86R9367 CJC/TJB-F
By: Burrows H.B. No. 2
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to ad valorem taxation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Texas Property Tax
Reform and Relief Act of 2019.
SECTION 2. Section 1.085(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this title and
except as provided by this section, any notice, rendition,
application form, or completed application, or information
requested under Section 41.461(a)(2), that is required or permitted
by this title to be delivered between a chief appraiser, an
appraisal district, an appraisal review board, or any combination
of those persons and a property owner or [between a chief appraiser,
an appraisal district, an appraisal review board, or any
combination of those persons and] a person designated by a property
owner under Section 1.111(f) may be delivered in an electronic
format if the chief appraiser and the property owner or person
designated by the owner agree under this section.
SECTION 3. Chapter 5, Tax Code, is amended by adding Section
5.01 to read as follows:
Sec. 5.01. PROPERTY TAX ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY BOARD.
(a) The comptroller shall appoint the property tax administration
advisory board to advise the comptroller with respect to the
division or divisions within the office of the comptroller with
primary responsibility for state administration of property
taxation and state oversight of appraisal districts and local tax
offices. The advisory board may make recommendations to the
comptroller regarding improving the effectiveness and efficiency
of the property tax system, best practices, and complaint
resolution procedures.
(b) The advisory board is composed of at least six members
appointed by the comptroller. The members of the board should
include:
(1) representatives of property tax payers, appraisal
districts, and school districts; and
(2) a person who has knowledge or experience in
conducting ratio studies.
(c) The members of the advisory board serve at the pleasure
of the comptroller.
(d) Any advice to the comptroller relating to a matter
described by Subsection (a) that is provided by a member of the
advisory board must be provided at a meeting called by the
comptroller.
(e) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the
advisory board.
SECTION 4. Sections 5.041(b), (c), and (e-1), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) A member of the appraisal review board established for
an appraisal district must complete the course established under
Subsection (a). The course must provide at least eight hours of
classroom training and education. A member of the appraisal review
board may not participate in a hearing conducted by the board unless
the person has completed the course established under Subsection
(a) and received a certificate of course completion.
(c) The comptroller may contract with service providers to
assist with the duties imposed under Subsection (a), but the course
required may not be provided by an appraisal district, the chief
appraiser or another employee of an appraisal district, a member of
the board of directors of an appraisal district, a member of an
appraisal review board, or a taxing unit. The comptroller may
assess a fee to recover a portion of the costs incurred for the
training course, but the fee may not exceed $50 per person trained.
If the training is provided to an individual other than a member of
an appraisal review board, the comptroller may assess a fee not to
exceed $50 per person trained.
(e-1) In addition to the course established under
Subsection (a), the comptroller shall approve curricula and provide
materials for use in a continuing education course for members of an
appraisal review board. The course must provide at least four hours
of classroom training and education. The curricula and materials
must include information regarding:
(1) the cost, income, and market data comparison
methods of appraising property;
(2) the appraisal of business personal property;
(3) the determination of capitalization rates for
property appraisal purposes;
(4) the duties of an appraisal review board;
(5) the requirements regarding the independence of an
appraisal review board from the board of directors and the chief
appraiser and other employees of the appraisal district;
(6) the prohibitions against ex parte communications
applicable to appraisal review board members;
(7) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice;
(8) the duty of the appraisal district to substantiate
the district's determination of the value of property;
(9) the requirements regarding the equal and uniform
appraisal of property;
(10) the right of a property owner to protest the
appraisal of the property as provided by Chapter 41; and
(11) a detailed explanation of each of the actions
described by Sections 25.25, 41.41(a), 41.411, 41.412, 41.413,
41.42, and 41.43 so that members are fully aware of each of the
grounds on which a property appraisal can be appealed.
SECTION 5. Chapter 5, Tax Code, is amended by adding Section
5.043 to read as follows:
Sec. 5.043. TRAINING OF ARBITRATORS. (a) This section
applies only to persons who have agreed to serve as arbitrators
under Chapter 41A.
(b) The comptroller shall:
(1) approve curricula and provide an arbitration
manual and other materials for use in training and educating
arbitrators;
(2) make all materials for use in training and
educating arbitrators freely available online; and
(3) establish and supervise a training program on
property tax law for the training and education of arbitrators.
(c) The training program must:
(1) emphasize the requirements regarding the equal and
uniform appraisal of property; and
(2) be at least four hours in length.
(d) The training program may be provided online. The
comptroller by rule may prescribe the manner by which the
comptroller may verify that a person taking the training program
online has taken and completed the program.
(e) The comptroller may contract with service providers to
assist with the duties imposed under Subsection (b), but the
training program may not be provided by an appraisal district, the
chief appraiser or another employee of an appraisal district, a
member of the board of directors of an appraisal district, a member
of an appraisal review board, or a taxing unit. The comptroller may
assess a fee to recover a portion of the costs incurred for the
training program, but the fee may not exceed $50 for each person
trained.
(f) The comptroller shall prepare an arbitration manual for
use in the training program. The manual shall be updated regularly
and may be revised on request, in writing, to the comptroller. The
revised language must be approved by the unanimous agreement of a
committee selected by the comptroller and representing, equally,
taxpayers and chief appraisers. The person requesting the revision
must pay the costs of mediation if the comptroller determines that
mediation is required.
SECTION 6. Section 5.05, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) An appraisal district shall appraise property in
accordance with any appraisal manuals prepared and issued by the
comptroller under this section.
SECTION 7. Section 5.07, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
(f) The comptroller shall prescribe tax rate calculation
forms to be used by the designated officer or employee of each:
(1) taxing unit other than a school district to
calculate and submit the no-new-revenue tax rate and the rollback
tax rate for the taxing unit as required by Chapter 26; and
(2) school district to calculate and submit the
no-new-revenue tax rate, the rollback tax rate, and the rate to
maintain the same amount of state and local revenue per weighted
student that the district received in the school year beginning in
the preceding tax year as required by Chapter 26.
(g) The forms described by Subsection (f) must be in an
electronic format and:
(1) have blanks that can be filled in electronically;
(2) be capable of being certified by the designated
officer or employee after completion as accurately calculating the
applicable tax rates and using values that are the same as the
values shown in the taxing unit's certified appraisal roll; and
(3) be capable of being electronically incorporated
into the real-time tax database maintained by the tax notice
officer of each appraisal district and submitted electronically to
the county assessor-collector of each county in which all or part of
the territory of the taxing unit is located.
(h) For purposes of Subsections (f) and (g), the comptroller
shall use the forms published on the comptroller's Internet website
as of January 1, 2019, modified as necessary to comply with the
requirements of those subsections. The comptroller shall update
the forms as necessary to reflect any change in the values used to
calculate a tax rate resulting from a statutory change in a value
used to calculate a tax rate. The comptroller may also update the
forms to reflect formatting or other nonsubstantive changes.
(i) The comptroller may revise the forms to reflect
statutory changes other than those described by Subsection (h) or
on receipt of a request in writing. A revision under this
subsection must be approved by the agreement of a majority of the
members of a committee selected by the comptroller who are present
at a committee meeting at which a quorum is present. The members of
the committee must represent, equally, taxpayers and either taxing
units or persons designated by taxing units. In the case of a
revision for which the comptroller receives a request in writing,
the person requesting the revision shall pay the costs of mediation
if the comptroller determines that mediation is required.
SECTION 8. Section 5.091, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 5.091. STATEWIDE LIST OF TAX RATES. (a) Each year the
comptroller shall prepare a list that includes the total tax rate
imposed by each taxing unit in this state, as [other than a school
district, if the tax rate is] reported to the comptroller by each
appraisal district, for the year [preceding the year] in which the
list is prepared. The comptroller shall:
(1) prescribe the manner in which and deadline by
which appraisal districts are required to submit the tax rates to
the comptroller; and
(2) list the tax rates alphabetically according to:
(A) the county or counties in which each taxing
unit is located; and
(B) the name of each taxing unit [in descending
order].
(b) Not later than January 1 [December 31] of the following
[each] year, the comptroller shall publish on the comptroller's
Internet website the list required by Subsection (a).
SECTION 9. Sections 5.102(a) and (c), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) At least once every two years, the comptroller shall
review the governance of each appraisal district, the taxpayer
assistance provided by each appraisal district, and the operating
and appraisal standards, procedures, and methodology used by each
appraisal district, to determine compliance with generally
accepted standards, procedures, and methodology, including
compliance with standards, procedures, and methodology prescribed
by appraisal manuals prepared and issued by the comptroller. After
consultation with the property tax administration advisory board
[committee created under Section 403.302, Government Code], the
comptroller by rule may establish procedures and standards for
conducting and scoring the review.
(c) At the conclusion of the review, the comptroller shall,
in writing, notify the appraisal district concerning its
performance in the review. If the review results in a finding that
an appraisal district is not in compliance with generally accepted
standards, procedures, and methodology, including compliance with
standards, procedures, and methodology prescribed by appraisal
manuals prepared and issued by the comptroller, the comptroller
shall deliver a report that details the comptroller's findings and
recommendations for improvement to:
(1) the appraisal district's chief appraiser and board
of directors; and
(2) the superintendent and board of trustees of each
school district participating in the appraisal district.
SECTION 10. Chapter 5, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 5.104 to read as follows:
Sec. 5.104. APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD SURVEY; REPORT. (a) The
comptroller shall prepare:
(1) an appraisal review board survey form that allows
an individual described by Subsection (b) to submit comments and
suggestions to the comptroller regarding an appraisal review board;
and
(2) instructions for completing and submitting the
form.
(b) The following individuals may complete and submit a
survey form under this section:
(1) a property owner who files a motion under Section
25.25 to correct the appraisal roll or a protest under Chapter 41;
(2) the designated agent of the property owner; or
(3) a designated representative of the appraisal
district in which the motion or protest is filed who attends the
hearing on the motion or protest.
(c) The survey form must allow an individual to submit
comments and suggestions regarding:
(1) the matters listed in Section 5.103(b); and
(2) any other matter related to the fairness and
efficiency of the appraisal review board.
(d) An appraisal district must provide the survey form and
the instructions for completing and submitting the form to each
property owner or designated agent of the owner at or before each
hearing conducted under Section 25.25 or Chapter 41 by the
appraisal review board established for the appraisal district or by
a panel of the board.
