Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1440 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Ellis S.B. No. 1440
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2011; March 22, 2011, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
4	4	Relations; May 6, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
5	5	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 3, Nays 0;
6	6	May 6, 2011, sent to printer.)
7	7	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1440 By: Gallegos
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to the requirement to prepay ad valorem taxes as a
13	13	prerequisite to determining certain motions or protests and the
14	14	authority of an appraisal review board to determine compliance with
15	15	the requirement.
16	16	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
17	17	SECTION 1. Subsections (e) and (g), Section 25.25, Tax
18	18	Code, are amended to read as follows:
19	19	(e) If the chief appraiser and the property owner do not
20	20	agree to the correction before the 15th day after the date the
21	21	motion is filed, a party bringing a motion under Subsection (c) or
22	22	(d) is entitled on request to a hearing on and a determination of
23	23	the motion by the appraisal review board. A party bringing a motion
24	24	under this section must describe the error or errors that the motion
25	25	is seeking to correct. Not later than 15 days before the date of the
26	26	hearing, the board shall deliver written notice of the date, time,
27	27	and place of the hearing to the chief appraiser, the property owner,
28	28	and the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
29	29	in which the property is located. The chief appraiser, the property
30	30	owner, and each taxing unit are entitled to present evidence and
31	31	argument at the hearing and to receive written notice of the board's
32	32	determination of the motion. A property owner who files the motion
33	33	must comply with the payment requirements of Section 25.26 [42.08]
34	34	or forfeit the right to a final determination of the motion.
35	35	(g) Within 45 days after receiving notice of the appraisal
36	36	review board's determination of a motion under this section or of a
37	37	determination of the appraisal review board that the property owner
38	38	has forfeited the right to a final determination of a motion under
39	39	this section for failing to comply with the prepayment requirements
40	40	of Section 25.26, the property owner or the chief appraiser may file
41	41	suit to compel the board to order a change in the appraisal roll as
42	42	required by this section.
43	43	SECTION 2. Chapter 25, Tax Code, is amended by adding
44	44	Section 25.26 to read as follows:
45	45	Sec. 25.26. FORFEITURE OF REMEDY FOR NONPAYMENT OF TAXES.
46	46	(a) The pendency of a motion filed under Section 25.25 does not
47	47	affect the delinquency date for the taxes on the property that is
48	48	the subject of the motion. However, that delinquency date applies
49	49	only to the amount of taxes required to be paid under Subsection
50	50	(b). If the property owner complies with Subsection (b), the
51	51	delinquency date for any additional amount of taxes due on the
52	52	property is determined in the manner provided by Section 42.42(c)
53	53	for the determination of the delinquency date for additional taxes
54	54	finally determined to be due in an appeal under Chapter 42, and that
55	55	additional amount is not delinquent before that date.
56	56	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a property owner
57	57	who files a motion under Section 25.25 must pay the amount of taxes
58	58	due on the portion of the taxable value of the property that is the
59	59	subject of the motion that is not in dispute before the delinquency
60	60	date or the property owner forfeits the right to proceed to a final
61	61	determination of the motion.
62	62	(c) A property owner who pays an amount of taxes greater
63	63	than that required by Subsection (b) does not forfeit the property
64	64	owner's right to a final determination of the motion by making the
65	65	payment. If the property owner files a timely motion under Section
66	66	25.25, taxes paid on the property are considered paid under
67	67	protest, even if paid before the motion is filed.
68	68	(d) After filing an oath of inability to pay the taxes at
69	69	issue, a property owner may be excused from the requirement of
70	70	prepayment of tax as a prerequisite to the determination of a motion
71	71	if the appraisal review board, after notice and hearing, finds that
72	72	such prepayment would constitute an unreasonable restraint on the
73	73	property owner's right of access to the board. On the motion of a
74	74	party, the board shall determine compliance with this section in
75	75	the same manner and by the same procedure as provided by Section
76	76	41.4115(d) and may set such terms and conditions on any grant of
77	77	relief as may be reasonably required by the circumstances.
78	78	SECTION 3. Subsection (c), Section 41.411, Tax Code, is
79	79	amended to read as follows:
80	80	(c) A property owner who protests as provided by this
81	81	section must comply with the payment requirements of Section
82	82	41.4115 [42.08] or the property owner forfeits the property owner's
83	83	right to a final determination of the protest. [The delinquency
84	84	date for purposes of Section 42.08(b) for the taxes on the property
85	85	subject to a protest under this section is postponed to the 125th
86	86	day after the date that one or more taxing units first delivered
87	87	written notice of the taxes due on the property, as determined by
88	88	the appraisal review board at a hearing under Section 41.44(c-3).]
