Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3216 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Otto (Senate Sponsor - West) H.B. No. 3216
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2011;
3	3	May 12, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Intergovernmental Relations; May 21, 2011, reported favorably by
5	5	the following vote: Yeas 3, Nays 0; May 21, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to electronic communication between property owners and
11	11	chief appraisers, appraisal districts, appraisal review boards, or
12	12	any combination of those persons.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 1.085, Tax Code, is amended by amending
15	15	Subsections (a), (b), (d), (f), and (g) and adding Subsections (h),
16	16	(i), (j), (k), and (l) to read as follows:
17	17	(a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this title and
18	18	except as provided by this section, any [Except as provided by
19	19	Section 1.07(d), any] notice, rendition, application form, or
20	20	completed application that is required or permitted by this title
21	21	to be delivered between a chief appraiser, an appraisal district,
22	22	an appraisal review board, or any combination of those persons and a
23	23	property owner or between a chief appraiser, an appraisal district,
24	24	an appraisal review board, or any combination of those persons and a
25	25	person designated by a property owner under Section 1.111(f) may be
26	26	delivered in an electronic format if the chief appraiser and the
27	27	property owner or person designated by the owner agree under this
28	28	section.
29	29	(b) An agreement between a chief appraiser and a property
30	30	owner, or the person designated by the owner under Section
31	31	1.111(f), must:
32	32	(1) be in writing or in an electronic form;
33	33	(2) be signed by the chief appraiser [and the property
34	34	owner]; [and]
35	35	(3) be signed by the property owner or person
36	36	designated by the owner in a form acceptable to the chief appraiser;
37	37	and
38	38	(4) specify:
39	39	(A) the medium of communication;
40	40	(B) the type of communication covered;
41	41	(C) the means for protecting the security of a
42	42	communication;
43	43	(D) the means for confirming delivery of a
44	44	communication; and
45	45	(E) the electronic mail address of the property
46	46	owner or person designated by [to represent] the property owner
47	47	[under Section 1.111], as applicable.
48	48	(d) Unless otherwise provided by an agreement, the delivery
49	49	of any information in an electronic format is effective on receipt
50	50	by a chief appraiser, an appraisal district, an appraisal review
51	51	board, a property owner, or a person designated by a property owner.
52	52	An agreement entered into under this section remains in effect
53	53	until rescinded in writing by the property owner or person
54	54	designated by the owner.
55	55	(f) In an agreement entered into under this section, a chief
56	56	appraiser may select the medium, format, content, and method to be
57	57	used by the appraisal district from among those prescribed by the
58	58	comptroller under Subsection (e). If the comptroller has not
59	59	prescribed the media, format, content, and method applicable to the
60	60	communication, the chief appraiser may determine the medium,
61	61	format, content, and method to be used.
62	62	(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if a property owner
63	63	whose property is included in 25 or more accounts in the appraisal
64	64	records of the appraisal district requests the chief appraiser to
65	65	enter into an agreement for the delivery of the notice required by
66	66	Section 25.19 in an electronic format, the chief appraiser must
67	67	enter into an agreement under this section for that purpose if the
68	68	appraisal district is located in a county that has a population of
69	69	more than 200,000. If the chief appraiser must enter into an
70	70	agreement under this subsection, the chief appraiser [and] shall
71	71	deliver the notice in accordance with an electronic medium, format,
72	72	content, and method prescribed by the comptroller under Subsection
73	73	(e). If the comptroller has not prescribed the media, format,
74	74	content, and method applicable to the notice, the chief appraiser
75	75	may determine the medium, format, content, and method to be used.
76	76	(h) The chief appraiser shall provide notice regarding the
77	77	availability of agreement forms authorizing electronic
78	78	communication under this section. The chief appraiser shall
79	79	provide the notice by:
80	80	(1) publishing a notice in a newspaper having general
81	81	circulation in the district at least once on or before February 1 of
82	82	each year that includes the words "Notice of Availability of
83	83	Electronic Communications"; or
84	84	(2) delivering the agreement form on or before
85	85	February 1, or as soon as practicable after that date, to each owner
86	86	of property shown on the certified appraisal roll for the preceding
87	87	tax year and on or before February 1 of each subsequent year, or as
88	88	soon as practicable after that date, to each new owner of property
89	89	shown on the certified appraisal roll for the preceding tax year.
