85S11032 CJC-D
By: Burkett H.B. No. 348
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration of appraisal districts; authorizing
a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.103(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) The model hearing procedures shall address:
(1) the statutory duties of an appraisal review board;
(2) the process for conducting a hearing;
(3) the scheduling of hearings;
(4) the postponement of hearings;
(5) the notices required under this title;
(6) the determination of good cause under Section
41.44(b);
(7) the determination of good cause under Sections
41.45(e) and (e-1);
(8) a party's right to offer evidence and argument;
(9) a party's right to examine or cross-examine
witnesses or other parties;
(10) a party's right to appear by an agent;
(11) the prohibition of an appraisal review board's
consideration of information not provided at a hearing;
(12) ex parte and other prohibited communications;
(13) the exclusion of evidence at a hearing as
required by Section 41.67(d);
(14) the postponement of a hearing as required by
Section 41.66(h);
(15) conflicts of interest; and
(16) [the process for the administration of
applications for membership on an appraisal review board; and
[(17)] any other matter related to fair and efficient
appraisal review board hearings.
SECTION 2. Section 5.12(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) At the written request of the governing bodies of a
majority of the taxing units participating in an appraisal district
[or of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the
appointment of appraisal district directors], the comptroller
shall audit the performance of the appraisal district. The
governing bodies may request a general audit of the performance of
the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or more
particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other
appraisal district matters.
SECTION 3. Section 5.13(h), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(h) At any time after the request for an audit is made, the
comptroller may discontinue the audit in whole or in part if
requested to do so by:
(1) the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
units participating in the district, if the audit was requested by a
majority of those units; or
(2) the taxpayers who requested the audit, [the
governing bodies of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote
on the appointment of appraisal district directors, if the audit
was requested by a majority of those units; or
[(3)] if the audit was requested under Section 5.12(c)
[of this code, by the taxpayers who requested the audit].
SECTION 4. Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (l) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3),
and (m) to read as follows:
(a) The appraisal district is governed by a board of five or
seven directors, as provided by Subsections (a-1) and (a-2).
(a-1) This subsection applies to an appraisal district
established in a county with a population of less than 200,000. The
appraisal district is governed by a board of five directors. One
director is elected from each of the four commissioners precincts
of the county for which the appraisal district is established. The
county assessor-collector is a director by virtue of the person's
office. The directors other than the county assessor-collector are
elected at the general election for state and county officers and
serve two-year terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered years.
[Five directors are appointed by the taxing units that participate
in the district as provided by this section. If the county
assessor-collector is not appointed to the board, the county
assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting director.] The county
assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if the board enters into
a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the commissioners court of
the county enters into a contract under Section 6.24(b). If the
county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve, the appraisal
district is governed by the four directors elected from the
commissioners precincts and a director elected from the county at
large. The director elected from the county at large is elected at
the same election and serves the same term of office as the four
directors elected from the commissioners precincts.
(a-2) This subsection applies to an appraisal district
established in a county with a population of 200,000 or more. The
appraisal district is governed by a board of seven directors. One
director is elected from each of the four commissioners precincts
of the county for which the appraisal district is established and
two directors are elected from the county at large. The county
assessor-collector is a director by virtue of the person's office.
The directors other than the county assessor-collector are elected
at the general election for state and county officers and serve
two-year terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered years. The
county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if the board
enters into a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the
commissioners court of the county enters into a contract under
Section 6.24(b). If the county assessor-collector is ineligible to
serve, the appraisal district is governed by the four directors
elected from the commissioners precincts and three directors
elected from the county at large in the manner provided by this
subsection.
(a-3) To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, an
individual other than the [a] county assessor-collector [serving as
a nonvoting director] must:
(1) be a resident of:
(A) the commissioners precinct from which the
office is elected, in the case of a director elected from a
commissioners precinct; or
(B) the county for which the appraisal district
is established, in the case of a director elected at large;
[district] and
(2) [must] have resided in the appraisal district for
at least two years immediately preceding the date the individual
takes office. [An individual who is otherwise eligible to serve on
the board is not ineligible because of membership on the governing
body of a taxing unit. An employee of a taxing unit that
participates in the district is not eligible to serve on the board
unless the individual is also a member of the governing body or an
elected official of a taxing unit that participates in the
district.]