89	89	SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 41, Tax Code, is amended by
90	90	adding Section 41.4115 to read as follows:
91	91	Sec. 41.4115. FORFEITURE OF REMEDY FOR NONPAYMENT OF TAXES.
92	92	(a) The pendency of a protest under Section 41.411 does not affect
93	93	the delinquency date for the taxes on the property subject to the
94	94	protest. However, that delinquency date applies only to the amount
95	95	of taxes required to be paid under Subsection (b) and, for purposes
96	96	of Subsection (b), that delinquency date is postponed to the 125th
97	97	day after the date one or more taxing units first delivered written
98	98	notice of the taxes due on the property, as determined by the
99	99	appraisal review board at a hearing under Section 41.44(c-3). If
100	100	the property owner complies with Subsection (b), the delinquency
101	101	date for any additional amount of taxes due on the property is
102	102	determined in the manner provided by Section 42.42(c) for the
103	103	determination of the delinquency date for additional taxes finally
104	104	determined to be due in an appeal under Chapter 42, and that
105	105	additional amount is not delinquent before that date.
106	106	(b) Except as provided in Subsection (d), a property owner
107	107	who files a protest under Section 41.411 must pay the amount of
108	108	taxes due on the portion of the taxable value of the property
109	109	subject to the protest that is not in dispute before the delinquency
110	110	date or the property owner forfeits the right to proceed to a final
111	111	determination of the protest.
112	112	(c) A property owner who pays an amount of taxes greater
113	113	than that required by Subsection (b) does not forfeit the property
114	114	owner's right to a final determination of the protest by making the
115	115	payment. If the property owner files a timely protest under Section
116	116	41.411, taxes paid on the property are considered paid under
117	117	protest, even if paid before the protest is filed.
118	118	(d) After filing an oath of inability to pay the taxes at
119	119	issue, a property owner may be excused from the requirement of
120	120	prepayment of tax as a prerequisite to the determination of a
121	121	protest if the appraisal review board, after notice and hearing,
122	122	finds that such prepayment would constitute an unreasonable
123	123	restraint on the property owner's right of access to the board. On
124	124	the motion of a party, the board shall hold a hearing to review and
125	125	determine compliance with this section, and the reviewing board may
126	126	set such terms and conditions on any grant of relief as may be
127	127	reasonably required by the circumstances. If the board determines
128	128	that the property owner has not substantially complied with this
129	129	section, the board shall dismiss the pending protest. If the board
130	130	determines that the property owner has substantially but not fully
131	131	complied with this section, the board shall dismiss the pending
132	132	protest unless the property owner fully complies with the board's
133	133	determination within 30 days of the determination.
134	134	SECTION 5. Section 42.01, Tax Code, is amended to read as
135	135	follows:
136	136	Sec. 42.01. RIGHT OF APPEAL BY PROPERTY OWNER. (a) A
137	137	property owner is entitled to appeal:
138	138	(1) an order of the appraisal review board
139	139	determining:
140	140	(A) a protest by the property owner as provided
141	141	by Subchapter C of Chapter 41; [or]
142	142	(B) a determination of an appraisal review board
143	143	on a motion filed under Section 25.25; or
144	144	(C) a determination of an appraisal review board
145	145	that the property owner has forfeited the right to a final
146	146	determination of a motion filed under Section 25.25 or of a protest
147	147	under Section 41.411 for failing to comply with the prepayment
148	148	requirements of Section 25.26 or 41.4115, as applicable; or
149	149	(2) an order of the comptroller issued as provided by
150	150	Subchapter B, Chapter 24, apportioning among the counties the
151	151	appraised value of railroad rolling stock owned by the property
152	152	owner.
153	153	(b) A property owner who establishes that the owner did not
154	154	forfeit the right to a final determination of a motion or of a
155	155	protest in an appeal under Subsection (a)(1)(C) is entitled to a
156	156	final determination of the court, as applicable:
157	157	(1) of the motion filed under Section 25.25; or
158	158	(2) of the protest under Section 41.411 of the failure
159	159	of the chief appraiser or appraisal review board to provide or
160	160	deliver a notice to which the property owner is entitled, and, if
161	161	failure to provide or deliver the notice is established, of a
162	162	protest made by the property owner on any other grounds of protest
163	163	authorized by this title relating to the property to which the
164	164	notice applies.
165	165	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
166	166	a motion to correct an appraisal roll or a protest filed on or after
167	167	the effective date of this Act. A motion to correct an appraisal
168	168	roll or a protest filed before the effective date of this Act is
169	169	governed by the law in effect on the date the motion or protest was
170	170	filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
171	171	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
172	172	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
173	173	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
174	174	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
175	175	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
176	176	* * * * *