(e) An individual who elects to submit the survey form must
submit the form to the comptroller as provided by this section. An
appraisal district may not accept a survey form submitted under
this section. An individual may submit only one survey form for
each motion or protest.
(f) The comptroller shall allow an individual to submit a
survey form to the comptroller in the following manner:
(1) in person;
(2) by mail;
(3) by electronic mail; or
(4) through a web page on the comptroller's Internet
website that allows the individual to complete and submit the form.
(g) An appraisal district may not require a property owner
or the designated agent of the owner to complete a survey form at
the appraisal office in order to be permitted to submit the form to
the comptroller.
(h) A property owner, the designated agent of the owner, or
a designated representative of an appraisal district who elects to
submit a survey form must submit the form not later than the 45th
day after the date the form is provided to the owner or agent under
Subsection (d).
(i) The comptroller shall issue an annual report that
summarizes the information included in the survey forms submitted
during the preceding year. The report may not disclose the identity
of an individual who submitted a survey form.
(j) The comptroller may adopt rules necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 11. Section 5.13(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(d) In conducting a general audit, the comptroller shall
consider and report on:
(1) the extent to which the district complies with
applicable law or generally accepted standards of appraisal or
other relevant practice, including appraisal standards and
practices prescribed by appraisal manuals prepared and issued by
the comptroller;
(2) the uniformity and level of appraisal of major
kinds of property and the cause of any significant deviations from
ideal uniformity and equality of appraisal of major kinds of
property;
(3) duplication of effort and efficiency of operation;
(4) the general efficiency, quality of service, and
qualification of appraisal district personnel; and
(5) except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b) [of
this section], any other matter included in the request for the
audit.
SECTION 12. Section 6.035(a-1), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a-1) An individual is ineligible to serve on an appraisal
district board of directors if the individual has engaged in the
business of appraising property for compensation for use in
proceedings under this title or of representing property owners for
compensation in proceedings under this title in the appraisal
district at any time during the preceding three [five] years.
SECTION 13. Section 6.05, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) The chief appraiser shall establish an office of tax
notices in the appraisal district. The office is responsible for
delivering the notice required by Section 26.04(e-2) and creating
and maintaining the database required by Section 26.17. The office
is administered by the tax notice officer, who is appointed by and
serves at the pleasure of the chief appraiser. The chief appraiser
may designate other personnel to assist the tax notice officer in
performing the functions of the office. In all communications, the
office must identify itself as the "(insert name of county in which
appraisal district is established) County Office of Tax Notices"
rather than as the appraisal district.
SECTION 14. Section 6.15, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) Subsections (a) and (b) do not prohibit a member of
the board of directors of an appraisal district from transmitting
to the chief appraiser without comment a complaint by a property
owner or taxing unit about the appraisal of a specific property,
provided that the transmission is in writing.
SECTION 15. Section 6.41, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (b) and (d-9) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and
(d-10) to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1) or (b-2), an
appraisal review [The] board consists of three members.
(b-1) An appraisal [However, the] district board of
directors by resolution of a majority of the board's [its] members
may increase the size of the district's appraisal review board to
the number of members the board of directors considers appropriate.
(b-2) An appraisal district board of directors for a
district established in a county with a population of one million or
more by resolution of a majority of the board's members shall
increase the size of the district's appraisal review board to the
number of members the board of directors considers appropriate to
manage the duties of the appraisal review board, including the
duties of each special panel established under Section 6.425.
(d-9) In selecting individuals who are to serve as members
of the appraisal review board for an appraisal district described
by Subsection (b-2), the local administrative district judge shall
select an adequate number of qualified individuals to permit the
chairman of the appraisal review board to fill the positions on each
special panel established under Section 6.425.
(d-10) Upon selection of the individuals who are to serve as
members of the appraisal review board, the local administrative
district judge shall enter an appropriate order designating such
members and setting each member's respective term of office, as
provided elsewhere in this section.
SECTION 16. Sections 6.412(a) and (d), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) An individual is ineligible to serve on an appraisal
review board if the individual:
(1) is related within the second degree by
consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573,
Government Code, to an individual who is engaged in the business of
appraising property for compensation for use in proceedings under
this title or of representing property owners for compensation in
proceedings under this title in the appraisal district for which
the appraisal review board is established;
(2) owns property on which delinquent taxes have been
owed to a taxing unit for more than 60 days after the date the
individual knew or should have known of the delinquency unless:
(A) the delinquent taxes and any penalties and
interest are being paid under an installment payment agreement
under Section 33.02; or
(B) a suit to collect the delinquent taxes is
deferred or abated under Section 33.06 or 33.065; or
(3) is related within the third degree by
consanguinity or within the second degree by affinity, as
determined under Chapter 573, Government Code, to a member of:
(A) the appraisal district's board of directors;
or
(B) the appraisal review board.
(d) A person is ineligible to serve on the appraisal review
board of an appraisal district established for a county described
by Section 6.41(d-1) [having a population of more than 100,000] if
the person:
(1) is a former member of the board of directors,
former officer, or former employee of the appraisal district;
(2) served as a member of the governing body or officer
of a taxing unit for which the appraisal district appraises
property, until the fourth anniversary of the date the person
ceased to be a member or officer; [or]
(3) appeared before the appraisal review board for
compensation during the two-year period preceding the date the
person is appointed; or
(4) served for all or part of three previous terms as a
board member or auxiliary board member on the appraisal review
board.
SECTION 17. Section 6.414(d), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) An auxiliary board member may hear taxpayer protests
before the appraisal review board. An auxiliary board member may
not hear taxpayer protests before a special panel established under
Section 6.425 unless the member is eligible to be appointed to the
special panel. If one or more auxiliary board members sit on a
panel established under Section 6.425 or 41.45 to conduct a protest
hearing, the number of regular appraisal review board members
required by that section to constitute the panel is reduced by the
number of auxiliary board members sitting. An auxiliary board
member sitting on a panel is considered a regular board member for
all purposes related to the conduct of the hearing.
SECTION 18. Section 6.42, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(a) A majority of the appraisal review board constitutes a
quorum. The local administrative district judge under Subchapter
D, Chapter 74, Government Code, in the county in which [board of
directors of] the appraisal district is established [by resolution]
shall select a chairman and a secretary from among the members of
the appraisal review board. The judge [board of directors of the
appraisal district] is encouraged to select as chairman [of the
appraisal review board] a member of the appraisal review board, if
any, who has a background in law and property appraisal.
(d) The concurrence of a majority of the members of the
appraisal review board or a panel of the board present at a meeting
of the board or panel is sufficient for a recommendation,
determination, decision, or other action by the board or panel, and
the concurrence of more than a majority of the members of the board
or panel may not be required.
SECTION 19. Subchapter C, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 6.425 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.425. SPECIAL APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD PANELS IN
CERTAIN DISTRICTS. (a) This section applies only to the appraisal
review board for an appraisal district described by Section
6.41(b-2).
(b) The appraisal review board shall establish special
panels to conduct protest hearings under Chapter 41 relating to
property that:
(1) has an appraised value of $50 million or more as
determined by the appraisal district; and
(2) is included in one of the following
classifications:
(A) commercial real and personal property;
(B) real and personal property of utilities;
(C) industrial and manufacturing real and
personal property; and
(D) multifamily residential real property.
(c) Each special panel described by this section consists of
three members of the appraisal review board appointed by the
chairman of the board.
(d) To be eligible to be appointed to a special panel
described by this section, a member of the appraisal review board
must:
(1) hold a juris doctor or equivalent degree;
(2) hold a master of business administration degree;
(3) be licensed as a certified public accountant under
Chapter 901, Occupations Code;
(4) be accredited by the American Society of
Appraisers as an accredited senior appraiser;
(5) possess an MAI professional designation from the
Appraisal Institute;
(6) possess a Certified Assessment Evaluator (CAE)
professional designation from the International Association of
Assessing Officers;
(7) have at least 10 years of experience in property
tax appraisal or consulting; or
(8) be licensed as a real estate broker or sales agent
under Chapter 1101, Occupations Code.
(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), the chairman of the
appraisal review board may appoint to a special panel described by
this section a member of the appraisal review board who does not
meet the qualifications prescribed by that subsection if:
(1) the number of persons appointed to the board by the
local administrative district judge who meet those qualifications
is not sufficient to fill the positions on each special panel; and
(2) the board member being appointed to the panel
holds a bachelor's degree in any field.
(f) In addition to conducting protest hearings relating to
property described by Subsection (b) of this section, a special
panel may conduct protest hearings under Chapter 41 relating to
property not described by Subsection (b) of this section as
assigned by the chairman of the appraisal review board.
SECTION 20. Section 11.4391(a), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny an
application for an exemption for freeport goods under Section
11.251 after the deadline for filing it has passed if it is filed
not later than June 1 [15].
SECTION 21. Sections 22.23(a) and (b), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Rendition statements and property reports must be
delivered to the chief appraiser after January 1 and not later than
April 1 [15], except as provided by Section 22.02.
(b) On written request by the property owner, the chief
appraiser shall extend a deadline for filing a rendition statement
or property report to a date not later than May 1 [15]. The chief
appraiser may further extend the deadline an additional 15 days
upon good cause shown in writing by the property owner.
SECTION 22. Section 23.01(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) The market value of property shall be determined by the
application of generally accepted appraisal methods and
techniques, including appraisal methods and techniques prescribed
by appraisal manuals prepared and issued by the comptroller. If the
appraisal district determines the appraised value of a property
using mass appraisal standards, the mass appraisal standards must
comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice. The same or similar appraisal methods and techniques
shall be used in appraising the same or similar kinds of property.
However, each property shall be appraised based upon the individual
characteristics that affect the property's market value, and all
available evidence that is specific to the value of the property
shall be taken into account in determining the property's market
value.
SECTION 23. Section 25.19, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (b), (g), and (i) and adding Subsections (b-3) and
(b-4) to read as follows:
(a) By April 15 [1] or as soon thereafter as practicable [if
the property is a single-family residence that qualifies for an
exemption under Section 11.13, or by May 1 or as soon thereafter as
practicable in connection with any other property], the chief
appraiser shall deliver a clear and understandable written notice
to a property owner of the appraised value of the property owner's
property if:
(1) the appraised value of the property is greater
than it was in the preceding year;
(2) the appraised value of the property is greater
than the value rendered by the property owner;
(3) the property was not on the appraisal roll in the
preceding year; or
(4) an exemption or partial exemption approved for the
property for the preceding year was canceled or reduced for the
current year.
