84R11743 CJC-F
By: Parker H.B. No. 3012
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the system for appraising property for ad valorem tax
purposes; amending provisions subject to a criminal penalty.
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(c), (h), or (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 6.41, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (d-1), (d-6), and (i) and adding Subsection (d-10) to
read as follows:
(d-1) In a county with a population of 120,000 or more the
members of the board, including auxiliary board members, are
appointed by the local administrative district judge under
Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Government Code, in the county in which
the appraisal district is established. All applications submitted
to the appraisal district or to the appraisal review board from
persons seeking appointment as a member of the appraisal review
board shall be delivered to the local administrative district
judge. The appraisal district may provide the local administrative
district judge with information regarding whether an applicant for
appointment to or a member of the board owes any delinquent ad
valorem taxes to a taxing unit participating in the appraisal
district.
(d-6) An appraisal review board commissioner may [is] not
serve [disqualified from serving] as a member of the appraisal
review board.
(d-10) An individual appointed to the appraisal review
board under Subsection (d-1) who has served for all or part of three
consecutive terms is ineligible to serve on the board during the
term that begins on the next January 1 following the third of those
three consecutive terms.
(i) This subsection applies only to an appraisal district
described by Subsection (d-1). A chief appraiser or another
employee or agent of the appraisal district, a member of the
appraisal review board for the appraisal district, a member of the
board of directors of the appraisal district, a property tax
consultant, or an agent of a property owner commits an offense if
the person communicates with the local administrative district
judge or an appraisal review board commissioner regarding the
appointment of appraisal review board members. This subsection does
not apply to:
(1) a communication between a member of the appraisal
review board and the local administrative district judge regarding
the member's reappointment to the board;
(2) a communication between the taxpayer liaison
officer for the appraisal district and the local administrative
district judge in the course of the performance of the officer's
clerical duties so long as the officer does not offer an opinion or
comment regarding the appointment of appraisal review board
members; or
(3) a communication between a chief appraiser or
another employee or agent of the appraisal district, a member of the
appraisal review board for the appraisal district, or a member of
the board of directors of the appraisal district and the local
administrative district judge regarding information described by
Subsection (d-1) of this section or Section 411.1296, Government
Code.
SECTION 3. Sections 6.42(a) and (b), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) A majority of the appraisal review board constitutes a
quorum. The board may not take formal action at a meeting unless a
quorum of board members is present. The board of directors of the
appraisal district by resolution adopted by majority vote shall
select a chairman and a secretary from among the members of the
appraisal review board. The board of directors of the appraisal
district is encouraged to select as chairman of the appraisal
review board a member of the appraisal review board, if any, who has
a background in law and property appraisal.
(b) The board may meet at any time at the call of the
chairman or as provided by rule of the board, except that the board
may not schedule a meeting on a Sunday. The board shall meet to
examine the appraisal records within 10 days after the date the
chief appraiser submits the records to the board.
SECTION 4. 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 or, if that person has designated an agent under Section
1.111, to the designated agent.
(h) If the chief appraiser learns of any reason indicating
that an exemption previously allowed should be canceled, the chief
appraiser [he] shall investigate. If the chief appraiser [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 on which
the exemption is canceled to the person previously allowed the
exemption or, if that person has designated an agent under Section
1.111, to the designated agent [he makes the cancellation].
(q) If the chief appraiser denies an applicant's
application for an exemption, the chief appraiser shall deliver
written notice of the denial within five days after the date on
which the application is denied to the applicant or, if the
applicant has designated an agent under Section 1.111, to the
designated agent.
SECTION 5. Section 23.54(e), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(e) If a person fails to file a valid application on time,
the land is ineligible for appraisal as provided by this subchapter
for that year. Once an application is filed and appraisal under this
subchapter is allowed, the land is eligible for appraisal under
this subchapter in subsequent years without a new application
unless the ownership of the land changes or its eligibility under
this subchapter ends. However, if the chief appraiser [if he] has
good cause to believe that land is no longer eligible for appraisal
[the land's eligibility] under this subchapter [has ended], the
chief appraiser may require a person allowed appraisal under this
subchapter in a prior year to file a new application to confirm that
the land is currently eligible for appraisal under this subchapter
by delivering a written notice that a new application is required,
accompanied by the application form, to the person who filed the
application that was previously allowed or, if that person has
designated an agent under Section 1.111, to the designated agent.
SECTION 6. Section 23.55(e), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(e) A determination that a change in use of the land has
occurred is made by the chief appraiser. The chief appraiser shall
deliver a notice of the determination to the owner of the land or,
if the owner has designated an agent under Section 1.111, to the
designated agent, as soon as possible after making the
determination and shall include in the notice an explanation of the
owner's right to protest the determination. If the owner does not
file a timely protest or if the final determination of the protest
is that the additional taxes are due, the assessor for each taxing
unit shall prepare and deliver a bill for the additional taxes plus
interest as soon as practicable. The taxes and interest are due and
become delinquent and incur penalties and interest as provided by
law for ad valorem taxes imposed by the taxing unit if not paid
before the next February 1 that is at least 20 days after the date
the bill is delivered to the owner of the land.
SECTION 7. The changes made to Section 6.41, Tax Code, by
this Act do not affect the right of a person serving on the
appraisal review board of an appraisal district on the effective
date of this Act to complete the person's term on the board.
SECTION 8. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an action taken by a chief appraiser to cancel or deny an
exemption from ad valorem taxation or to a determination made by a
chief appraiser that land is no longer eligible for appraisal under
Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, on or after the effective date
of this Act. An action taken or a determination made by a chief
appraiser before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect when the action was taken or the determination was
made, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.