamation district" means a
district created under Article III, Section 52, or Article XVI,
Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, or under a statute enacted
under Article III, Section 52, or Article XVI, Section 59, of the
Texas Constitution.
(18) "Clerical error" means an error:
(A) that is or results from a mistake or failure
in writing, copying, transcribing, entering or retrieving computer
data, computing, or calculating; or
(B) that prevents an appraisal roll or a tax roll
from accurately reflecting a finding or determination made by the
chief appraiser, the appraisal review board, or the assessor;
however, "clerical error" does not include an error that is or
results from a mistake in judgment or reasoning in the making of the
finding or determination.
(19) "Comptroller" means the Comptroller of Public
Accounts of the State of Texas.
(20) "Good cause" means a reason that includes, but is
not limited to, an error or mistake that:
(a) was neither intentional nor the result of
conscious indifference, and
(b) will not cause undue delay or other injury to
the person or entity authorized to extend the deadline or grant a
rescheduling.
SECTION 2. Subsection (e), Section 41.45, Tax Code is
amended to read as follows:
(e) On request made to the appraisal review board before the
date of the hearing, a property owner who has not designated an
agent under Section 1.111 to represent the owner at the hearing is
entitled to one postponement of the hearing to a later date without
showing cause. In addition and without limitation as to the number
of postponements or reschedulings, the board shall reschedule
[postpone] the hearing to a later date if the property owner or the
owner's agent at any time shows good [reasonable] cause for the
rescheduling [postponement] or if the chief appraiser consents to
the rescheduling [postponement]. A request for rescheduling must
be made before the ninetieth day after the date of the hearing. The
hearing may not be postponed to a date less than five or more than 60
[30] days after the date scheduled for the hearing at the time
[when] the postponement or rescheduling is sought unless the date
and time of the hearing as postponed are agreed to by the appraisal
review board, the property owner, and the chief appraiser. A
request by a property owner or the owner's agent for a postponement
or rescheduling under this subsection may be made in writing,
including by facsimile transmission or electronic mail, by
telephone, or in person to the appraisal review board, a panel of
the board, or the chairman of the board. The chairman or the
chairman's representative may grant, but may not deny, a
postponement or rescheduling under this subsection without the
necessity of action by the full board. The granting by the
appraisal review board, the chairman, or the chairman's
representative of a postponement under this subsection does not
require the delivery of additional written notice to the property
owner.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.