(b) The chief appraiser shall separate real from personal
property and include in the notice for each:
(1) a list of the taxing units in which the property is
taxable;
(2) the appraised value of the property in the
preceding year;
(3) the taxable value of the property in the preceding
year for each taxing unit taxing the property;
(4) the appraised value of the property for the
current year, the kind and amount of each exemption and partial
exemption, if any, approved for the property for the current year
and for the preceding year, and, if an exemption or partial
exemption that was approved for the preceding year was canceled or
reduced for the current year, the amount of the exemption or partial
exemption canceled or reduced;
(5) [if the appraised value is greater than it was in
the preceding year, the amount of tax that would be imposed on the
property on the basis of the tax rate for the preceding year;
[(6)] in italic typeface, the following
statement: "The Texas Legislature does not set the amount of your
local taxes. Your property tax burden is decided by your locally
elected officials, and all inquiries concerning your taxes should
be directed to those officials";
(6) [(7)] a detailed explanation of the time and
procedure for protesting the value;
(7) [(8)] the date and place the appraisal review
board will begin hearing protests; and
(8) [(9)] a brief explanation that the governing body
of each taxing unit decides whether or not taxes on the property
will increase and the appraisal district only determines the value
of the property.
(b-3) This subsection applies only to an appraisal district
described by Section 6.41(b-2). In addition to the information
required by Subsection (b), the chief appraiser shall state in a
notice of appraised value of property described by Section 6.425(b)
that the property owner has the right to have a protest relating to
the property heard by a special panel of the appraisal review board.
(b-4) Subsection (b)(5) applies only to a notice of
appraised value required to be delivered by the chief appraiser of
an appraisal district established in a county with a population of
less than 120,000. This subsection expires January 1, 2022.
(g) By April 15 [1] or as soon thereafter as practicable [if
the property is a single-family residence that qualifies for an
exemption under Section 11.13, or by May 1 or as soon thereafter as
practicable in connection with any other property], the chief
appraiser shall deliver a written notice to the owner of each
property not included in a notice required to be delivered under
Subsection (a), if the property was reappraised in the current tax
year, if the ownership of the property changed during the preceding
year, or if the property owner or the agent of a property owner
authorized under Section 1.111 makes a written request for the
notice. The chief appraiser shall separate real from personal
property and include in the notice for each property:
(1) the appraised value of the property in the
preceding year;
(2) the appraised value of the property for the
current year and the kind of each partial exemption, if any,
approved for the current year;
(3) a detailed explanation of the time and procedure
for protesting the value; and
(4) the date and place the appraisal review board will
begin hearing protests.
(i) Delivery with a notice required by Subsection (a) or (g)
of a copy of the pamphlet published by the comptroller under Section
5.06 or a copy of the notice published by the chief appraiser under
Section 41.70 is sufficient to comply with the requirement that the
notice include the information specified by Subsection (b)(6)
[(b)(7)] or (g)(3), as applicable.
SECTION 24. Section 25.22(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) By May 1 [15] or as soon thereafter as practicable, the
chief appraiser shall submit the completed appraisal records to the
appraisal review board for review and determination of protests.
However, the chief appraiser may not submit the records until the
chief appraiser has delivered the notices required by Sections
11.45(d) [Subsection (d) of Section 11.45], 23.44(d) [Subsection
(d) of Section 23.44], 23.57(d) [Subsection (d) of Section 23.57],
23.79(d) [Subsection (d) of Section 23.79], 23.85(d) [Subsection
(d) of Section 23.85], 23.95(d) [Subsection (d) of Section 23.95],
23.9805(d) [Subsection (d) of Section 23.9805], and [Section]
25.19.
SECTION 25. Sections 26.01(a) and (e), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) By July 10 [25], the chief appraiser shall prepare and
certify to the assessor for each taxing unit participating in the
district that part of the appraisal roll for the district that lists
the property taxable by the taxing unit. The part certified to the
assessor is the appraisal roll for the taxing unit. The chief
appraiser shall consult with the assessor for each taxing unit and
notify each taxing unit in writing by April 1 of the form in which
the roll will be provided to each taxing unit.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), not later than May
15 [April 30], the chief appraiser shall prepare and certify to the
assessor for each county, municipality, and school district
participating in the appraisal district an estimate of the taxable
value of property in that taxing unit. The chief appraiser shall
assist each county, municipality, and school district in
determining values of property in that taxing unit for the taxing
unit's budgetary purposes.
SECTION 26. Section 26.012(9), Tax Code, is redesignated as
Section 26.012(18), Tax Code, and amended to read as follows:
(18) "No-new-revenue [(9) "Effective] maintenance
and operations rate" means a rate expressed in dollars per $100 of
taxable value and calculated according to the following formula:
NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS
RATE = (LAST YEAR'S LEVY - LAST YEAR'S DEBT LEVY - LAST
YEAR'S JUNIOR COLLEGE LEVY) / (CURRENT TOTAL VALUE -
NEW PROPERTY VALUE)
SECTION 27. Section 26.012, Tax Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (10) and adding Subdivision (19) to read as
follows:
(10) "Excess collections" means the amount, if any, by
which debt taxes collected in the preceding year exceeded the
amount anticipated in the preceding year's calculation of the
rollback tax rate, as certified by the collector under Section
26.04(b) [of this code].
(19) "Small taxing unit" means a taxing unit, other
than a school district, for which the sum of the following amounts
is $15 million or less:
(A) the total amount of property taxes that would
be imposed by the taxing unit for the current tax year if the tax
rate proposed for that tax year were applied to the current total
value for the taxing unit; and
(B) the total amount of sales and use tax revenue
received by the taxing unit, if any, for the last preceding four
quarters for which that information is available.
SECTION 28. The heading to Section 26.04, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26.04. SUBMISSION OF ROLL TO GOVERNING BODY;
NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] AND ROLLBACK TAX RATES.
SECTION 29. Section 26.04, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (e-1), (f), (g), (i), and (j) and
adding Subsections (c-1), (d-1), (d-2), (d-3), (e-2), (e-3), (e-4),
(e-5), (h-1), and (h-2) to read as follows:
(b) The assessor shall submit the appraisal roll for the
taxing unit showing the total appraised, assessed, and taxable
values of all property and the total taxable value of new property
to the governing body of the taxing unit by July 15 [August 1] or as
soon thereafter as practicable. By July 15 [August 1] or as soon
thereafter as practicable, the taxing unit's collector shall
certify [an estimate of] the anticipated collection rate as
calculated under Subsections (h), (h-1), and (h-2) for the current
year to the governing body. If the collector certified an
anticipated collection rate in the preceding year and the actual
collection rate in that year exceeded the anticipated rate, the
collector shall also certify the amount of debt taxes collected in
excess of the anticipated amount in the preceding year.
(c) After the assessor for the taxing unit submits the
appraisal roll for the taxing unit to the governing body of the
taxing unit as required by Subsection (b), an [An] officer or
employee designated by the governing body shall calculate the
no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate and the rollback tax rate for
the taxing unit, where:
(1) "No-new-revenue [Effective] tax rate" means a rate
expressed in dollars per $100 of taxable value calculated according
to the following formula:
NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] TAX RATE = (LAST YEAR'S
LEVY - LOST PROPERTY LEVY) / (CURRENT TOTAL VALUE -
NEW PROPERTY VALUE)
; and
(2) "Rollback tax rate" means a rate expressed in
dollars per $100 of taxable value calculated according to the
following applicable formula:
(A) for a small taxing unit:
ROLLBACK TAX RATE = (NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE]
MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS RATE x 1.08) + CURRENT DEBT
RATE
; or
(B) for a taxing unit other than a small taxing
unit:
ROLLBACK TAX RATE = (NO-NEW-REVENUE MAINTENANCE AND
OPERATIONS RATE x 1.025) + CURRENT DEBT RATE
(c-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
the governing body of a taxing unit other than a small taxing unit
may direct the designated officer or employee to calculate the
rollback tax rate of the taxing unit in the manner provided for a
small taxing unit if any part of the taxing unit is located in an
area declared a disaster area during the current tax year by the
governor or by the president of the United States. The designated
officer or employee shall continue calculating the rollback tax
rate in the manner provided by this subsection until the earlier of:
(1) the first tax year in which the total taxable value
of property taxable by the taxing unit as shown on the appraisal
roll for the taxing unit submitted by the assessor for the taxing
unit to the governing body exceeds the total taxable value of
property taxable by the taxing unit on January 1 of the tax year in
which the disaster occurred; or
(2) the fifth tax year after the tax year in which the
disaster occurred.
(d) The no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate for a county is
the sum of the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rates calculated for
each type of tax the county levies and the rollback tax rate for a
county is the sum of the rollback tax rates calculated for each type
of tax the county levies.
(d-1) The designated officer or employee shall use the tax
rate calculation forms prescribed by the comptroller under Section
5.07 in calculating the no-new-revenue tax rate and the rollback
tax rate.
(d-2) The designated officer or employee may not submit the
no-new-revenue tax rate and the rollback tax rate to the governing
body of the taxing unit and the taxing unit may not adopt a tax rate
until the designated officer or employee certifies on the tax rate
calculation forms that the designated officer or employee has
accurately calculated the tax rates and has used values that are the
same as the values shown in the taxing unit's certified appraisal
roll in performing the calculations.
(d-3) As soon as practicable after the designated officer or
employee calculates the no-new-revenue tax rate and the rollback
tax rate of the taxing unit, the designated officer or employee
shall submit the tax rate calculation forms used in calculating the
rates to the county assessor-collector for each county in which all
or part of the territory of the taxing unit is located.
