84R8259 CJC-D
By: Raymond H.B. No. 1463
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedure for canceling an exemption from ad
valorem taxation of the residence homestead of an individual who is
65 years of age or older.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.07(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(d) A notice required by Section 11.43(q), 11.45(d),
23.44(d), 23.46(c), 23.54(e), 23.541(c), 23.55(e), 23.57(d),
23.76(e), 23.79(d), or 23.85(d) must be sent by certified mail.
SECTION 2. Section 11.43, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (c) and (h) and adding Subsection (q) to read as
follows:
(c) An exemption provided by Section 11.13, 11.131, 11.132,
11.17, 11.18, 11.182, 11.1827, 11.183, 11.19, 11.20, 11.21, 11.22,
11.23(h), (j), or (j-1), 11.231, 11.254, 11.271, 11.29, 11.30,
11.31, or 11.315, once allowed, need not be claimed in subsequent
years, and except as otherwise provided by Subsection (e), the
exemption applies to the property until it changes ownership or the
person's qualification for the exemption changes. However, the
chief appraiser may require a person allowed one of the exemptions
in a prior year to file a new application to confirm the person's
current qualification for the exemption by delivering a written
notice that a new application is required, accompanied by an
appropriate application form, to the person previously allowed the
exemption. If the person previously allowed the exemption is 65
years of age or older, the chief appraiser may not cancel the
exemption due to the person's failure to file the new application
unless the chief appraiser complies with the requirements of
Subsection (q).
(h) If the chief appraiser learns of any reason indicating
that an exemption previously allowed should be canceled, the chief
appraiser [he] shall investigate. Subject to Subsection (q), if the
chief appraiser [If he] determines that the property should not be
exempt, the chief appraiser [he] shall cancel the exemption and
deliver written notice of the cancellation within five days after
the date the exemption is canceled [he makes the cancellation].
(q) A chief appraiser may not cancel an exemption under
Section 11.13 that is received by an individual who is 65 years of
age or older without first providing written notice of the
cancellation to the individual receiving the exemption. The notice
must include a form on which the individual may indicate whether the
individual is qualified to receive the exemption and a
self-addressed postage prepaid envelope with instructions for
returning the form to the chief appraiser. The chief appraiser
shall consider the individual's response on the form in determining
whether to continue to allow the exemption. If the chief appraiser
does not receive a response on or before the 60th day after the date
the notice is mailed, the chief appraiser may cancel the exemption,
but only after making a reasonable effort to locate the individual
and determine whether the individual is qualified to receive the
exemption. The comptroller by rule shall adopt standards for
determining what constitutes a reasonable effort on the part of a
chief appraiser for purposes of this subsection and distribute
those rules to each appraisal district. This subsection does not
apply to an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for an
individual 65 years of age or older that is canceled because the
chief appraiser determines that the individual receiving the
exemption no longer owns the property subject to the exemption.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an action taken by a chief appraiser to cancel a residence
homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation that is received by an
individual who is 65 years of age or older on or after the effective
date of this Act. An action taken by a chief appraiser to cancel a
residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation that is
received by an individual who is 65 years of age or older before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the action was taken, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.