Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1848 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1848
	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2017; March 23, 2017, read
	3	+	first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 26, 2017,
	4	+	reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 12, Nays 1;
	5	+	April 26, 2017, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	7
3	8
4	9		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	10		AN ACT
6	11		relating to the award of attorney's fees in a judicial appeal of
7	12		certain ad valorem tax determinations.
8	13		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	14		SECTION 1. Section 42.29, Tax Code, is amended to read as
10	15		follows:
11	16		Sec. 42.29. ATTORNEY'S FEES. [(a)] A property owner who
12	17		prevails in an appeal to the court under Section 42.25 or 42.26, in
13	18		an appeal to the court of a determination of an appraisal review
14	19		board on a motion filed under Section 25.25, or in an appeal to the
15	20		court of a determination of an appraisal review board of a protest
16	21		of the denial in whole or in part of an exemption under Section
17	22		11.17, 11.22, 11.23, 11.231, or 11.24 may be awarded reasonable
18	23		attorney's fees. The amount of the award may not exceed the greater
19	24		of:
20	25		(1) $27,000 or, if applicable, the adjusted amount
21	26		determined under Section 42.291 [$15,000]; or
22	27		(2) an amount equal to 20 percent of the total amount
23	28		by which the property owner's tax liability is reduced as a result
24	29		of the appeal, but[.
25	30		[(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the amount of an award
26	31		of attorney's fees may] not to exceed $153,000 or, if applicable,
27	32		the adjusted amount determined under Section 42.291 [the lesser of:
28	33		[(1) $100,000; or
29	34		[(2) the total amount by which the property owner's tax
30	35		liability is reduced as a result of the appeal].
31	36		SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 42, Tax Code, is amended by
32	37		adding Section 42.291 to read as follows:
33	38		Sec. 42.291. COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT OF ATTORNEY'S FEES
34	39		LIMITS. (a) In this section, "consumer price index" means the
35	40		Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City
36	41		Average, published monthly by the United States Bureau of Labor
37	42		Statistics, or its successor in function.
38	43		(b) On January 1 of each odd-numbered year the dollar
39	44		amounts specified by Sections 42.29(1) and (2) are increased or
40	45		decreased by an amount equal to the amount specified by those
41	46		sections multiplied by the percentage increase or decrease in the
42	47		consumer price index for the period beginning September 1, 2017,
43	48		and ending on the September 1 preceding the date of the
44	49		determination, rounded to the nearest $1,000.
45	50		(c) The amounts determined under Subsection (b) apply to an
46	51		award of attorney's fees in an appeal under this chapter that is
47	52		filed on or after the date the determination is made until the next
48	53		January 1 on which a determination is made under Subsection (b).
49	54		(d) The comptroller shall make the determination required
50	55		by this section and publish the amounts determined in the Texas
51	56		Register. The comptroller may adopt rules related to making that
52	57		determination.
53	58		(e) A determination by the comptroller under this section is
54	59		final and may not be appealed.
55	60		SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
56	61		to an appeal under Chapter 42, Tax Code, that is filed on or after
57	62		the effective date of this Act. An appeal under Chapter 42, Tax
58	63		Code, that is filed before the effective date of this Act is
59	64		governed by the law in effect on the date the appeal is filed, and
60	65		the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
61	66		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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