(e) By July 22 [August 7] or as soon thereafter as
practicable, the designated officer or employee shall submit the
rates to the governing body. By July 27, the designated officer or
employee [He] shall deliver by mail to each property owner in the
taxing unit or publish in a newspaper, and shall also post
prominently on the home page of the taxing unit's Internet website
if published in a newspaper, in the form prescribed by the
comptroller:
(1) the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate, the
rollback tax rate, and an explanation of how they were calculated;
(2) the estimated amount of interest and sinking fund
balances and the estimated amount of maintenance and operation or
general fund balances remaining at the end of the current fiscal
year that are not encumbered with or by corresponding existing debt
obligation;
(3) a schedule of the taxing unit's debt obligations
showing:
(A) the amount of principal and interest that
will be paid to service the taxing unit's debts in the next year
from property tax revenue, including payments of lawfully incurred
contractual obligations providing security for the payment of the
principal of and interest on bonds and other evidences of
indebtedness issued on behalf of the taxing unit by another
political subdivision and, if the taxing unit is created under
Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution, payments on debts that the taxing unit anticipates to
incur in the next calendar year;
(B) the amount by which taxes imposed for debt
are to be increased because of the taxing unit's anticipated
collection rate; and
(C) the total of the amounts listed in Paragraphs
(A)-(B), less any amount collected in excess of the previous year's
anticipated collections certified as provided in Subsection (b);
(4) the amount of additional sales and use tax revenue
anticipated in calculations under Section 26.041;
(5) a statement that the adoption of a tax rate equal
to the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate would result in an
increase or decrease, as applicable, in the amount of taxes imposed
by the taxing unit as compared to last year's levy, and the amount
of the increase or decrease;
(6) in the year that a taxing unit calculates an
adjustment under Subsection (i) or (j), a schedule that includes
the following elements:
(A) the name of the taxing unit discontinuing the
department, function, or activity;
(B) the amount of property tax revenue spent by
the taxing unit listed under Paragraph (A) to operate the
discontinued department, function, or activity in the 12 months
preceding the month in which the calculations required by this
chapter are made; and
(C) the name of the taxing unit that operates a
distinct department, function, or activity in all or a majority of
the territory of a taxing unit that has discontinued operating the
distinct department, function, or activity; and
(7) in the year following the year in which a taxing
unit raised its rollback tax rate as required by Subsection (j), a
schedule that includes the following elements:
(A) the amount of property tax revenue spent by
the taxing unit to operate the department, function, or activity
for which the taxing unit raised the rollback tax rate as required
by Subsection (j) for the 12 months preceding the month in which the
calculations required by this chapter are made; and
(B) the amount published by the taxing unit in
the preceding tax year under Subdivision (6)(B).
(e-1) The tax rate certification requirements imposed by
Subsection (d-2) and the notice requirements imposed by Subsections
(e)(1)-(6) do not apply to a school district.
(e-2) By July 22 or as soon thereafter as practicable, the
tax notice officer of each appraisal district shall deliver by
regular mail or e-mail to each owner of property located in the
appraisal district a notice that the estimated amount of taxes to be
imposed on the owner's property by each taxing unit in which the
property is located may be found in the real-time tax database
maintained by the tax notice officer under Section 26.17. The
notice must include:
(1) the following statement:
"PROPOSED (tax year) PROPERTY TAX BILL INFORMATION
"Information concerning the (insert tax year) property taxes
on your property proposed by your local taxing units, together with
information about expressing your support for or opposition to the
proposed property taxes, may be found in the real-time tax notice at
the website listed below:
"(address of the Internet website at which the information
may be found)";
(2) a statement that the property owner may request
from the county assessor-collector contact information for the
assessor for each taxing unit in which the property is located, who
must provide the information described by this subsection to the
owner on request; and
(3) the address and telephone number of the county
assessor-collector.
(e-3) The heading of the statement described by Subsection
(e-2)(1) must be in bold, capital letters in type larger than that
used in the other provisions of the notice.
(e-4) The comptroller may adopt rules regarding the format
and delivery of the notice required by Subsection (e-2).
(e-5) The governing body of a taxing unit shall include as
an appendix to the taxing unit's budget for a fiscal year the tax
rate calculation forms used by the designated officer or employee
of the taxing unit to calculate the no-new-revenue tax rate and the
rollback tax rate of the taxing unit for the tax year in which the
fiscal year begins.
(f) If as a result of consolidation of taxing units a taxing
unit includes territory that was in two or more taxing units in the
preceding year, the amount of taxes imposed in each in the preceding
year is combined for purposes of calculating the no-new-revenue
[effective] and rollback tax rates under this section.
(g) A person who owns taxable property is entitled to an
injunction prohibiting the taxing unit in which the property is
taxable from adopting a tax rate if the assessor or designated
officer or employee of the taxing unit, the tax notice officer of
the applicable appraisal district, or the taxing unit, as
applicable, has not complied with the computation, [or]
publication, or posting requirements of this section or Section
26.16, 26.17, or 26.18 [and the failure to comply was not in good
faith]. It is a defense in an action for an injunction under this
subsection that the failure to comply was in good faith.
(h-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (h), if the anticipated
collection rate of a taxing unit as calculated under that
subsection is lower than the lowest actual collection rate of the
taxing unit for any of the preceding three years, the anticipated
collection rate of the taxing unit for purposes of this section is
equal to the lowest actual collection rate of the taxing unit for
any of the preceding three years.
(h-2) The anticipated collection rate of a taxing unit for
purposes of this section is the rate calculated under Subsection
(h) as modified by Subsection (h-1), if applicable, regardless of
whether that rate exceeds 100 percent.
(i) This subsection applies to a taxing unit that has agreed
by written contract to transfer a distinct department, function, or
activity to another taxing unit and discontinues operating that
distinct department, function, or activity if the operation of that
department, function, or activity in all or a majority of the
territory of the taxing unit is continued by another existing
taxing unit or by a new taxing unit. The rollback tax rate of a
taxing unit to which this subsection applies in the first tax year
in which a budget is adopted that does not allocate revenue to the
discontinued department, function, or activity is calculated as
otherwise provided by this section, except that last year's levy
used to calculate the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and
operations rate of the taxing unit is reduced by the amount of
maintenance and operations tax revenue spent by the taxing unit to
operate the department, function, or activity for the 12 months
preceding the month in which the calculations required by this
chapter are made and in which the taxing unit operated the
discontinued department, function, or activity. If the taxing unit
did not operate that department, function, or activity for the full
12 months preceding the month in which the calculations required by
this chapter are made, the taxing unit shall reduce last year's levy
used for calculating the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance
and operations rate of the taxing unit by the amount of the revenue
spent in the last full fiscal year in which the taxing unit operated
the discontinued department, function, or activity.
(j) This subsection applies to a taxing unit that had agreed
by written contract to accept the transfer of a distinct
department, function, or activity from another taxing unit and
operates a distinct department, function, or activity if the
operation of a substantially similar department, function, or
activity in all or a majority of the territory of the taxing unit
has been discontinued by another taxing unit, including a dissolved
taxing unit. The rollback tax rate of a taxing unit to which this
subsection applies in the first tax year after the other taxing unit
discontinued the substantially similar department, function, or
activity in which a budget is adopted that allocates revenue to the
department, function, or activity is calculated as otherwise
provided by this section, except that last year's levy used to
calculate the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and
operations rate of the taxing unit is increased by the amount of
maintenance and operations tax revenue spent by the taxing unit
that discontinued operating the substantially similar department,
function, or activity to operate that department, function, or
activity for the 12 months preceding the month in which the
calculations required by this chapter are made and in which the
taxing unit operated the discontinued department, function, or
activity. If the taxing unit did not operate the discontinued
department, function, or activity for the full 12 months preceding
the month in which the calculations required by this chapter are
made, the taxing unit may increase last year's levy used to
calculate the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and
operations rate by an amount not to exceed the amount of property
tax revenue spent by the discontinuing taxing unit to operate the
discontinued department, function, or activity in the last full
fiscal year in which the discontinuing taxing unit operated the
department, function, or activity.
SECTION 30. Section 26.041, Tax Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), (g), and (h) and adding
Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(a) In the first year in which an additional sales and use
tax is required to be collected, the no-new-revenue [effective] tax
rate and rollback tax rate for the taxing unit are calculated
according to the following formulas:
NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] TAX RATE = [(LAST YEAR'S
LEVY - LOST PROPERTY LEVY) / (CURRENT TOTAL VALUE - NEW
PROPERTY VALUE)] - SALES TAX GAIN RATE
and
ROLLBACK TAX RATE FOR SMALL TAXING UNIT =
(NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] MAINTENANCE AND
OPERATIONS RATE x 1.08) + CURRENT DEBT RATE - SALES TAX
GAIN RATE
or
ROLLBACK TAX RATE FOR TAXING UNIT OTHER THAN SMALL
TAXING UNIT = (NO-NEW-REVENUE MAINTENANCE AND
OPERATIONS RATE x 1.025) + CURRENT DEBT RATE - SALES
TAX GAIN RATE
where "sales tax gain rate" means a number expressed in dollars per
$100 of taxable value, calculated by dividing the revenue that will
be generated by the additional sales and use tax in the following
year as calculated under Subsection (d) [of this section] by the
current total value.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (a) and (c) [of this
section], in a year in which a taxing unit imposes an additional
sales and use tax, the rollback tax rate for the taxing unit is
calculated according to the following applicable formula,
regardless of whether the taxing unit levied a property tax in the
preceding year:
ROLLBACK TAX RATE FOR SMALL TAXING UNIT = [(LAST YEAR'S
MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS EXPENSE x 1.08) / ([TOTAL]
CURRENT TOTAL VALUE - NEW PROPERTY VALUE)] + (CURRENT
DEBT RATE - SALES TAX REVENUE RATE)
or
ROLLBACK TAX RATE FOR TAXING UNIT OTHER THAN SMALL
TAXING UNIT = [(LAST YEAR'S MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS
EXPENSE x 1.025) / (CURRENT TOTAL VALUE - NEW PROPERTY
VALUE)] + (CURRENT DEBT RATE - SALES TAX REVENUE RATE)
where "last year's maintenance and operations expense" means the
amount spent for maintenance and operations from property tax and
additional sales and use tax revenues in the preceding year, and
"sales tax revenue rate" means a number expressed in dollars per
$100 of taxable value, calculated by dividing the revenue that will
be generated by the additional sales and use tax in the current year
as calculated under Subsection (d) [of this section] by the current
total value.