(l) A [If a] vacancy [occurs] on the board of directors is
filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment by the
commissioners court of the county for which the appraisal district
is established. A person appointed to fill a vacancy on the board
of directors must meet the qualifications of the vacated position
[other than a vacancy in the position held by a county
assessor-collector serving as a nonvoting director, each taxing
unit that is entitled to vote by this section may nominate by
resolution adopted by its governing body a candidate to fill the
vacancy. The unit shall submit the name of its nominee to the chief
appraiser within 45 days after notification from the board of
directors of the existence of the vacancy, and the chief appraiser
shall prepare and deliver to the board of directors within the next
five days a list of the nominees. The board of directors shall
elect by majority vote of its members one of the nominees to fill
the vacancy].
(m) If as a result of a change in the boundaries of a
commissioners precinct an individual serving as a director no
longer resides in the precinct from which the office is elected, the
individual is not for that reason disqualified from office during
the remainder of the term of office being served at the time the
boundary change takes effect. If as a result of a change in the
boundaries of a commissioners precinct an individual elected as a
director before the boundary change to a term that begins after the
boundary change no longer resides in the precinct from which
elected, the individual is not for that reason disqualified from
serving the term to which elected.
SECTION 5. Section 6.036(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for, to
be appointed to, or to serve on the board of directors of an
appraisal district if the individual or a business entity in which
the individual has a substantial interest is a party to a contract
with:
(1) the appraisal district; or
(2) a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal
district, if the contract relates to the performance of an activity
governed by this title.
SECTION 6. Section 6.051(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) The acquisition or conveyance of real property or the
construction or renovation of a building or other improvement by an
appraisal district must be approved by the governing bodies of
three-fourths of the taxing units that participate in the district
[entitled to vote on the appointment of board members]. The board
of directors by resolution may propose a property transaction or
other action for which this subsection requires approval of the
taxing units. The chief appraiser shall notify the presiding
officer of each governing body entitled to vote on the approval of
the proposal by delivering a copy of the board's resolution,
together with information showing the costs of other available
alternatives to the proposal. On or before the 30th day after the
date the presiding officer receives notice of the proposal, the
governing body of a taxing unit by resolution may approve or
disapprove the proposal. If a governing body fails to act on or
before that 30th day or fails to file its resolution with the chief
appraiser on or before the 10th day after that 30th day, the
proposal is treated as if it were disapproved by the governing body.
SECTION 7. Sections 6.06(a), (b), and (i), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Each year the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
budget for the operations of the district for the following tax year
and shall submit copies to each taxing unit participating in the
district and to the district board of directors before June 15. The
chief appraiser [He] shall include in the budget a list showing each
proposed position, the proposed salary for the position, all
benefits proposed for the position, each proposed capital
expenditure, and an estimate of the amount of the budget that will
be allocated to each taxing unit. Each taxing unit that
participates in the district [entitled to vote on the appointment
of board members] shall maintain a copy of the proposed budget for
public inspection at its principal administrative office.
(b) The board of directors shall hold a public hearing to
consider the budget. The secretary of the board shall deliver to
the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
participating in the district not later than the 10th day before the
date of the hearing a written notice of the date, time, and place
fixed for the hearing. The board shall complete its hearings, make
any amendments to the proposed budget it desires, and finally
approve a budget before September 15. If governing bodies of a
majority of the taxing units participating in the district
[entitled to vote on the appointment of board members] adopt
resolutions disapproving a budget and file them with the secretary
of the board within 30 days after its adoption, the budget does not
take effect, and the board shall adopt a new budget within 30 days
of the disapproval.
(i) The fiscal year of an appraisal district is the calendar
year unless the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
units participating in the district [entitled to vote on the
appointment of board members] adopt resolutions proposing a
different fiscal year and file them with the secretary of the board
not more than 12 and not less than eight months before the first day
of the fiscal year proposed by the resolutions. If the fiscal year
of an appraisal district is changed under this subsection, the
chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed budget for the fiscal year
as provided by Subsection (a) [of this section] before the 15th day
of the seventh month preceding the first day of the fiscal year
established by the change, and the board of directors shall adopt a
budget for the fiscal year as provided by Subsection (b) [of this
section] before the 15th day of the fourth month preceding the first
day of the fiscal year established by the change. Unless the
appraisal district adopts a different method of allocation under
Section 6.061 [of this code], the allocation of the budget to each
taxing unit shall be calculated as provided by Subsection (d) [of
this section] using the amount of property taxes imposed by each
participating taxing unit in the most recent tax year preceding the
fiscal year established by the change for which the necessary
information is available. Each taxing unit shall pay its
allocation as provided by Subsection (e) [of this section], except
that the first payment shall be made before the first day of the
fiscal year established by the change and subsequent payments shall
be made quarterly. In the year in which a change in the fiscal year
occurs, the budget that takes effect on January 1 of that year may
be amended as necessary as provided by Subsection (c) [of this
section] in order to accomplish the change in fiscal years.
