Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2364 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Ellis S.B. No. 2364
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to good cause for rescheduling a hearing by an appraisal
7	7	review board
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 1.04, Tax Code is amended to read as
10	10	follows:
11	11	Sec. 1.04. DEFINITIONS. In this title:
12	12	(1) "Property" means any matter or thing capable of
13	13	private ownership.
14	14	(2) "Real property" means:
15	15	(A) land;
16	16	(B) an improvement;
17	17	(C) a mine or quarry;
18	18	(D) a mineral in place;
19	19	(E) standing timber; or
20	20	(F) an estate or interest, other than a mortgage
21	21	or deed of trust creating a lien on property or an interest securing
22	22	payment or performance of an obligation, in a property enumerated
23	23	in Paragraphs (A) through (E) of this subdivision.
24	24	(3) "Improvement" means:
25	25	(A) a building, structure, fixture, or fence
26	26	erected on or affixed to land;
27	27	(B) a transportable structure that is designed to
28	28	be occupied for residential or business purposes, whether or not it
29	29	is affixed to land, if the owner of the structure owns the land on
30	30	which it is located, unless the structure is unoccupied and held for
31	31	sale or normally is located at a particular place only temporarily;
32	32	or
33	33	(C) for purposes of an entity created under
34	34	Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
35	35	Constitution, the:
36	36	(i) subdivision of land by plat;
37	37	(ii) installation of water, sewer, or
38	38	drainage lines; or
39	39	(iii) paving of undeveloped land.
40	40	(3-a) Notwithstanding anything contained herein to
41	41	the contrary, a manufactured home is an improvement to real
42	42	property only if the owner of the home has elected to treat the
43	43	manufactured home as real property pursuant to Section 1201.2055,
44	44	Occupations Code, and a certified copy of the statement of
45	45	ownership and location has been filed with the real property
46	46	records of the county in which the home is located as provided in
47	47	Section 1201.2055(d), Occupations Code.
48	48	(4) "Personal property" means property that is not
49	49	real property.
50	50	(5) "Tangible personal property" means personal
51	51	property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or otherwise
52	52	perceived by the senses, but does not include a document or other
53	53	perceptible object that constitutes evidence of a valuable
54	54	interest, claim, or right and has negligible or no intrinsic value.
55	55	(6) "Intangible personal property" means a claim,
56	56	interest (other than an interest in tangible property), right, or
57	57	other thing that has value but cannot be seen, felt, weighed,
58	58	measured, or otherwise perceived by the senses, although its
59	59	existence may be evidenced by a document. It includes a stock,
60	60	bond, note or account receivable, franchise, license or permit,
61	61	demand or time deposit, certificate of deposit, share account,
62	62	share certificate account, share deposit account, insurance
63	63	policy, annuity, pension, cause of action, contract, and goodwill.
64	64	(7) "Market value" means the price at which a property
65	65	would transfer for cash or its equivalent under prevailing market
66	66	conditions if:
67	67	(A) exposed for sale in the open market with a
68	68	reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser;
69	69	(B) both the seller and the purchaser know of all
70	70	the uses and purposes to which the property is adapted and for which
71	71	it is capable of being used and of the enforceable restrictions on
72	72	its use; and
73	73	(C) both the seller and purchaser seek to
74	74	maximize their gains and neither is in a position to take advantage
75	75	of the exigencies of the other.
76	76	(8) "Appraised value" means the value determined as
77	77	provided by Chapter 23 of this code.
78	78	(9) "Assessed value" means, for the purposes of
79	79	assessment of property for taxation, the amount determined by
80	80	multiplying the appraised value by the applicable assessment ratio,
81	81	but, for the purposes of determining the debt limitation imposed by
82	82	Article III, Section 52, of the Texas Constitution, shall mean the
83	83	market value of the property recorded by the chief appraiser.
84	84	(10) "Taxable value" means the amount determined by
85	85	deducting from assessed value the amount of any applicable partial
86	86	exemption.
87	87	(11) "Partial exemption" means an exemption of part of
88	88	the value of taxable property.