(c) In a year in which a taxing unit that has been imposing
an additional sales and use tax ceases to impose an additional sales
and use tax, the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate and rollback
tax rate for the taxing unit are calculated according to the
following formulas:
NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] TAX RATE = [(LAST YEAR'S
LEVY - LOST PROPERTY LEVY) / (CURRENT TOTAL VALUE - NEW
PROPERTY VALUE)] + SALES TAX LOSS RATE
[and]
ROLLBACK TAX RATE FOR SMALL TAXING UNIT = [(LAST YEAR'S
MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS EXPENSE x 1.08) / ([TOTAL]
CURRENT TOTAL VALUE - NEW PROPERTY VALUE)] + CURRENT
DEBT RATE
and
ROLLBACK TAX RATE FOR TAXING UNIT OTHER THAN SMALL
TAXING UNIT = [(LAST YEAR'S MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS
EXPENSE x 1.025) / (CURRENT TOTAL VALUE - NEW PROPERTY
VALUE)] + CURRENT DEBT RATE
where "sales tax loss rate" means a number expressed in dollars per
$100 of taxable value, calculated by dividing the amount of sales
and use tax revenue generated in the last four quarters for which
the information is available by the current total value and "last
year's maintenance and operations expense" means the amount spent
for maintenance and operations from property tax and additional
sales and use tax revenues in the preceding year.
(c-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
the governing body of a taxing unit other than a small taxing unit
may direct the designated officer or employee to calculate the
rollback tax rate of the taxing unit in the manner provided for a
small taxing unit if any part of the taxing unit is located in an
area declared a disaster area during the current tax year by the
governor or by the president of the United States. The designated
officer or employee shall continue calculating the rollback tax
rate in the manner provided by this subsection until the earlier of:
(1) the first tax year in which the total taxable value
of property taxable by the taxing unit as shown on the appraisal
roll for the taxing unit submitted by the assessor for the taxing
unit to the governing body exceeds the total taxable value of
property taxable by the taxing unit on January 1 of the tax year in
which the disaster occurred; or
(2) the fifth tax year after the tax year in which the
disaster occurred.
(e) If a city that imposes an additional sales and use tax
receives payments under the terms of a contract executed before
January 1, 1986, in which the city agrees not to annex certain
property or a certain area and the owners or lessees of the property
or of property in the area agree to pay at least annually to the city
an amount determined by reference to all or a percentage of the
property tax rate of the city and all or a part of the value of the
property subject to the agreement or included in the area subject to
the agreement, the governing body, by order adopted by a majority
vote of the governing body, may direct the designated officer or
employee to add to the no-new-revenue [effective] and rollback tax
rates the amount that, when applied to the total taxable value
submitted to the governing body, would produce an amount of taxes
equal to the difference between the total amount of payments for the
tax year under contracts described by this subsection under the
rollback tax rate calculated under this section and the total
amount of payments for the tax year that would have been obligated
to the city if the city had not adopted an additional sales and use
tax.
(g) If the rate of the additional sales and use tax is
increased, the designated officer or employee shall make two
projections, in the manner provided by Subsection (d) [of this
section], of the revenue generated by the additional sales and use
tax in the following year. The first projection must take into
account the increase and the second projection must not take into
account the increase. The designated officer or employee shall
then subtract the amount of the result of the second projection from
the amount of the result of the first projection to determine the
revenue generated as a result of the increase in the additional
sales and use tax. In the first year in which an additional sales
and use tax is increased, the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate
for the taxing unit is the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate
before the increase minus a number the numerator of which is the
revenue generated as a result of the increase in the additional
sales and use tax, as determined under this subsection, and the
denominator of which is the current total value minus the new
property value.
(h) If the rate of the additional sales and use tax is
decreased, the designated officer or employee shall make two
projections, in the manner provided by Subsection (d) [of this
section], of the revenue generated by the additional sales and use
tax in the following year. The first projection must take into
account the decrease and the second projection must not take into
account the decrease. The designated officer or employee shall
then subtract the amount of the result of the first projection from
the amount of the result of the second projection to determine the
revenue lost as a result of the decrease in the additional sales and
use tax. In the first year in which an additional sales and use tax
is decreased, the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate for the
taxing unit is the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate before the
decrease plus a number the numerator of which is the revenue lost as
a result of the decrease in the additional sales and use tax, as
determined under this subsection, and the denominator of which is
the current total value minus the new property value.
SECTION 31. The heading to Section 26.043, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26.043. ROLLBACK AND NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] TAX
RATES [RATE] IN CITY IMPOSING MASS TRANSIT SALES AND USE TAX.
SECTION 32. Sections 26.043(a) and (b), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) In the tax year in which a city has set an election on
the question of whether to impose a local sales and use tax under
Subchapter H, Chapter 453, Transportation Code, the officer or
employee designated to make the calculations provided by Section
26.04 may not make those calculations until the outcome of the
election is determined. If the election is determined in favor of
the imposition of the tax, the designated officer or employee
[representative] shall subtract from the city's rollback and
no-new-revenue [effective] tax rates the amount that, if applied to
the city's current total value, would impose an amount equal to the
amount of property taxes budgeted in the current tax year to pay for
expenses related to mass transit services.
(b) In a tax year to which this section applies, a reference
in this chapter to the city's no-new-revenue [effective] or
rollback tax rate refers to that rate as adjusted under this
section.
SECTION 33. The heading to Section 26.044, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26.044. NO-NEW-REVENUE [EFFECTIVE] TAX RATE TO PAY FOR
STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANDATE.
SECTION 34. Sections 26.044(a), (b), and (c), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The first time that a county adopts a tax rate after
September 1, 1991, in which the state criminal justice mandate
applies to the county, the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance
and operation rate for the county is increased by the rate
calculated according to the following formula:
(State Criminal Justice Mandate) / (Current Total
Value - New Property Value)
(b) In the second and subsequent years that a county adopts
a tax rate, if the amount spent by the county for the state criminal
justice mandate increased over the previous year, the
no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and operation rate for the
county is increased by the rate calculated according to the
following formula:
(This Year's State Criminal Justice Mandate - Previous
Year's State Criminal Justice Mandate) / (Current
Total Value - New Property Value)
(c) The county shall include a notice of the increase in the
no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and operation rate provided
by this section, including a description and amount of the state
criminal justice mandate, in the information published under
Section 26.04(e) and Section 26.06(b) [of this code].
SECTION 35. Sections 26.0441(a), (b), and (c), Tax Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) In the first tax year in which a taxing unit adopts a tax
rate after January 1, 2000, and in which the enhanced minimum
eligibility standards for indigent health care established under
Section 61.006, Health and Safety Code, apply to the taxing unit,
the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and operations rate for
the taxing unit is increased by the rate computed according to the
following formula:
Amount of Increase = Enhanced Indigent Health Care
Expenditures / (Current Total Value - New Property
Value)
(b) In each subsequent tax year, if the taxing unit's
enhanced indigent health care expenses exceed the amount of those
expenses for the preceding year, the no-new-revenue [effective]
maintenance and operations rate for the taxing unit is increased by
the rate computed according to the following formula:
Amount of Increase = (Current Tax Year's Enhanced
Indigent Health Care Expenditures - Preceding Tax
Year's Indigent Health Care Expenditures) / (Current
Total Value - New Property Value)
(c) The taxing unit shall include a notice of the increase
in its no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and operations rate
provided by this section, including a brief description and the
amount of the enhanced indigent health care expenditures, in the
information published under Section 26.04(e) and, if applicable,
Section 26.06(b).
SECTION 36. Section 26.05, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g) and adding Subsections
(d-1), (d-2), and (e-1) to read as follows:
(a) The governing body of each taxing unit[, before the
later of September 30 or the 60th day after the date the certified
appraisal roll is received by the taxing unit,] shall adopt a tax
rate for the current tax year and shall notify the assessor for the
taxing unit of the rate adopted. The governing body must adopt a
tax rate before the later of September 30 or the 60th day after the
date the certified appraisal roll is received by the taxing unit,
except that the governing body must adopt a tax rate that exceeds
the rollback tax rate before August 15. The tax rate consists of
two components, each of which must be approved separately. The
components are:
(1) for a taxing unit other than a school district, the
rate that, if applied to the total taxable value, will impose the
total amount published under Section 26.04(e)(3)(C), less any
amount of additional sales and use tax revenue that will be used to
pay debt service, or, for a school district, the rate calculated
under Section 44.004(c)(5)(A)(ii)(b), Education Code; and
(2) the rate that, if applied to the total taxable
value, will impose the amount of taxes needed to fund maintenance
and operation expenditures of the taxing unit for the next year.
(b) A taxing unit may not impose property taxes in any year
until the governing body has adopted a tax rate for that year, and
the annual tax rate must be set by ordinance, resolution, or order,
depending on the method prescribed by law for adoption of a law by
the governing body. The vote on the ordinance, resolution, or order
setting the tax rate must be separate from the vote adopting the
budget. For a taxing unit other than a school district, the vote on
the ordinance, resolution, or order setting a tax rate that exceeds
the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate must be a record vote, and
at least 60 percent of the members of the governing body must vote
in favor of the ordinance, resolution, or order. For a school
district, the vote on the ordinance, resolution, or order setting a
tax rate that exceeds the sum of the no-new-revenue [effective]
maintenance and operations tax rate of the district as determined
under Section 26.08(i) and the district's current debt rate must be
a record vote, and at least 60 percent of the members of the
governing body must vote in favor of the ordinance, resolution, or
order. A motion to adopt an ordinance, resolution, or order setting
a tax rate that exceeds the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate
must be made in the following form: "I move that the property tax
rate be increased by the adoption of a tax rate of (specify tax
rate), which is effectively a (insert percentage by which the
proposed tax rate exceeds the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate)
percent increase in the tax rate." If the ordinance, resolution, or
order sets a tax rate that, if applied to the total taxable value,
will impose an amount of taxes to fund maintenance and operation
expenditures of the taxing unit that exceeds the amount of taxes
imposed for that purpose in the preceding year, the taxing unit
must:
(1) include in the ordinance, resolution, or order in
type larger than the type used in any other portion of the document:
(A) the following statement: "THIS TAX RATE WILL
RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR'S
TAX RATE."; and
(B) if the tax rate exceeds the no-new-revenue
[effective] maintenance and operations rate, the following
statement: "THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY (INSERT
PERCENTAGE BY WHICH THE TAX RATE EXCEEDS THE NO-NEW-REVENUE
[EFFECTIVE] MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS RATE) PERCENT AND WILL RAISE
TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY
APPROXIMATELY $(Insert amount)."; and
(2) include on the home page of the [any] Internet
website of [operated by] the taxing unit:
(A) the following statement: "(Insert name of
taxing unit) ADOPTED A TAX RATE THAT WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR
MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE"; and
(B) if the tax rate exceeds the no-new-revenue
[effective] maintenance and operations rate, the following
statement: "THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY (INSERT
PERCENTAGE BY WHICH THE TAX RATE EXCEEDS THE NO-NEW-REVENUE
[EFFECTIVE] MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS RATE) PERCENT AND WILL RAISE
TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY
APPROXIMATELY $(Insert amount)."
