| 1 | 1 | | By: Otto, Bohac, Thompson H.B. No. 4230 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the rescheduling of a hearing before an appraisal |
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| 7 | 7 | | review board. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 41.45, Tax Code, is amended by amending |
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| 10 | 10 | | Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (e) On request made to the appraisal review board before the |
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| 12 | 12 | | date of the hearing, a property owner who has not designated an |
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| 13 | 13 | | agent under Section 1.111 to represent the owner at the hearing is |
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| 14 | 14 | | entitled to one postponement of the hearing to a later date without |
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| 15 | 15 | | showing cause. In addition and without limitation as to the number |
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| 16 | 16 | | of postponements or reschedulings, the board shall reschedule |
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| 17 | 17 | | [postpone] the hearing to a later date if before the 90th day after |
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| 18 | 18 | | the date originally scheduled for the hearing the property owner or |
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| 19 | 19 | | the owner's agent requests that the hearing be rescheduled and [at |
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| 20 | 20 | | any time] shows good [reasonable] cause for the rescheduling |
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| 21 | 21 | | [postponement] or obtains [if] the consent of the chief appraiser |
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| 22 | 22 | | [consents] to the rescheduling [postponement]. The hearing may |
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| 23 | 23 | | not be postponed or rescheduled to a date less than five or more |
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| 24 | 24 | | than 60 [30] days after the date scheduled for the hearing at the |
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| 25 | 25 | | time [when] the postponement or rescheduling is sought unless the |
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| 26 | 26 | | date and time of the hearing as postponed are agreed to by the |
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| 27 | 27 | | chairman of the appraisal review board, the property owner, and the |
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| 28 | 28 | | chief appraiser. A request by a property owner or an owner's agent |
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| 29 | 29 | | for a postponement or a rescheduling under this subsection may be |
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| 30 | 30 | | made in writing, including by facsimile transmission or electronic |
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| 31 | 31 | | mail, by telephone, or in person to the appraisal review board, a |
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| 32 | 32 | | panel of the board, or the chairman of the board. The chairman or |
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| 33 | 33 | | the chairman's representative may grant, but may not deny, a |
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| 34 | 34 | | postponement or rescheduling under this subsection without the |
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| 35 | 35 | | necessity of action by the full board. The granting by the |
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| 36 | 36 | | appraisal review board, the chairman, or the chairman's |
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| 37 | 37 | | representative of a postponement or a rescheduling under this |
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| 38 | 38 | | subsection does not require the delivery of additional written |
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| 39 | 39 | | notice to the property owner. A hearing may not be rescheduled if |
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| 40 | 40 | | the rescheduling would cause undue delay to the appraisal review |
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| 41 | 41 | | board. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (e-1) For purposes of Subsection (e), "good cause" means a |
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| 43 | 43 | | reason that includes an error or mistake that was not intentional or |
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| 44 | 44 | | the result of conscious indifference. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 46 | 46 | | to a protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code, that is filed on or after |
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| 47 | 47 | | the effective date of this Act. A protest under Chapter 41, Tax |
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| 48 | 48 | | Code, that was filed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 49 | 49 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the protest was filed, and |
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| 50 | 50 | | the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 51 | 51 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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