85S10170 CJC-D
By: Keough H.B. No. 42
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the selection of the board of directors of an appraisal
district; authorizing the imposition of a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 2. 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 3. Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (l) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (m) to read
as follows:
(a) The appraisal district is governed by a board of
directors. One director is elected from each of the four
commissioners precincts in the county for which the appraisal
district is established and one director is elected at large from
the county. The [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). 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.
(a-1) 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
other than a vacancy in the position held by the [a] county
assessor-collector 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 [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 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 6.032 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.032. BALLOT PROCEDURES FOR ELECTED DIRECTORS; FILING
FEE. (a) Except as provided by this section, Chapter 144, Election
Code, applies to a candidate for an elective position on an
appraisal district board of directors.
(b) An application for a place on the ballot must be filed
with the county judge of the county in which the appraisal district
is established and be accompanied by a filing fee of $250.
(c) A candidate's name may appear on the ballot only as an
independent candidate.
(d) A filing fee received under this section shall be
deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the county general
fund.
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. Section 52.092, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures for
listing the office of appraisal district director on the ballot.
SECTION 12. 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; and
(6) Section 6.10.
SECTION 13. (a) Appraisal district directors shall be
elected as provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, beginning with the general election for state and county
officers 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 14. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2019.
(b) This section and Sections 11 and 13 of this Act take
effect January 1, 2018.