(c) If the governing body of a taxing unit does not adopt a
tax rate before the date required by Subsection (a), the tax rate
for the taxing unit for that tax year is the lower of the
no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate calculated for that tax year or
the tax rate adopted by the taxing unit for the preceding tax year.
A tax rate established by this subsection is treated as an adopted
tax rate. Before the fifth day after the establishment of a tax
rate by this subsection, the governing body of the taxing unit must
ratify the applicable tax rate in the manner required by Subsection
(b).
(d) The governing body of a taxing unit other than a school
district may not adopt a tax rate that exceeds the lower of the
rollback tax rate or the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate
calculated as provided by this chapter until the governing body has
held two public hearings on the proposed tax rate and has otherwise
complied with Section 26.06 and Section 26.065. The governing body
of a taxing unit shall reduce a tax rate set by law or by vote of the
electorate to the lower of the rollback tax rate or the
no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate and may not adopt a higher rate
unless it first complies with Section 26.06.
(d-1) The governing body of a taxing unit may not hold a
public hearing on a proposed tax rate or a public meeting to adopt a
tax rate until the 14th day after the date the officer or employee
designated by the governing body of the taxing unit to calculate the
no-new-revenue tax rate and the rollback tax rate for the taxing
unit complies with Section 26.17.
(d-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the governing body of
a taxing unit other than a school district may not adopt a tax rate
until:
(1) the tax notice officer of each appraisal district
in which the taxing unit participates has delivered the notice
required by Section 26.04(e-2);
(2) the designated officer or employee of the taxing
unit has:
(A) entered in the real-time tax database
maintained by the tax notice officer the information described by
Section 26.17(b) for the current tax year; and
(B) incorporated the completed tax rate
calculation forms prepared under Section 26.04(d-1) into the
real-time tax database maintained by the tax notice officer; and
(3) the taxing unit has posted the information
described by Section 26.18 on the Internet website used by the
taxing unit for that purpose.
(e) A person who owns taxable property is entitled to an
injunction restraining the collection of taxes by a taxing unit in
which the property is taxable if the taxing unit has not complied
with the requirements of this section or Section 26.04 [and the
failure to comply was not in good faith]. It is a defense in an
action for an injunction under this subsection that the failure to
comply was in good faith. An action to enjoin the collection of
taxes must be filed not later than the 15th day after the date the
taxing unit adopts a tax rate. A property owner is not required to
pay the taxes imposed by a taxing unit on the owner's property while
an action filed by the property owner to enjoin the collection of
taxes imposed by the taxing unit on the owner's property is pending.
If the property owner pays the taxes and subsequently prevails in
the action, the property owner is entitled to a refund of the taxes
paid, together with reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
The property owner is not required to apply to the collector for the
taxing unit to receive the refund [prior to the date a taxing unit
delivers substantially all of its tax bills].
(e-1) The governing body of a taxing unit that imposes an
additional sales and use tax may not adopt the component of the tax
rate of the taxing unit described by Subsection (a)(1) of this
section until the chief financial officer or the auditor for the
taxing unit submits to the governing body of the taxing unit a
written certification that the amount of additional sales and use
tax revenue that will be used to pay debt service has been deducted
from the total amount published under Section 26.04(e)(3)(C) as
required by Subsection (a)(1) of this section. The comptroller
shall adopt rules governing the form of the certification required
by this subsection and the manner in which it is required to be
submitted.
(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the governing body of a
school district that elects to adopt a tax rate before the adoption
of a budget for the fiscal year that begins in the current tax year
may adopt a tax rate for the current tax year before receipt of the
certified appraisal roll for the school district if the chief
appraiser of the appraisal district in which the school district
participates has certified to the assessor for the school district
an estimate of the taxable value of property in the school district
as provided by Section 26.01(e). If a school district adopts a tax
rate under this subsection, the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate
and the rollback tax rate of the district shall be calculated based
on the certified estimate of taxable value.
SECTION 37. Section 26.052, Tax Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(e) Public notice provided under Subsection (c) must
specify:
(1) the tax rate that the governing body proposes to
adopt;
(2) the date, time, and location of the meeting of the
governing body of the taxing unit at which the governing body will
consider adopting the proposed tax rate; and
(3) if the proposed tax rate for the taxing unit
exceeds the taxing unit's no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate
calculated as provided by Section 26.04, a statement substantially
identical to the following: "The proposed tax rate would increase
total taxes in (name of taxing unit) by (percentage by which the
proposed tax rate exceeds the no-new-revenue [effective] tax
rate)."
(f) A taxing unit to which this section applies that elects
to provide public notice of its proposed tax rate under Subsection
(c)(2) must also provide public notice of its proposed tax rate by
posting notice of the proposed tax rate, including the information
prescribed by Subsection (e), prominently on the home page of the
Internet website of the taxing unit.
SECTION 38. Section 26.06, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections (b-1),
(b-2), (b-3), and (b-4) to read as follows:
(b) The notice of a public hearing may not be smaller than
one-quarter page of a standard-size or a tabloid-size newspaper,
and the headline on the notice must be in 24-point or larger type.
[The notice must contain a statement in the following form:
["NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX INCREASE
["The (name of the taxing unit) will hold two public hearings
on a proposal to increase total tax revenues from properties on the
tax roll in the preceding tax year by (percentage by which proposed
tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or effective tax rate
calculated under this chapter) percent. Your individual taxes may
increase at a greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on
the change in the taxable value of your property in relation to the
change in taxable value of all other property and the tax rate that
is adopted.
["The first public hearing will be held on (date and time) at
(meeting place).
["The second public hearing will be held on (date and time) at
(meeting place).
["(Names of all members of the governing body, showing how
each voted on the proposal to consider the tax increase or, if one
or more were absent, indicating the absences.)
["The average taxable value of a residence homestead in (name
of taxing unit) last year was $____ (average taxable value of a
residence homestead in the taxing unit for the preceding tax year,
disregarding residence homestead exemptions available only to
disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older). Based on
last year's tax rate of $____ (preceding year's adopted tax rate)
per $100 of taxable value, the amount of taxes imposed last year on
the average home was $____ (tax on average taxable value of a
residence homestead in the taxing unit for the preceding tax year,
disregarding residence homestead exemptions available only to
disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older).
["The average taxable value of a residence homestead in (name
of taxing unit) this year is $____ (average taxable value of a
residence homestead in the taxing unit for the current tax year,
disregarding residence homestead exemptions available only to
disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older). If the
governing body adopts the effective tax rate for this year of $____
(effective tax rate) per $100 of taxable value, the amount of taxes
imposed this year on the average home would be $____ (tax on average
taxable value of a residence homestead in the taxing unit for the
current tax year, disregarding residence homestead exemptions
available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or
older).
["If the governing body adopts the proposed tax rate of $____
(proposed tax rate) per $100 of taxable value, the amount of taxes
imposed this year on the average home would be $____ (tax on the
average taxable value of a residence in the taxing unit for the
current year disregarding residence homestead exemptions available
only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older).
["Members of the public are encouraged to attend the hearings
and express their views."]
(b-1) If the proposed tax rate exceeds the no-new-revenue
tax rate and the rollback tax rate of the taxing unit, the notice
must contain a statement in the following form:
"NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX INCREASE
"PROPOSED TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"NO-NEW-REVENUE TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"ROLLBACK TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"The no-new-revenue tax rate is the tax rate for the (current
tax year) tax year that will raise the same amount of property tax
revenue for (name of taxing unit) from the same properties in both
the (preceding tax year) tax year and the (current tax year) tax
year.
"The rollback tax rate is the highest tax rate that (name of
taxing unit) may adopt without holding an election to ratify the
rate.
"The proposed tax rate is greater than the no-new-revenue tax
rate. This means that (name of taxing unit) is proposing to
increase property taxes for the (current tax year) tax year.
"A public hearing on the proposed tax rate will be held on
(date and time) at (meeting place).
"A second public hearing will be held on (date and time) at
(meeting place).
"The proposed tax rate is also greater than the rollback tax
rate. If (name of taxing unit) adopts the proposed tax rate, (name
of taxing unit) is required to hold an election so that the voters
may accept or reject the proposed tax rate. If a majority of the
voters reject the proposed tax rate, the (name of taxing unit) will
be required to adopt a new tax rate that is not greater than the
rollback tax rate. The election will be held on (date of election).
You may contact the (name of office responsible for administering
the election) for information about voting locations. The hours of
voting on election day are (voting hours).
"Your taxes owed under any of the tax rates mentioned above
can be calculated as follows:
"Property tax amount = tax rate x taxable value of your
property / 100
"(Names of all members of the governing body, showing how
each voted on the proposal to consider the tax increase or, if one
or more were absent, indicating the absences.)"
(b-2) If the proposed tax rate exceeds the no-new-revenue
tax rate but does not exceed the rollback tax rate of the taxing
unit, the notice must contain a statement in the following form:
"NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX INCREASE
"PROPOSED TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"NO-NEW-REVENUE TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"ROLLBACK TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"The no-new-revenue tax rate is the tax rate for the (current
tax year) tax year that will raise the same amount of property tax
revenue for (name of taxing unit) from the same properties in both
the (preceding tax year) tax year and the (current tax year) tax
year.
"The rollback tax rate is the highest tax rate that (name of
taxing unit) may adopt without holding an election to ratify the
rate.
"The proposed tax rate is greater than the no-new-revenue tax
rate. This means that (name of taxing unit) is proposing to
increase property taxes for the (current tax year) tax year.
"A public hearing on the proposed tax rate will be held on
(date and time) at (meeting place).
"A second public hearing will be held on (date and time) at
(meeting place).
"The proposed tax rate is not greater than the rollback tax
rate. As a result, (name of taxing unit) is not required to hold an
election at which voters may accept or reject the proposed tax rate.
However, you may express your support for or opposition to the
proposed tax rate by contacting the members of the (name of
governing body) of (name of taxing unit) at their offices or by
attending one of the public hearings mentioned above.
"Your taxes owed under any of the tax rates mentioned above
can be calculated as follows:
"Property tax amount = tax rate x taxable value of your
property / 100
"(Names of all members of the governing body, showing how
each voted on the proposal to consider the tax increase or, if one
or more were absent, indicating the absences.)"
