85R893 LHC-D
By: Larson H.B. No. 301
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of an appraisal district to increase the
appraised value of property for ad valorem tax purposes in the tax
year following a year in which the appraised value of the property
is lowered as a result of an agreement, protest, or appeal.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 23.01, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this subchapter to the
contrary, if the appraised value of property in a tax year is
lowered as a result of an agreement between the property owner and
the appraisal district or as a result of a protest or appeal under
Subtitle F, the appraised value of the property as specified in the
agreement or as finally determined under that subtitle is
considered to be the appraised value of the property for that tax
year. In the following tax year, the chief appraiser may not
increase the appraised value of the property unless the increase by
the chief appraiser is reasonably supported by substantial evidence
when all of the reliable and probative evidence in the record is
considered as a whole. If the appraised value is finally determined
in a protest under Section 41.41(a)(2) or an appeal under Section
42.26, the chief appraiser may satisfy the requirement to
reasonably support by substantial evidence an increase in the
appraised value of the property in the following tax year by
presenting evidence showing that the inequality in the appraisal of
property has been corrected with regard to the properties that were
considered in determining the value of the subject property. The
burden of proof is on the chief appraiser to support an increase in
the appraised value of property under the circumstances described
by this subsection.
(e-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (e) of this section and
Section 23.23, if the appraised value of property in a tax year is
lowered under the circumstances described by Subsection (e), the
chief appraiser may not increase the appraised value of the
property in the following tax year by an amount that exceeds the sum
of five percent of the appraised value of the property in the tax
year in which the appraised value of the property is lowered and the
market value of all new improvements to the property. This
subsection does not apply to an increase in the appraised value of
property as a result of:
(1) the property no longer being eligible for
appraisal under Subchapter C, D, E, F, G, or H; or
(2) the expiration of a limitation on appraised value
under Section 23.23(a) applicable to the property.
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to the appraisal of
property for a tax year that begins on or after the effective date
of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 85th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2017, to authorize the legislature to limit the
maximum appraised value of property for ad valorem tax purposes in a
tax year if in the preceding tax year the owner of the property
disputed the appraisal of the property and the appraised value was
lowered as a result is approved by the voters. If that amendment is
not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.