SECTION 8. Sections 6.061(b) and (e), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(b) The taxing units participating in an appraisal district
may adopt a different method of allocating the costs of operating
the district if the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
units that participate in the district [are entitled to vote on the
appointment of board members] adopt resolutions providing for the
other method. However, a change under this subsection is not valid
if it requires any taxing unit to pay a greater proportion of the
appraisal district's costs than the unit would pay under Section
6.06 [of this code] without the consent of the governing body of
that unit.
(e) A change in allocation of district costs made as
provided by this section remains in effect until changed in a manner
provided by this section or rescinded by resolution of a majority of
the governing bodies of the taxing units that participate in the
district [that are entitled to vote on appointment of board members
under Section 6.03 of this code].
SECTION 9. Section 6.063(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) The report of the audit is a public record. A copy of
the report shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the
governing body of each taxing unit that participates in the
district [eligible to vote on the appointment of district
directors], and a reasonable number of copies shall be available
for inspection at the appraisal office.
SECTION 10. Section 6.15(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a routine
communication between the chief appraiser and the county
assessor-collector that relates to the administration of an
appraisal roll, including a communication made in connection with
the certification, correction, or collection of an account,
regardless of whether the county assessor-collector serves on [was
appointed to] the board of directors of the appraisal district [or
serves as a nonvoting director].
SECTION 11. Sections 6.41(b), (d), (d-1), (e), (f), (j),
and (k), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The board consists of three members. The [However, the]
district board of directors by resolution of a majority of its
members may increase the size of the appraisal review board to the
number of members the board of directors considers appropriate,
subject to Subsection (d-1).
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), members of the
board are appointed by resolution of a majority of the appraisal
district board of directors. A vacancy on the board is filled [in
the same manner] for the unexpired portion of the term in the same
manner as the original appointment.
(d-1) If the district board of directors increases the size
of the appraisal review board under Subsection (b), each director
is entitled to appoint an equal number of members to the expanded
appraisal review board. [In a county with a population of 120,000
or more the members of the board are appointed by the local
administrative district judge under Subchapter D, Chapter 74,
Government Code, in the county in which the appraisal district is
established. All applications submitted to the appraisal district
or to the appraisal review board from persons seeking appointment
as a member of the appraisal review board shall be delivered to the
local administrative district judge. The appraisal district may
provide the local administrative district judge with information
regarding whether an applicant for appointment to or a member of the
board owes any delinquent ad valorem taxes to a taxing unit
participating in the appraisal district.]
(e) Members of the board hold office for terms of two years
beginning January 1. The appraisal district board of directors by
resolution shall provide for staggered terms, so that the terms of
as close to one-half of the members as possible expire each year.
In making the initial or subsequent appointments, the board of
directors [or the local administrative district judge or the
judge's designee] shall designate those members who serve terms of
one year as needed to comply with this subsection.
(f) A member of the appraisal review board may be removed
from the board by a majority vote of the appraisal district board of
directors, or by the member of the appraisal district board of
directors [local administrative district judge or the judge's
designee], as applicable, that appointed the member. Grounds for
removal are:
(1) a violation of Section 6.412, 6.413, 41.66(f), or
41.69;
(2) good cause relating to the attendance of members
at called meetings of the board as established by written policy
adopted by a majority of the appraisal district board of directors;
or
(3) clear and convincing evidence of repeated bias or
misconduct.
(j) A chief appraiser or another employee or agent of an
appraisal district commits an offense if the person communicates
with a member of the appraisal review board for the appraisal
district or[,] a member of the board of directors of the appraisal
district[, or, if the appraisal district is an appraisal district
described by Subsection (d-1), the local administrative district
judge] regarding a ranking, scoring, or reporting of the percentage
by which the appraisal review board or a panel of the board reduces
the appraised value of property.
