84R4808 TJB-F
By: Watson S.B. No. 593
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the award of attorney's fees in a judicial appeal of
certain ad valorem tax determinations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.29, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 42.29. ATTORNEY'S FEES. (a) A court may, in its
discretion, award a property owner reasonable attorney's fees in an
amount authorized by this section if the property owner [who]
prevails in a suit:
(1) filed with [an appeal to] the court under Section
42.25 or 42.26; or
(2) filed with [, in an appeal to] the court appealing
one or more determinations of [a determination of] an appraisal
review board of:
(A) one or more motions [on a motion] filed under
Section 25.25; [,] or
(B) one or more protests [in an appeal to the
court of a determination of an appraisal review board of a protest]
of the denial in whole or in part of an exemption under Section
11.17, 11.22, 11.23, 11.231, or 11.24 [may be awarded reasonable
attorney's fees].
(b) The amount of an [the] award of attorney's fees may not
exceed the greater of:
(1) $15,000; or
(2) 20 percent of the total amount by which the
property owner's tax liability is reduced as a result of the suit
[appeal].
(c) [(b)] Notwithstanding Subsection (b) [(a)], the amount
of an award of attorney's fees 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 suit [appeal].
(d) This subsection applies only if the appraisal district
or the chief appraiser made a written settlement offer to the
property owner on or before the 45th day before the date the trial
began and a record of the offer was submitted to the court. For the
purposes of Subsections (b)(2) and (c)(2), the amount by which the
property owner's tax liability is reduced as a result of the suit is
computed by subtracting the property owner's tax liability
resulting from the court's final determination of the suit from the
property owner's tax liability that would have resulted had the
property owner accepted the most recent settlement offer meeting
the requirements of this subsection.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
42.29, Tax Code, applies only to an appeal filed under Chapter 42,
Tax Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. An appeal
filed under Chapter 42, Tax Code, before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect when the appeal was filed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.