84R9854 TJB-F
By: Ellis S.B. No. 1084
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to ad valorem tax appeals on the ground of the unequal
appraisal of property.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.26, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
as follows:
(a) The district court shall grant relief on the ground that
a property is appraised unequally if:
(1) the appraisal ratio of the property exceeds by at
least 10 percent the median level of appraisal of a reasonable and
representative sample of other properties in the appraisal
district;
(2) the appraisal ratio of the property exceeds by at
least 10 percent the median level of appraisal of a sample of
properties in the appraisal district consisting of a reasonable
number of other properties similarly situated to, or of the same
general kind or character as, the property subject to the appeal;
[or]
(3) the appraised value of the property exceeds the
median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable
properties appropriately adjusted and:
(A) the property qualified as a residence
homestead under Section 11.13 for the relevant tax year; or
(B) the appraised value of the property as
determined by the order of the appraisal review board is $1 million
or less; or
(4) the appraisal ratio of the property exceeds by at
least 10 percent the median level of appraisal of a reasonable and
representative sample of comparable properties in the appraisal
district.
(b) If a property owner is entitled to relief under
Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (4), the court shall order the
property's appraised value changed to the value as calculated on
the basis of the median level of appraisal according to Subsection
(a)(1), (2), or (4), as applicable. [If a property owner is
entitled to relief under Subsection (a)(2), the court shall order
the property's appraised value changed to the value calculated on
the basis of the median level of appraisal according to Subsection
(a)(2).] If a property owner is entitled to relief under Subsection
(a)(3), the court shall order the property's appraised value
changed to the value calculated on the basis of the median appraised
value according to Subsection (a)(3). If a property owner is
entitled to relief under more than one subdivision of Subsection
(a), the court shall order the property's appraised value changed
to the value that in the judgment of the court best reflects the
level of appraisal of other property in the appraisal district
[results in the lowest appraised value]. The court shall determine
each applicable median level of appraisal or median appraised value
according to law, and is not required to adopt the median level of
appraisal or median appraised value proposed by a party to the
appeal. The court may not limit or deny relief to the property
owner entitled to relief under a subdivision of Subsection (a)
because the appraised value determined according to another
subdivision of Subsection (a) results in a higher appraised value.
(e) For the purposes of Subsections (a)(3) and (4), a person
making a determination that property is comparable to another
property must base the determination on the similarity of the
properties with regard to the characteristics described by Section
23.013(d).
(f) The comptroller shall by rule establish standards for
the development and calibration of adjustments for industrial,
petrochemical refining and processing, and utility properties and
other unique properties.
SECTION 2. Section 42.29, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the amount of an award
of attorney's fees to a property owner may not exceed the lesser of:
(1) $100,000; or
(2) the total amount by which the property owner's tax
liability is reduced as a result of the appeal.
(c) An appraisal district, an appraisal review board, or a
chief appraiser that prevails in an appeal under Section 42.26 may
be awarded reasonable attorney's fees. The amount of the award may
not exceed $15,000.
SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2016, the comptroller
shall establish the standards required by Section 42.26(f), Tax
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an appeal under Chapter 42, Tax Code, for which a petition for
review is filed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
appeal under Chapter 42, Tax Code, for which a petition for review
was filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the petition for review was filed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.