81R11125 JD-D
By: Coleman H.B. No. 4509
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of certain real
property owned by a nonprofit hospital or hospital system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.1801, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (k) through (r) to read as follows:
(k) This subsection and Subsections (l)-(r) apply only in
connection with real property that is owned by a nonprofit hospital
or hospital system and consists of:
(1) unimproved land on which an improvement is
proposed to provide charity care and community benefits as required
by this section;
(2) land on which is located an improvement or
incomplete improvement that is under physical preparation within
the meaning of Section 11.18(n); or
(3) land and an improvement on the land that is not
currently used to provide charity care and community benefits as
required by this section but is intended to be used for that purpose
or to be converted or reconstructed for that purpose.
(l) Notwithstanding Section 11.43(c), a person claiming an
exemption under 11.18(d)(1) for property to which this section
applies must apply each year for the exemption. In applying for the
exemption, a person seeking the exemption shall present a request
to the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services
detailing, as applicable:
(1) the proposed use of the land, the improvement, or
the incomplete improvement; or
(2) the proposed use of the land or the improvement
after conversion or reconstruction.
(m) Following submission of the information required by
Subsection (l), the commissioner of the Department of State Health
Services shall determine if the land or improvement qualifies for
an exemption under Section 11.18(d)(1). As soon as practicable,
the commissioner shall send notice by regular mail to the chief
appraiser of the appraisal district for the county in which the
property is located that the person has applied for a determination
under this subsection. The commissioner shall issue a letter to the
person stating the commissioner's determination of whether the
land or improvement qualifies for the exemption and send a copy of
the letter by regular mail to the chief appraiser of the appraisal
district for the county in which the property is located.
(n) Not later than the 20th day after the date of receipt of
the letter issued by the commissioner of the Department of State
Health Services, the person seeking the exemption or the chief
appraiser may appeal the commissioner's determination to the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
The executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission shall consider the appeal as soon as practicable. The
person seeking the determination and the chief appraiser may
testify before the executive commissioner. The executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission may remand
the matter to the commissioner of the Department of State Health
Services for a new determination or deny the appeal and affirm the
determination of the commissioner of the Department of State Health
Services. On issuance of a new determination, the commissioner of
the Department of State Health Services shall issue a letter to the
person seeking the determination and provide a copy to the chief
appraiser as provided by Subsection (m). A new determination of the
commissioner of the Department of State Health Services may be
appealed to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission in the manner provided by this subsection. A
proceeding under this subsection is not a contested case for
purposes of Chapter 2001, Government Code.
(o) The commissioner of the Department of State Health
Services may charge a person seeking a determination that the
property qualifies for the exemption a fee not to exceed the
commissioner's administrative costs for processing the
information, making the determination, and issuing the letter
required by this section.
(p) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall adopt rules to implement this section.
Rules adopted under this section must:
(1) establish specific standards for considering
applications for determinations; and
(2) be sufficiently specific to ensure that
determinations are equal and uniform.
(q) The commissioner of the Department of State Health
Services may not make a determination that property qualifies for
an exemption under Section 11.18(d)(1) unless the property meets
the standards established under rules adopted under Subsection (p).
(r) A person seeking an exemption under Section 11.18(d)(1)
shall provide to the chief appraiser a copy of the letter issued by
the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services under
Subsection (m) determining that the property qualifies for the
exemption. The chief appraiser shall accept a final determination
by the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services as
conclusive evidence that the property qualifies for the exemption.
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to an ad valorem tax year
that begins on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.