By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1848
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 property owner who
prevails in an appeal to the court under Section 42.25 or 42.26, in
an appeal to the court of a determination of an appraisal review
board on a motion filed under Section 25.25, or 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. The amount of the award may not exceed the greater
of:
(1) $27,000 or, if applicable, the adjusted amount
determined under Section 42.291 [$15,000]; or
(2) an amount equal to 20 percent of the total amount
by which the property owner's tax liability is reduced as a result
of the appeal, but[.
[(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the amount of an award
of attorney's fees may] not to exceed $153,000 or, if applicable,
the adjusted amount determined under Section 42.291 [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].
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 42, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 42.291 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.291. COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT OF ATTORNEY'S FEES
LIMITS. (a) In this section, "consumer price index" means the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City
Average, published monthly by the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics, or its successor in function.
(b) On January 1 of each odd-numbered year the dollar
amounts specified by Sections 42.29(1) and (2) are increased or
decreased by an amount equal to the amount specified by those
sections multiplied by the percentage increase or decrease in the
consumer price index for the period beginning September 1, 2017,
and ending on the September 1 preceding the date of the
determination, rounded to the nearest $1,000.
(c) The amounts determined under Subsection (b) apply to an
award of attorney's fees in an appeal under this chapter that is
filed on or after the date the determination is made until the next
January 1 on which a determination is made under Subsection (b).
(d) The comptroller shall make the determination required
by this section and publish the amounts determined in the Texas
Register. The comptroller may adopt rules related to making that
determination.
(e) A determination by the comptroller under this section is
final and may not be appealed.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an appeal under Chapter 42, Tax Code, that is filed on or after
the effective date of this Act. An appeal under Chapter 42, Tax
Code, that is filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the appeal is filed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.