(b-3) If the proposed tax rate does not exceed the
no-new-revenue tax rate but exceeds the rollback tax rate of the
taxing unit, the notice must contain a statement in the following
form:
"NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX RATE
"PROPOSED TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"NO-NEW-REVENUE TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"ROLLBACK TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"The no-new-revenue tax rate is the tax rate for the (current
tax year) tax year that will raise the same amount of property tax
revenue for (name of taxing unit) from the same properties in both
the (preceding tax year) tax year and the (current tax year) tax
year.
"The rollback tax rate is the highest tax rate that (name of
taxing unit) may adopt without holding an election to ratify the
rate.
"The proposed tax rate is not greater than the no-new-revenue
tax rate. This means that (name of taxing unit) is not proposing to
increase property taxes for the (current tax year) tax year.
"A public hearing on the proposed tax rate will be held on
(date and time) at (meeting place).
"A second public hearing will be held on (date and time) at
(meeting place).
"The proposed tax rate is greater than the rollback tax rate.
If (name of taxing unit) adopts the proposed tax rate, (name of
taxing unit) is required to hold an election so that the voters may
accept or reject the proposed tax rate. If a majority of the voters
reject the proposed tax rate, the (name of taxing unit) will be
required to adopt a new tax rate that is not greater than the
rollback tax rate. The election will be held on (date of election).
You may contact the (name of office responsible for administering
the election) for information about voting locations. The hours of
voting on election day are (voting hours).
"Your taxes owed under any of the tax rates mentioned above
can be calculated as follows:
"Property tax amount = tax rate x taxable value of your
property / 100
"(Names of all members of the governing body, showing how
each voted on the proposal to consider the tax increase or, if one
or more were absent, indicating the absences.)"
(b-4) In addition to including the information described by
Subsection (b-1), (b-2), or (b-3), as applicable, the notice must
include the information described by Section 26.062.
(c) The notice of a public hearing under this section may be
delivered by mail to each property owner in the taxing unit, or may
be published in a newspaper. If the notice is published in a
newspaper, it may not be in the part of the paper in which legal
notices and classified advertisements appear. If the taxing unit
publishes the notice in a newspaper [operates an Internet website],
the taxing unit must also post the notice prominently on the home
page of the Internet website of the taxing unit [must be posted on
the website] from the date the notice is first published until the
second public hearing is concluded.
(d) At the public hearings the governing body shall announce
the date, time, and place of the meeting at which it will vote on the
proposed tax rate. After each hearing the governing body shall give
notice of the meeting at which it will vote on the proposed tax rate
and the notice shall be in the same form as prescribed by
Subsections (b) and (c), except that it must state the following:
"NOTICE OF TAX REVENUE INCREASE
"The (name of the taxing unit) conducted public hearings on
(date of first hearing) and (date of second hearing) on a proposal
to increase the total tax revenues of the (name of the taxing unit)
from properties on the tax roll in the preceding year by (percentage
by which proposed tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or
no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate calculated under this chapter)
percent.
"The total tax revenue proposed to be raised last year at last
year's tax rate of (insert tax rate for the preceding year) for each
$100 of taxable value was (insert total amount of taxes imposed in
the preceding year).
"The total tax revenue proposed to be raised this year at the
proposed tax rate of (insert proposed tax rate) for each $100 of
taxable value, excluding tax revenue to be raised from new property
added to the tax roll this year, is (insert amount computed by
multiplying proposed tax rate by the difference between current
total value and new property value).
"The total tax revenue proposed to be raised this year at the
proposed tax rate of (insert proposed tax rate) for each $100 of
taxable value, including tax revenue to be raised from new property
added to the tax roll this year, is (insert amount computed by
multiplying proposed tax rate by current total value).
"The (governing body of the taxing unit) is scheduled to vote
on the tax rate that will result in that tax increase at a public
meeting to be held on (date of meeting) at (location of meeting,
including mailing address) at (time of meeting).
"The (governing body of the taxing unit) proposes to use the
increase in total tax revenue for the purpose of (description of
purpose of increase)."
(e) The meeting to vote on the tax increase may not be
earlier than the third day or later than the seventh [14th] day
after the date of the second public hearing. The meeting must be
held inside the boundaries of the taxing unit in a publicly owned
building or, if a suitable publicly owned building is not
available, in a suitable building to which the public normally has
access. If the governing body does not adopt a tax rate that
exceeds the lower of the rollback tax rate or the no-new-revenue
[effective] tax rate by the seventh [14th] day, it must give a new
notice under Subsection (d) before it may adopt a rate that exceeds
the lower of the rollback tax rate or the no-new-revenue
[effective] tax rate.
SECTION 39. Chapter 26, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Sections 26.061 and 26.062 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.061. NOTICE OF MEETING TO VOTE ON PROPOSED TAX RATE
THAT DOES NOT EXCEED LOWER OF NO-NEW-REVENUE OR ROLLBACK TAX RATE.
(a) This section applies only to the governing body of a taxing
unit other than a school district that proposes to adopt a tax rate
that does not exceed the lower of the no-new-revenue tax rate or the
rollback tax rate calculated as provided by this chapter.
(b) The notice of the meeting at which the governing body of
the taxing unit will vote on the proposed tax rate must contain a
statement in the following form:
"NOTICE OF MEETING TO VOTE ON TAX RATE
"PROPOSED TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"NO-NEW-REVENUE TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"ROLLBACK TAX RATE $__________ per $100
"The no-new-revenue tax rate is the tax rate for the (current
tax year) tax year that will raise the same amount of property tax
revenue for (name of taxing unit) from the same properties in both
the (preceding tax year) tax year and the (current tax year) tax
year.
"The rollback tax rate is the highest tax rate that (name of
taxing unit) may adopt without holding an election to ratify the
rate.
"The proposed tax rate is not greater than the no-new-revenue
tax rate. This means that (name of taxing unit) is not proposing to
increase property taxes for the (current tax year) tax year.
"A public meeting to vote on the proposed tax rate will be
held on (date and time) at (meeting place).
"The proposed tax rate is also not greater than the rollback
tax rate. As a result, (name of taxing unit) is not required to hold
an election to ratify the rate. However, you may express your
support for or opposition to the proposed tax rate by contacting the
members of the (name of governing body) of (name of taxing unit) at
their offices or by attending the public meeting mentioned above.
"Your taxes owed under any of the above rates can be
calculated as follows:
"Property tax amount = tax rate x taxable value of your
property / 100
"(Names of all members of the governing body, showing how
each voted on the proposed tax rate or, if one or more were absent,
indicating the absences.)"
(c) In addition to including the information described by
Subsection (b), the notice must include the information described
by Section 26.062.
Sec. 26.062. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN TAX
RATE NOTICE. (a) In addition to the information described by
Section 26.06(b-1), (b-2), or (b-3) or 26.061, as applicable, a
notice required by that provision must include at the end of the
notice:
(1) a statement in the following form:
"The following table compares the taxes imposed on the
average residence homestead by (name of taxing unit) last year to
the taxes proposed to be imposed on the average residence homestead
by (name of taxing unit) this year:";
(2) a table in the form required by this section
following the statement described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) a statement in the following form following the
table:
(A) if the tax assessor for the taxing unit
maintains an Internet website: "For assistance with tax
calculations, please contact the tax assessor for (name of taxing
unit) at (telephone number) or (e-mail address), or visit (Internet
website address) for more information."; or
(B) if the tax assessor for the taxing unit does
not maintain an Internet website: "For assistance with tax
calculations, please contact the tax assessor for (name of taxing
unit) at (telephone number) or (e-mail address)."
(b) The table must contain five rows and four columns.
(c) The first row must appear as follows:
(1) the first column of the first row must be left
blank;
(2) the second column of the first row must state the
year corresponding to the preceding tax year;
(3) the third column of the first row must state the
year corresponding to the current tax year; and
(4) the fourth column of the first row must be entitled
"Change".
(d) The second row must appear as follows:
(1) the first column of the second row must be entitled
"Total tax rate (per $100 of value)";
(2) the second column of the second row must state the
adopted tax rate for the preceding tax year;
(3) the third column of the second row must state the
proposed tax rate for the current tax year; and
(4) the fourth column of the second row must state the
nominal and percentage difference between the adopted tax rate for
the preceding tax year and the proposed tax rate for the current tax
year as follows: "(increase or decrease, as applicable) of
(nominal difference between tax rate stated in second column of
second row and tax rate stated in third column of second row) per
$100, or (percentage difference between tax rate stated in second
column of second row and tax rate stated in third column of second
row)%".
(e) The third row must appear as follows:
(1) the first column of the third row must be entitled
"Average homestead taxable value";
(2) the second column of the third row must state the
average taxable value of a residence homestead in the taxing unit
for the preceding tax year;
(3) the third column of the third row must state the
average taxable value of a residence homestead in the taxing unit
for the current tax year; and
(4) the fourth column of the third row must state the
percentage difference between the average taxable value of a
residence homestead in the taxing unit for the preceding tax year
and the average taxable value of a residence homestead in the taxing
unit for the current tax year as follows: "(increase or decrease,
as applicable) of (percentage difference between amount stated in
second column of third row and amount stated in third column of
third row)%".
(f) The fourth row must appear as follows:
(1) the first column of the fourth row must be entitled
"Tax on average homestead";
(2) the second column of the fourth row must state the
amount of taxes imposed by the taxing unit in the preceding tax year
on a residence homestead with a taxable value equal to the average
taxable value of a residence homestead in the taxing unit in the
preceding tax year;
(3) the third column of the fourth row must state the
amount of taxes that would be imposed by the taxing unit in the
current tax year on a residence homestead with a taxable value equal
to the average taxable value of a residence homestead in the taxing
unit in the current tax year if the taxing unit adopted the proposed
tax rate; and
(4) the fourth column of the fourth row must state the
nominal and percentage difference between the amount of taxes
imposed by the taxing unit in the preceding tax year on a residence
homestead with a taxable value equal to the average taxable value of
a residence homestead in the taxing unit in the preceding tax year
and the amount of taxes that would be imposed by the taxing unit in
the current tax year on a residence homestead with a taxable value
equal to the average taxable value of a residence homestead in the
taxing unit in the current tax year if the taxing unit adopted the
proposed tax rate, as follows: "(increase or decrease, as
applicable) of (nominal difference between amount stated in second
column of fourth row and amount stated in third column of fourth
row), or (percentage difference between amount stated in second
column of fourth row and amount stated in third column of fourth
row)%".
