BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 1130 By: Hegar Ways & Means Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Legislation enacted in 2007 exempted certain property tax appraisal information from required disclosure under open records law, with the intention of protecting against data dump requests made by individuals seeking comparable real estate price information that is otherwise provided by multiple listing services. According to interested parties, this created a problem for rural homeowners considering a protest of their appraised homestead value, because they were no longer able to access comparable sales information before filing the protest. More recent legislation sought to address this problem by excepting counties with a population of less than 20,000 from the exemption, in recognition of the fact that many small counties do not have multiple listing services' data. S.B. 1130 seeks to resolve the problem for other counties that lack multiple listing services' data by expanding that exception to include more counties. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS S.B. 1130 amends a Government Code provision excepting certain property tax appraisal information received by the comptroller of public accounts or the chief appraiser of an appraisal district from a private entity, including sales prices, descriptions, and characteristics and information relating to a taxpayer protest, from required public disclosure by expanding the exception to include such information about real property located in a county having a population of 50,000 or more, rather than 20,000 or more. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
S.B. 1130
By: Hegar
Ways & Means
Committee Report (Unamended)
S.B. 1130
By: Hegar
Ways & Means
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Legislation enacted in 2007 exempted certain property tax appraisal information from required disclosure under open records law, with the intention of protecting against data dump requests made by individuals seeking comparable real estate price information that is otherwise provided by multiple listing services. According to interested parties, this created a problem for rural homeowners considering a protest of their appraised homestead value, because they were no longer able to access comparable sales information before filing the protest. More recent legislation sought to address this problem by excepting counties with a population of less than 20,000 from the exemption, in recognition of the fact that many small counties do not have multiple listing services' data. S.B. 1130 seeks to resolve the problem for other counties that lack multiple listing services' data by expanding that exception to include more counties.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS S.B. 1130 amends a Government Code provision excepting certain property tax appraisal information received by the comptroller of public accounts or the chief appraiser of an appraisal district from a private entity, including sales prices, descriptions, and characteristics and information relating to a taxpayer protest, from required public disclosure by expanding the exception to include such information about real property located in a county having a population of 50,000 or more, rather than 20,000 or more.
EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Legislation enacted in 2007 exempted certain property tax appraisal information from required disclosure under open records law, with the intention of protecting against data dump requests made by individuals seeking comparable real estate price information that is otherwise provided by multiple listing services. According to interested parties, this created a problem for rural homeowners considering a protest of their appraised homestead value, because they were no longer able to access comparable sales information before filing the protest. More recent legislation sought to address this problem by excepting counties with a population of less than 20,000 from the exemption, in recognition of the fact that many small counties do not have multiple listing services' data. S.B. 1130 seeks to resolve the problem for other counties that lack multiple listing services' data by expanding that exception to include more counties.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
S.B. 1130 amends a Government Code provision excepting certain property tax appraisal information received by the comptroller of public accounts or the chief appraiser of an appraisal district from a private entity, including sales prices, descriptions, and characteristics and information relating to a taxpayer protest, from required public disclosure by expanding the exception to include such information about real property located in a county having a population of 50,000 or more, rather than 20,000 or more.
EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.