89	89	(12) "Taxing unit" means a county, an incorporated
90	90	city or town (including a home-rule city), a school district, a
91	91	special district or authority (including a junior college district,
92	92	a hospital district, a district created by or pursuant to the Water
93	93	Code, a mosquito control district, a fire prevention district, or a
94	94	noxious weed control district), or any other political unit of this
95	95	state, whether created by or pursuant to the constitution or a
96	96	local, special, or general law, that is authorized to impose and is
97	97	imposing ad valorem taxes on property even if the governing body of
98	98	another political unit determines the tax rate for the unit or
99	99	otherwise governs its affairs.
100	100	(13) "Tax year" means the calendar year.
101	101	(14) "Assessor" means the officer or employee
102	102	responsible for assessing property taxes as provided by Chapter 26
103	103	of this code for a taxing unit by whatever title he is designated.
104	104	(15) "Collector" means the officer or employee
105	105	responsible for collecting property taxes for a taxing unit by
106	106	whatever title he is designated.
107	107	(16) "Possessory interest" means an interest that
108	108	exists as a result of possession or exclusive use or a right to
109	109	possession or exclusive use of a property and that is unaccompanied
110	110	by ownership of a fee simple or life estate in the property.
111	111	However, "possessory interest" does not include an interest,
112	112	whether of limited or indeterminate duration, that involves a right
113	113	to exhaust a portion of a real property.
114	114	(17) "Conservation and reclamation district" means a
115	115	district created under Article III, Section 52, or Article XVI,
116	116	Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, or under a statute enacted
117	117	under Article III, Section 52, or Article XVI, Section 59, of the
118	118	Texas Constitution.
119	119	(18) "Clerical error" means an error:
120	120	(A) that is or results from a mistake or failure
121	121	in writing, copying, transcribing, entering or retrieving computer
122	122	data, computing, or calculating; or
123	123	(B) that prevents an appraisal roll or a tax roll
124	124	from accurately reflecting a finding or determination made by the
125	125	chief appraiser, the appraisal review board, or the assessor;
126	126	however, "clerical error" does not include an error that is or
127	127	results from a mistake in judgment or reasoning in the making of the
128	128	finding or determination.
129	129	(19) "Comptroller" means the Comptroller of Public
130	130	Accounts of the State of Texas.
131	131	(20) "Good cause" means a reason that includes, but is
132	132	not limited to, an error or mistake that:
133	133	(a) was neither intentional nor the result of
134	134	conscious indifference, and
135	135	(b) will not cause undue delay or other injury to
136	136	the person or entity authorized to extend the deadline or grant a
137	137	rescheduling.
138	138	SECTION 2. Subsection (e), Section 41.45, Tax Code is
139	139	amended to read as follows:
140	140	(e) On request made to the appraisal review board
141	141	before the date of the hearing, a property owner who has not
142	142	designated an agent under Section 1.111 to represent the owner at
143	143	the hearing is entitled to one postponement of the hearing to a
144	144	later date without showing cause. In addition and without
145	145	limitation as to the number of postponements or reschedulings, the
146	146	board shall reschedule [postpone] the hearing to a later date if the
147	147	property owner or the owner's agent at any time shows good
148	148	[reasonable] cause for the rescheduling [postponement] or if the
149	149	chief appraiser consents to the rescheduling [postponement]. A
150	150	request for rescheduling must be made before the ninetieth day
151	151	after the date of the hearing. The hearing may not be postponed to a
152	152	date less than five or more than 60 [30] days after the date
153	153	scheduled for the hearing at the time [when] the postponement or
154	154	rescheduling is sought unless the date and time of the hearing as
155	155	postponed are agreed to by the appraisal review board, the property
156	156	owner, and the chief appraiser. A request by a property owner or
157	157	the owner's agent for a postponement or rescheduling under this
158	158	subsection may be made in writing, including by facsimile
159	159	transmission or electronic mail, by telephone, or in person to the
160	160	appraisal review board, a panel of the board, or the chairman of the
161	161	board. The chairman or the chairman's representative may grant,
162	162	but may not deny, a postponement or rescheduling under this
163	163	subsection without the necessity of action by the full board. The
164	164	granting by the appraisal review board, the chairman, or the
165	165	chairman's representative of a postponement under this subsection
166	166	does not require the delivery of additional written notice to the
167	167	property owner.
168	168	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.