84R5504 CJC-D
By: King of Taylor H.B. No. 2838
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of the governing body of a taxing unit to
provide an additional exemption from ad valorem taxation of the
residence homesteads of certain surviving spouses of peace officers
and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 11.134 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.134. RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF SURVIVING SPOUSES OF
CERTAIN PEACE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Controlled substance" has the meaning assigned by
Section 481.002, Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Dangerous drug" has the meaning assigned by
Section 483.001, Health and Safety Code.
(3) "Firefighter" means:
(A) an individual employed by this state or by a
political or legal subdivision of this state who is subject to
certification by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection; or
(B) a member of an organized volunteer
fire-fighting unit that:
(i) renders fire-fighting services without
remuneration; and
(ii) conducts a minimum of two drills each
month, each at least two hours long.
(4) "Peace officer" means an individual described by
Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, who is elected,
appointed, or employed as a peace officer by this state, a political
subdivision of this state, or another entity listed in that
article.
(5) "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned by
Section 11.13.
(b) The surviving spouse of a peace officer or firefighter
who has not remarried is entitled to an exemption from taxation by a
taxing unit of all or part of the appraised value of the surviving
spouse's residence homestead if:
(1) the exemption is adopted by the governing body of
the taxing unit in the manner required by law for official action by
the governing body;
(2) the property was the residence homestead of the
surviving spouse on the date the peace officer or firefighter died
or qualified as the residence homestead of the surviving spouse
before the second anniversary of the date the peace officer or
firefighter died;
(3) the peace officer or firefighter was killed, or
died as a result of an injury incurred, while in the performance of
official duties as a peace officer or firefighter; and
(4) the death of the peace officer or firefighter was
not the result of the peace officer's or firefighter's own wilful
misconduct or abuse of alcohol, a controlled substance, a dangerous
drug, or a combination of two or more of those substances.
(c) The governing body of a taxing unit may adopt the
exemption provided by Subsection (b) as a specified dollar amount
or as a percentage of the appraised value of the property.
(d) If a surviving spouse who receives an exemption under
Subsection (b) subsequently qualifies a different property in the
same taxing unit as the surviving spouse's residence homestead, the
surviving spouse is entitled to an exemption adopted by the
governing body of the taxing unit under Subsection (b) on the
subsequently qualified residence homestead.
(e) The assessor and collector for a taxing unit may
disregard the exemption authorized by Subsection (b) and assess and
collect a tax pledged for the payment of debt without giving effect
to the exemption if:
(1) prior to the adoption of the exemption, the taxing
unit pledged the taxes for the payment of a debt; and
(2) granting the exemption would impair the obligation
of the contract creating the debt.
SECTION 2. Section 11.42(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) An exemption authorized by Section 11.13(c) or (d), [or]
11.132, or 11.134 is effective as of January 1 of the tax year in
which the person qualifies for the exemption and applies to the
entire tax year.
SECTION 3. Section 11.43(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) An exemption provided by Section 11.13, 11.131, 11.132,
11.134, 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.
SECTION 4. Section 11.431(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny an
application for a residence homestead exemption, including an
exemption under Section 11.131 or 11.132 for the residence
homestead of a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a
disabled veteran, [or] an exemption under Section 11.132 for the
residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed
services of the United States who is killed in action, or an
exemption under Section 11.134 for the residence homestead of the
surviving spouse of a peace officer or firefighter, after the
deadline for filing it has passed if it is filed not later than one
year after the delinquency date for the taxes on the homestead.
SECTION 5. Section 25.23(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) After submission of appraisal records, the chief
appraiser shall prepare supplemental appraisal records listing:
(1) each taxable property the chief appraiser
discovers that is not included in the records already submitted,
including property that was omitted from an appraisal roll in a
prior tax year;
(2) property on which the appraisal review board has
not determined a protest at the time of its approval of the
appraisal records; and
(3) property that qualifies for an exemption under
Section 11.13(n) or 11.134 that was adopted by the governing body of
a taxing unit after the date the appraisal records were submitted.
SECTION 6. Section 26.10(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) If the appraisal roll shows that a residence homestead
exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d), [or] 11.132, or 11.134
applicable to a property on January 1 of a year terminated during
the year and if the owner of the property qualifies a different
property for one of those residence homestead exemptions during the
same year, the tax due against the former residence homestead is
calculated by:
(1) subtracting:
(A) the amount of the taxes that otherwise would
be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had
the owner qualified for the residence homestead exemption for the
entire year; from
(B) the amount of the taxes that otherwise would
be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had
the owner not qualified for the residence homestead exemption
during the year;
(2) multiplying the remainder determined under
Subdivision (1) by a fraction, the denominator of which is 365 and
the numerator of which is the number of days that elapsed after the
date the exemption terminated; and
(3) adding the product determined under Subdivision
(2) and the amount described by Subdivision (1)(A).
SECTION 7. Section 26.112, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 26.112. CALCULATION OF TAXES ON RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF
CERTAIN PERSONS. (a) Except as provided by Section 26.10(b), if at
any time during a tax year property is owned by an individual who
qualifies for an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d), [or]
11.132, or 11.134, the amount of the tax due on the property for the
tax year is calculated as if the individual qualified for the
exemption on January 1 and continued to qualify for the exemption
for the remainder of the tax year.
(b) If an individual qualifies for an exemption under
Section 11.13(c) or (d), [or] 11.132, or 11.134 with respect to the
property after the amount of the tax due on the property is
calculated and the effect of the qualification is to reduce the
amount of the tax due on the property, the assessor for each taxing
unit shall recalculate the amount of the tax due on the property and
correct the tax roll. If the tax bill has been mailed and the tax on
the property has not been paid, the assessor shall mail a corrected
tax bill to the person in whose name the property is listed on the
tax roll or to the person's authorized agent. If the tax on the
property has been paid, the tax collector for the taxing unit shall
refund to the person who paid the tax the amount by which the
payment exceeded the tax due.
SECTION 8. Section 403.302(d-1), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d-1) For purposes of Subsection (d):
(1) [,] a residence homestead that receives an
exemption under Section 11.131 or 11.132, Tax Code, in the year that
is the subject of the study is not considered to be taxable
property; and
(2) a residence homestead that receives an exemption
under Section 11.134, Tax Code, in the year that is the subject of
the study is considered to be taxable property.
SECTION 9. This Act applies only to an ad valorem tax year
that begins on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 84th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2015, authorizing the governing body of a
political subdivision to provide an additional exemption from ad
valorem taxation of the residence homesteads of certain surviving
spouses of peace officers and firefighters killed in the line of
duty is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not approved
by the voters, this Act has no effect.