90	90	(i) A property owner or a person designated by the property
91	91	owner who enters into an agreement under this section that has not
92	92	been rescinded shall notify the appraisal district of a change in
93	93	the electronic mail address specified in the agreement before the
94	94	first April 1 that occurs following the change. If notification is
95	95	not received by the appraisal district before that date, until
96	96	notification is received, any notices delivered under the agreement
97	97	to the property owner or person designated by the owner are
98	98	considered to be timely delivered.
99	99	(j) An electronic signature that is included in any notice,
100	100	rendition, application form, or completed application subject to an
101	101	agreement under this section and that is required by Chapters 11,
102	102	22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 41 shall be considered to be a digital
103	103	signature for purposes of Section 2054.060, Government Code, and
104	104	that section applies to the electronic signature.
105	105	(k) Unless the chief appraiser is required to enter an
106	106	agreement under this section, a decision by the chief appraiser not
107	107	to enter into an agreement under this section may not be reviewed by
108	108	the appraisal review board or be the subject of:
109	109	(1) a suit to compel;
110	110	(2) a protest under Section 41.41;
111	111	(3) an appeal under Chapter 42; or
112	112	(4) a complaint under Chapter 1151, Occupations Code.
113	113	(l) Unless the chief appraiser and the property owner or
114	114	person designated by the owner agree otherwise under Subsection
115	115	(b), the chief appraiser, appraisal district, or appraisal review
116	116	board shall deliver a notice electronically in a manner that allows
117	117	for confirmation of receipt by the property owner or the person
118	118	designated by the owner, such as electronic mail. If confirmation
119	119	of receipt is not received by the 30th day following the date the
120	120	electronic notice is delivered, the chief appraiser, appraisal
121	121	district, or appraisal review board, as applicable, shall deliver
122	122	the notice to the property owner or the person designated by the
123	123	owner in the manner provided by Section 1.07.
124	124	SECTION 2. Section 1.111, Tax Code, is amended by amending
125	125	Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as
126	126	follows:
127	127	(b) The designation of an agent must be made by written
128	128	authorization on a form prescribed by the comptroller under
129	129	Subsection (h) and signed by the owner, a property manager
130	130	authorized to designate agents for the owner, or another person
131	131	authorized to act on behalf of the owner other than the person being
132	132	designated as agent, and must clearly indicate that the person is
133	133	authorized to act on behalf of the property owner in property tax
134	134	matters relating to the property or the property owner. The
135	135	designation may authorize the agent to represent the owner in all
136	136	property tax matters or in specific property tax matters as
137	137	identified in the designation. The designation does not take
138	138	effect with respect to an appraisal district or a taxing unit
139	139	participating in the appraisal district until a copy of the
140	140	designation is filed with the appraisal district. Each appraisal
141	141	district established for a county having a population of 500,000 or
142	142	more shall implement a system that allows a designation to be signed
143	143	and filed electronically.
144	144	(k) On written request by the chief appraiser, an agent who
145	145	electronically submits a designation of agent form shall provide
146	146	the chief appraiser information concerning:
147	147	(1) the electronic signature of the person who signed
148	148	the form;
149	149	(2) the date the person signed the form; and
150	150	(3) the Internet Protocol address of the computer the
151	151	person used to complete the form.
152	152	(l) A person may not knowingly make a false entry in, or
153	153	false alteration of, a designation of agent form that has been
154	154	signed as provided by Subsection (b).
155	155	SECTION 3. Section 1.111, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
156	156	applies only to a designation of an agent that is made on or after
157	157	the effective date of this Act. A designation made before the
158	158	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
159	159	designation was made, and the former law is continued in effect for
160	160	that purpose.
161	161	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
162	162	* * * * *