(k) An offense under Subsection [(i) or] (j) is a Class A
misdemeanor.
SECTION 12. Section 6.414(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) An auxiliary board member is appointed by resolution of
a majority of the appraisal district board of directors [in the same
manner and] for the same term as an appraisal review board member
under Section 6.41 and is subject to the same eligibility
requirements and restrictions as a board member under Sections
6.41, 6.411, 6.412, and 6.413.
SECTION 13. Section 41.45, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (b-4) to read as follows:
(b-4) At all times during a hearing on a protest, an
appraisal review board member conducting the hearing must be able
to be identified by either an identification badge or a nameplate.
The badge or nameplate must be of sufficient size to be visible and
must clearly state:
(1) the first and last name of the appraisal review
board member; and
(2) if applicable, the first and last name of the
appraisal district director who appointed the appraisal review
member to the board.
SECTION 14. Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
general primary election is as follows:
(1) United States senator $5,000
(2) office elected statewide, except United States
senator 3,750
(3) United States representative 3,125
(4) state senator 1,250
(5) state representative 750
(6) member, State Board of Education 300
(7) chief justice or justice, court of appeals, other
than a justice specified by Subdivision (8) 1,875
(8) chief justice or justice of a court of appeals that
serves a court of appeals district in which a county with a
population of more than one million is wholly or partly
situated 2,500
(9) district judge or judge specified by Section
52.092(d) for which this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a
fee 1,500
(10) district or criminal district judge of a court in
a judicial district wholly contained in a county with a population
of more than 1.5 million 2,500
(11) judge, statutory county court, other than a judge
specified by Subdivision (12) 1,500
(12) judge of a statutory county court in a county with
a population of more than 1.5 million 2,500
(13) district attorney, criminal district attorney,
or county attorney performing the duties of a district
attorney 1,250
(14) county commissioner, district clerk, county
clerk, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county treasurer,
or judge, constitutional county court:
(A) county with a population of 200,000 or
more 1,250
(B) county with a population of under
200,000 750
(15) justice of the peace or constable:
(A) county with a population of 200,000 or
more 1,000
(B) county with a population of under
200,000 375
(16) county surveyor75
(17) office of the county government for which this
schedule does not otherwise prescribe a fee 750
(18) appraisal district director:
(A) county with a population of 200,000 or
more 1,250
(B) county with a population of under
200,000 750
SECTION 15. The following provisions of the Tax Code are
repealed:
(1) Sections 6.03(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h),
(i), (j), and (k);
(2) Section 6.031;
(3) Section 6.033;
(4) Section 6.034;
(5) Section 6.037;
(6) Section 6.052(f);
(7) Section 6.10; and
(8) Sections 6.41(d-2), (d-3), (d-4), (d-5), (d-6),
(d-7), (d-8), (d-9), and (i).
SECTION 16. (a) Appraisal district directors shall be
elected as provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, beginning with the primary and general elections conducted in
2018. Members then elected take office January 1, 2019.
(b) The change in the manner of selection of appraisal
district directors made by this Act does not affect the selection of
directors who serve on the board before January 1, 2019.
(c) The term of an appraisal district director serving on
December 31, 2018, expires on January 1, 2019.
SECTION 17. (a) The change in the manner of selection of
appraisal review board members made by Section 6.41, Tax Code, as
amended by this Act, does not affect the selection of members who
serve on the board before January 1, 2019.
(b) The term of an appraisal review board member serving on
December 31, 2018, expires on January 1, 2019.
(c) Auxiliary members may be appointed under Section 6.414,
Tax Code, as amended by this Act, by the elected appraisal review
board members on or after January 1, 2019.
(d) The change in the manner of selection of auxiliary
members made by Section 6.414, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
does not affect the selection of auxiliary members who serve before
January 1, 2019.
(e) The term of an auxiliary member serving on December 31,
2018, expires on January 1, 2019.
SECTION 18. The repeal by this Act of Section 6.41(i), Tax
Code, and the change in law made by this Act to Section 6.41(j), Tax
Code, do not apply to an offense committed under either of those
subsections before January 1, 2019. An offense committed before
January 1, 2019, is governed by the applicable subsection as it
existed on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section,
an offense was committed before January 1, 2019, if any element of
the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 19. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2019.
(b) This section and Sections 14, 16, and 17 of this Act take
effect December 1, 2017.