81R7620 UM-F
By: Williams S.B. No. 1497
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to binding arbitration of certain appraisal review board
orders.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 41A.01, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 41A.01. RIGHT OF APPEAL BY PROPERTY OWNER. (a) Except
as provided by Subsection (b), as [As] an alternative to filing an
appeal under Section 42.01, a property owner is entitled to appeal
through binding arbitration under this chapter an appraisal review
board order determining a protest filed under Section 41.41(a)(1)
or (2) concerning [the appraised or market value of] real property
if:
(1) the property qualifies as the owner's residence
homestead under Section 11.13; or
(2) the appraised or market value, as applicable, of
the property as determined by the order is $1 million or less[; and
[(2) the appeal does not involve any matter in dispute
other than the determination of the appraised or market value of the
property].
(b) A property owner may not appeal through binding
arbitration under this chapter an appraisal review board order
determining a protest filed under Section 41.41(a)(2) if:
(1) the property owner was represented before the
appraisal review board by a person who received compensation for
representing the property owner; and
(2) the owner or the person representing the owner did
not provide to the chief appraiser, at least seven days before the
date of the appraisal review board hearing, copies of all the
evidence the owner or the person representing the owner used in the
appraisal review board hearing.
SECTION 2. Section 41A.04, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 41A.04. CONTENTS OF REQUEST FORM. The comptroller by
rule shall prescribe the form of a request for binding arbitration
under this chapter. The form must require the property owner to
provide only:
(1) a brief statement that explains the basis for the
property owner's appeal of the appraisal review board order;
(2) a statement of the property owner's opinion of:
(A) the correct appraised [or market] value [, as
applicable,] of the property that is the subject of the appeal if
the property is not land appraised under Subchapter C, D, E, or H,
Chapter 23; or
(B) the correct appraised or market value, as
applicable according to the order being appealed, of the property
that is the subject of the appeal if the property is land appraised
under Subchapter C, D, E, or H, Chapter 23; and
(3) any other information reasonably necessary for the
appraisal district to request appointment of an arbitrator.
SECTION 3. Section 41A.05(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) The comptroller may retain an amount equal to 15 [10]
percent of the deposit to cover the comptroller's administrative
costs.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 41A.06, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 41A.06. REGISTRY AND INITIAL QUALIFICATION
[QUALIFICATIONS] OF ARBITRATORS.
SECTION 5. Section 41A.06, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as
follows:
(b) To initially qualify to serve as an arbitrator under
this chapter, a person must:
(1) have completed at least 30 hours of training in
arbitration and alternative dispute resolution procedures from a
university, college, or legal or real estate trade association;
(2) have been licensed or certified continuously
during the five years preceding the date the person agrees to serve
as an arbitrator, as:
(A) [be licensed as] a real estate broker or
salesperson under Chapter 1101, Occupations Code;[,] or
(B) [be licensed or certified as] a real estate
appraiser under Chapter 1103, Occupations Code; and
(3) agree to conduct an arbitration for a fee that is
not more than 90 percent of the amount of the arbitration deposit
required by Section 41A.03.
(c) A person who is registered as a property tax consultant
under Chapter 1152, Occupations Code, is not eligible to serve as an
arbitrator under this chapter.
(d) A person who performs property tax consulting services,
as defined by Section 1152.001, Occupations Code, for compensation
in connection with this title that relate to a particular appraisal
district is not eligible to serve as an arbitrator of an appeal of
an order of the appraisal review board established for that
appraisal district.
SECTION 6. Chapter 41A, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 41A.061 to read as follows:
Sec. 41A.061. CONTINUED QUALIFICATION OF ARBITRATOR;
RENEWAL OF AGREEMENT. (a) The comptroller shall include a
qualified arbitrator in the registry until the second anniversary
of the date the person was added to the registry. To continue to be
included in the registry after the second anniversary of the date
the person was added to the registry, the person must renew the
person's agreement with the comptroller to serve as an arbitrator
on or as near as possible to the date on which the person's license
or certification issued under Chapter 1101 or 1103, Occupations
Code, is renewed.
(b) To renew the person's agreement to serve as an
arbitrator, the person must:
(1) file a renewal application with the comptroller at
the time and in the manner prescribed by the comptroller;
(2) continue to meet the requirements provided by
Section 41A.06(b); and
(3) during the preceding two years have completed at
least eight hours of continuing education in arbitration and
alternative dispute resolution procedures offered by a university,
college, real estate trade association, or legal association.
(c) The comptroller shall remove a person from the registry
if the person fails or declines to renew the person's agreement to
serve as an arbitrator in the manner required by this section.
SECTION 7. Section 41A.08(b), Tax Code, as added by
Chapters 372 (S.B. 1351) and 912 (H.B. 182), Acts of the 79th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(b) The parties to an arbitration proceeding under this
chapter may represent themselves or, at their own cost, may be
represented by:
(1) an employee of the appraisal district;
(2) an attorney who is licensed in this state;
(3) a person who is licensed as a real estate broker or
salesperson under Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, or is licensed or
certified as a real estate appraiser under Chapter 1103,
Occupations Code; [or]
(4) a property tax consultant registered under Chapter
1152, Occupations Code; or
(5) an individual who is licensed as a certified
accountant under Chapter 901, Occupations Code.
