85R2534 CJC-D
By: Keough H.B. No. 758
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a religious organization to obtain a
refund of ad valorem taxes imposed on property leased to the
organization for use as an actual place of religious worship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 31.112 to read as follows:
Sec. 31.112. REFUNDS TO RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS OF TAXES ON
CERTAIN LEASED PROPERTY. (a) In this section:
(1) "Religious organization" means an organization
that qualifies as a religious organization under Section 11.20.
(2) "Religious worship" has the meaning assigned by
Section 11.20.
(b) A religious organization is entitled to receive from the
collector for a taxing unit a refund of the taxes paid by the owner
of the property on property that is leased to the organization and
used primarily as a place of regular religious worship. The
collector shall pay the refund from available current tax
collections or from funds appropriated by the taxing unit for
making refunds.
(c) To receive a refund under this section, a religious
organization claiming the refund must apply for the refund. The
organization must apply for the refund not later than the third
anniversary of the date the taxes on the property were paid or the
organization waives the right to the refund.
(d) An application for a refund under this section must be
made using a form prescribed by the comptroller by rule. The
application form must include information sufficient to enable the
collector for the taxing unit to determine:
(1) whether the religious organization is entitled to
the refund; and
(2) the amount of the refund to which the organization
is entitled, if any.
(e) If the collector for a taxing unit does not respond to an
application for a refund under this section on or before the 90th
day after the date the application is filed with the collector, the
application is presumed to have been denied.
(f) Not later than the 60th day after the date the collector
for a taxing unit denies an application for a refund under this
section, the religious organization may file suit against the
taxing unit in district court to compel the payment of the
refund. If the collector collects taxes for more than one taxing
unit, the organization shall join in the suit each taxing unit on
behalf of which the collector denied the refund. If the
organization prevails in the suit, the organization may be awarded:
(1) costs of court; and
(2) reasonable attorney's fees in an amount not to
exceed the greater of:
(A) $1,500; or
(B) 30 percent of the total amount of the refund
determined by the court to be due.
SECTION 2. Sections 31.12(a) and (b), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) If a refund of a tax provided by Section 11.431(b),
26.07(g), 26.15(f), 31.11, [or] 31.111, or 31.112 is paid on or
before the 60th day after the date the liability for the refund
arises, no interest is due on the amount refunded. If not paid on or
before that 60th day, the amount of the tax to be refunded accrues
interest at a rate of one percent for each month or part of a month
that the refund is unpaid, beginning with the date on which the
liability for the refund arises.
(b) For purposes of this section, liability for a refund
arises:
(1) if the refund is required by Section 11.431(b), on
the date the chief appraiser notifies the collector for the unit of
the approval of the late homestead exemption;
(2) if the refund is required by Section 26.07(g), on
the date the results of the election to reduce the tax rate are
certified;
(3) if the refund is required by Section 26.15(f):
(A) for a correction to the tax roll made under
Section 26.15(b), on the date the change in the tax roll is
certified to the assessor for the taxing unit under Section 25.25;
or
(B) for a correction to the tax roll made under
Section 26.15(c), on the date the change in the tax roll is ordered
by the governing body of the taxing unit;
(4) if the refund is required by Section 31.11, on the
date the auditor for the taxing unit determines that the payment was
erroneous or excessive or, if the amount of the refund exceeds the
applicable amount specified by Section 31.11(a), on the date the
governing body of the unit approves the refund; [or]
(5) if the refund is required by Section 31.111, on the
date the collector for the taxing unit determines that the payment
was erroneous; or
(6) if the refund is required by Section 31.112, on the
date the collector for the taxing unit determines the religious
organization is entitled to the refund.
SECTION 3. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed
for a tax year that begins on or after the effective date of this
Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 85th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2017, authorizing the legislature to provide for
the refund of ad valorem taxes imposed on property leased to a
religious organization for use as an actual place of religious
worship is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not
approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.