By: Hilderbran H.B. No. 252
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to application and eligibility for an exemption from ad
valorem taxation of the residence homestead of a person.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.43, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (f) and (j) and adding Subsections (n) and (o) to read
as follows:
(f) The comptroller, in prescribing the contents of the
application form for each kind of exemption, shall ensure that the
form requires an applicant to furnish the information necessary to
determine the validity of the exemption claim. The form must
require an applicant to provide the applicant's name and driver's
license number, personal identification certificate number, or
social security account number. The comptroller shall include on
the forms a notice in English and in Spanish of the penalties
prescribed by Section 37.10, Penal Code, for making or filing an
application containing a false statement. The comptroller shall
include, on application forms for exemptions that do not have to be
claimed annually, a statement explaining that the application need
not be made annually and that if the exemption is allowed, the
applicant has a duty to notify the chief appraiser when the
applicant's entitlement to the exemption ends. In this subsection:
(1) "Driver's license" has the meaning assigned that
term by Section 521.001, Transportation Code.
(2) "Personal identification certificate" means a
certificate issued by the Department of Public Safety under
Subchapter E, Chapter 521, Transportation Code.
(j) In addition to the items required by Subsection (f), an
[An] application for a residence homestead [an] exemption
prescribed by the comptroller and authorized by [under] Section
11.13 must:
(1) list each owner of the residence homestead and the
interest of each owner;
(2) state that the applicant does not claim an
exemption under that section on another residence homestead in this
state or claim a residence homestead exemption on a residence
homestead outside this state;
(3) state that each fact contained in the application
is true; [and]
(4) include a copy of the applicant's driver's license
or state-issued personal identification certificate and:
(A) a copy of the applicant's vehicle
registration receipt; or
(B) if the applicant does not own a vehicle, an
affidavit to that effect signed by the applicant and a copy of a
utility bill for the property subject to the claimed exemption in
the applicant's name;
(5) state [include a sworn statement] that the
applicant has read and understands the notice of the penalties
required by Subsection (f); and
(6) be signed by the applicant.
(n) A chief appraiser may not allow an exemption provided by
Section 11.13 unless:
(1) the address on the driver's license or
state-issued personal identification certificate provided by the
applicant under Subsection (j) corresponds to the address on the
applicant's vehicle registration receipt or utility bill provided
under that subsection; and
(2) the address indicated in Subdivision (1)
corresponds to the address of the property for which the exemption
is claimed.
(o) The application form for an exemption authorized by
Section 11.13 must require an applicant for an exemption under
Subsection (c) or (d) of that section who is not specifically
identified on a deed or other appropriate instrument recorded in
the applicable real property records as an owner of the residence
homestead to provide an affidavit or other compelling evidence
establishing the applicant's ownership of an interest in the
homestead.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an application for a residence homestead exemption filed with a
chief appraiser on or after the effective date of this Act. An
application for a residence homestead exemption filed with a chief
appraiser before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect when the application was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.