SECTION 8. Sections 41A.09(b), (c), and (d), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) An award under this section:
(1) must include a determination of:
(A) the appraised or market value, as applicable,
of the property that is the subject of the appeal, if the appeal is
an appeal of an appraisal review board order determining a protest
under Section 41.41(a)(1); and
(B) the equalized appraised value as calculated
under Section 41A.091 of the property that is the subject of the
appeal, if the appeal is an appeal of an appraisal review board
order determining a protest under Section 41.41(a)(2) and the
arbitrator determines the appeal in favor of the property owner;
(2) may not include any relief or determine any issue
not specified by this chapter [may include any remedy or relief a
court may order under Chapter 42 in an appeal relating to the
appraised or market value of property];
(3) shall specify the arbitrator's fee, which may not
exceed the amount provided by Section 41A.06(b)(3);
(4) is final and may not be appealed except as
permitted under Section 171.088, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
for an award subject to that section; and
(5) may be enforced in the manner provided by
Subchapter D, Chapter 171, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(c) If the value determined under Subsection (b)(1)(A) or
(B), as applicable, or the lower of the values determined under
Subsections (b)(1)(A) and (B), if both paragraphs are applicable,
[arbitrator determines that the appraised or market value, as
applicable, of the property that is the subject of the appeal] is
nearer to the property owner's opinion of the appraised or market
value, as applicable, of the property as stated in the request for
binding arbitration submitted under Section 41A.03 than the value
determined by the appraisal review board:
(1) the comptroller, on receipt of a copy of the award,
shall refund the property owner's arbitration deposit, less the
amount retained by the comptroller under Section 41A.05(b);
(2) the appraisal district, on receipt of a copy of the
award, shall pay the arbitrator's fee; and
(3) the chief appraiser shall correct the appraised or
market value, as applicable, of the property as shown in the
appraisal roll to reflect the arbitrator's determination.
(d) If the value determined under Subsection (b)(1)(A) or
(B), as applicable, or the lower of the values determined under
Subsections (b)(1)(A) and (B), if both paragraphs are applicable,
[arbitrator determines that the appraised or market value, as
applicable, of the property that is the subject of the appeal] is
not nearer to the property owner's opinion of the appraised or
market value, as applicable, of the property as stated in the
request for binding arbitration submitted under Section 41A.03 than
the value determined by the appraisal review board:
(1) the comptroller, on receipt of a copy of the award,
shall:
(A) pay the arbitrator's fee out of the owner's
arbitration deposit; and
(B) refund to the owner the owner's arbitration
deposit, less the arbitrator's fee and the amount retained by the
comptroller under Section 41A.05(b); and
(2) the chief appraiser shall correct the appraised or
market value, as applicable, of the property as shown in the
appraisal roll to reflect the arbitrator's determination if the
value as determined by the arbitrator is less than the value as
determined by the appraisal review board.
SECTION 9. Chapter 41A, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 41A.091 to read as follows:
Sec. 41A.091. DETERMINATION AND REMEDY FOR UNEQUAL
APPRAISAL. (a) An arbitrator may determine an appeal of an
appraisal review board order determining a protest under Section
41.41(a)(2) in favor of the property owner only if the evidence
establishes that:
(1) the appraisal ratio of the property exceeds by at
least 10 percent the median level of appraisal of a reasonable and
representative sample of other properties in the appraisal
district;
(2) the appraisal ratio of the property exceeds by at
least 10 percent the median level of appraisal of a sample of
properties in the appraisal district consisting of a reasonable
number of other properties similarly situated to, or of the same
general kind or character as, the property subject to the appeal; or
(3) the appraised value of the property exceeds by at
least 10 percent the median appraised value of a reasonable and
representative sample of comparable properties appropriately
adjusted.
(b) If a determination would result in an award for the
property owner under Subsection (a)(1) or (2), the award must state
an equalized appraised value of the property calculated by
multiplying the appraised value of the property as determined by
the appraisal review board by the median level of appraisal
according to Subsection (a)(1) or (2), as applicable. If a
determination would result in an award for the property owner under
Subsection (a)(3), the award must state an equalized appraised
value that is equal to the median appraised value determined under
that subsection. If a property owner is entitled to an award under
more than one method of determination, the lowest of the equalized
appraised values is the equalized appraised value.
(c) In making a determination under Subsection (a), an
arbitrator:
(1) shall determine each applicable median level of
appraisal or median appraised value according to law;
(2) is not required to adopt the median level of
appraisal or median appraised value proposed by a party to the
appeal; and
(3) may not limit or deny an award to a property owner
who is entitled to an award based on any method of determination
under Subsection (a) on the ground that the equalized appraised
value according to another method of determination under Subsection
(a) is higher.
(d) For purposes of establishing the median level of
appraisal under Subsection (a)(1), the median level of appraisal by
the appraisal district within the applicable category of property
as determined by the comptroller under Section 5.10 is admissible
as evidence of the median level of appraisal of a reasonable and
representative sample of properties in the appraisal district for
the year of the comptroller's determination.
(e) For purposes of this section, the value of the property
subject to the appeal and the value of a comparable property or
sample property that is used for comparison must be the market value
as determined by the appraisal district if the property is a
residence homestead subject to the limitation on appraised value
imposed by Section 23.23.
SECTION 10. (a) Sections 41A.01, 41A.04, 41A.05, 41A.08,
and 41A.09, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 41A.091,
Tax Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an appeal through
binding arbitration under Chapter 41A of that code that is
requested on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Section 41A.06, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a person who initially qualifies to serve as an
arbitrator under Chapter 41A, Tax Code, on or after the effective
date of this Act.
(c) Section 41A.061, Tax Code, as added by this Act, does
not affect the eligibility of a person who is included on the
registry list of qualified arbitrators on the effective date of
this Act to continue to remain on that registry list before the date
on which the person's license or certificate under Chapter 1101 or
1103, Occupations Code, expires unless renewed.
SECTION 11. 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.