(g) The fifth row must appear as follows:
(1) the first column of the fifth row must be entitled
"Total tax levy on all properties";
(2) the second column of the fifth row must state the
amount equal to last year's levy;
(3) the third column of the fifth row must state the
amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the current
total value and dividing the product by 100; and
(4) the fourth column of the fifth row must state the
nominal and percentage difference between the total amount of taxes
imposed by the taxing unit in the preceding tax year and the amount
that would be imposed by the taxing unit in the current tax year if
the taxing unit adopted the proposed tax rate, as follows:
"(increase or decrease, as applicable) of (nominal difference
between amount stated in second column of fifth row and amount
stated in third column of fifth row), or (percentage difference
between amount stated in second column of fifth row and amount
stated in third column of fifth row)%".
(h) In calculating the average taxable value of a residence
homestead in the taxing unit for the preceding tax year and the
current tax year for purposes of Subsections (e) and (f), any
residence homestead exemption available only to disabled persons,
persons 65 years of age or older, or their surviving spouses must be
disregarded.
SECTION 40. Section 26.065(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) The [If the] taxing unit [owns, operates, or controls an
Internet website, the unit] shall post notice of the public hearing
prominently on the home page of the Internet website of the taxing
unit continuously for at least seven days immediately before the
public hearing on the proposed tax rate increase and at least seven
days immediately before the date of the vote proposing the increase
in the tax rate.
SECTION 41. The heading to Section 26.08, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26.08. ELECTION TO APPROVE TAX RATE OF TAXING UNIT
[RATIFY SCHOOL TAXES].
SECTION 42. Section 26.08, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (b), (d), (d-1), (d-2), (e), (g), (h), (i), (n),
and (p) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (q) to read as follows:
(a) If the governing body of a taxing unit [school district]
adopts a tax rate that exceeds the taxing unit's [district's]
rollback tax rate, the registered voters of the taxing unit
[district] at an election held for that purpose must determine
whether to approve the adopted tax rate. When increased
expenditure of money by a taxing unit [school district] is
necessary to respond to a disaster, including a tornado, hurricane,
flood, or other calamity, but not including a drought, that has
impacted the taxing unit [a school district] and the governor has
declared any part of [requested federal disaster assistance for]
the area in which the taxing unit [school district] is located as a
disaster area, an election is not required under this section to
approve the tax rate adopted by the governing body for the year
following the year in which the disaster occurs.
(b) This subsection applies only to a taxing unit other than
a school district. The governing body shall order that the election
be held in the taxing unit [school district] on the uniform election
date prescribed by [a date not less than 30 or more than 90 days
after the day on which it adopted the tax rate.] Section 41.001,
Election Code, that occurs in November of the applicable tax year.
The order calling the election may not be issued later than August
15 [does not apply to the election unless a date specified by that
section falls within the time permitted by this section]. At the
election, the ballots shall be prepared to permit voting for or
against the proposition: "Approving the ad valorem tax rate of
$_____ per $100 valuation in (name of taxing unit [school
district]) for the current year, a rate that is $_____ higher per
$100 valuation than the [school district] rollback tax rate of
(name of taxing unit), for the purpose of (description of purpose of
increase)." The ballot proposition must include the adopted tax
rate and the difference between that rate and the rollback tax rate
in the appropriate places.
(b-1) This subsection applies only to a school district.
The governing body of a school district shall order that the
election be held in the school district on the uniform election date
prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, that occurs in
November of the applicable tax year. The order calling the election
may not be issued later than August 15. At the election, the
ballots shall be prepared to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "Approving the ad valorem tax rate of $___ per $100
valuation in (name of school district) for the current year, a rate
that is $_____ higher per $100 valuation than the rollback tax rate
of (name of school district), for the purpose of (description of
purpose of increase). This rate will allow the school district to
collect an amount of maintenance and operations tax revenue that is
at least 2.5 percent greater than the amount of that revenue that
was collected by the school district in the preceding year." The
ballot proposition must include the adopted tax rate and the
difference between that rate and the rollback tax rate in the
appropriate places.
(d) If the proposition is not approved as provided by
Subsection (c), the governing body may not adopt a tax rate for the
taxing unit [school district] for the current year that exceeds the
taxing unit's [school district's] rollback tax rate.
(d-1) If, after tax bills for the taxing unit [school
district] have been mailed, a proposition to approve the taxing
unit's [school district's] adopted tax rate is not approved by the
voters of the taxing unit [district] at an election held under this
section, on subsequent adoption of a new tax rate by the governing
body of the taxing unit [district], the assessor for the taxing unit
[school] shall prepare and mail corrected tax bills. The assessor
shall include with each bill a brief explanation of the reason for
and effect of the corrected bill. The date on which the taxes
become delinquent for the year is extended by a number of days equal
to the number of days between the date the first tax bills were sent
and the date the corrected tax bills were sent.
(d-2) If a property owner pays taxes calculated using the
originally adopted tax rate of the taxing unit [school district]
and the proposition to approve the adopted tax rate is not approved
by the voters, the taxing unit [school district] shall refund the
difference between the amount of taxes paid and the amount due under
the subsequently adopted rate if the difference between the amount
of taxes paid and the amount due under the subsequent rate is $1 or
more. If the difference between the amount of taxes paid and the
amount due under the subsequent rate is less than $1, the taxing
unit [school district] shall refund the difference on request of
the taxpayer. An application for a refund of less than $1 must be
made within 90 days after the date the refund becomes due or the
taxpayer forfeits the right to the refund.
(e) For purposes of this section, local tax funds dedicated
to a junior college district under Section 45.105(e), Education
Code, shall be eliminated from the calculation of the tax rate
adopted by the governing body of a [the] school district. However,
the funds dedicated to the junior college district are subject to
Section 26.085.
(g) In a school district that received distributions from an
equalization tax imposed under former Chapter 18, Education Code,
the no-new-revenue tax [effective] rate of that tax as of the date
of the county unit system's abolition is added to the district's
rollback tax rate.
(h) For purposes of this section, increases in taxable
values and tax levies occurring within a reinvestment zone
designated under Chapter 311 [(Tax Increment Financing Act),] in
which a school [the] district is a participant[,] shall be
eliminated from the calculation of the tax rate adopted by the
governing body of the school district.
(i) For purposes of this section, the no-new-revenue
[effective] maintenance and operations tax rate of a school
district is the tax rate that, applied to the current total value
for the district, would impose taxes in an amount that, when added
to state funds that would be distributed to the district under
Chapter 42, Education Code, for the school year beginning in the
current tax year using that tax rate, would provide the same amount
of state funds distributed under Chapter 42, Education Code, and
maintenance and operations taxes of the district per student in
weighted average daily attendance for that school year that would
have been available to the district in the preceding year if the
funding elements for Chapters 41 and 42, Education Code, for the
current year had been in effect for the preceding year.
(n) For purposes of this section, the rollback tax rate of a
school district [whose maintenance and operations tax rate for the
2005 tax year was $1.50 or less per $100 of taxable value] is the sum
of the following:
(1) the rate per $100 of taxable value that is equal to
the product of the no-new-revenue maintenance and operations tax
rate of the district as computed under Subsection (i) and 1.025 [for
the 2006 tax year, the sum of the rate that is equal to 88.67 percent
of the maintenance and operations tax rate adopted by the district
for the 2005 tax year, the rate of $0.04 per $100 of taxable value,
and the district's current debt rate]; and
(2) [for the 2007 and subsequent tax years, the lesser
of the following:
[(A) the sum of the following:
[(i) the rate per $100 of taxable value that
is equal to the product of the state compression percentage, as
determined under Section 42.2516, Education Code, for the current
year and $1.50;
[(ii) the rate of $0.04 per $100 of taxable
value;
[(iii) the rate that is equal to the sum of
the differences for the 2006 and each subsequent tax year between
the adopted tax rate of the district for that year if the rate was
approved at an election under this section and the rollback tax rate
of the district for that year; and
[(iv) the district's current debt rate; or
[(B) the sum of the following:
[(i) the effective maintenance and
operations tax rate of the district as computed under Subsection
(i) or (k), as applicable;
[(ii) the rate per $100 of taxable value
that is equal to the product of the state compression percentage, as
determined under Section 42.2516, Education Code, for the current
year and $0.06; and
[(iii)] the district's current debt rate.
(p) Notwithstanding Subsections (i) and[,] (n), [and (o),]
if for the preceding tax year a school district adopted a
maintenance and operations tax rate that was less than the
district's no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and operations
tax rate for that preceding tax year, the rollback tax rate of the
district for the current tax year is calculated as if the district
adopted a maintenance and operations tax rate for the preceding tax
year that was equal to the district's no-new-revenue [effective]
maintenance and operations tax rate for that preceding tax year.
(q) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, this
section does not apply to a tax imposed by a taxing unit if a
provision of an uncodified local or special law enacted by the 86th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, or by an earlier legislature
provides that former Section 26.07 does not apply to a tax imposed
by the taxing unit.
SECTION 43. The heading to Section 26.16, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26.16. POSTING OF TAX-RELATED INFORMATION [TAX RATES]
ON COUNTY'S INTERNET WEBSITE.
SECTION 44. Section 26.16, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections (a-1), (d-1), and
(d-2) to read as follows:
(a) Each county shall maintain an Internet website. The
county assessor-collector for each county [that maintains an
Internet website] shall post on the Internet website maintained by
[of] the county the following information for the most recent five
tax years [beginning with the 2012 tax year] for each taxing unit
all or part of the territory of which is located in the county:
(1) the adopted tax rate;
(2) the maintenance and operations rate;
(3) the debt rate;
(4) the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate;
(5) the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and
operations rate; and
(6) the rollback tax rate.
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), a reference to the
no-new-revenue tax rate or the no-new-revenue maintenance and
operations rate includes the equivalent effective tax rate or
effective maintenance and operations rate for a preceding year.
This subsection expires January 1, 2026.
(d) The county assessor-collector shall post immediately
below the table prescribed by Subsection (c) the following
statement:
"The county is providing this table of property tax rate
information as a service to the residents of the county. Each
individual taxing unit is responsible for calculating the property
tax rates listed in this table pertaining to that taxing unit and
providing that information to the county.
"The adopted tax rate is the tax rate adopted by the governing
body of a taxing unit.
"The maintenance and operations rate is the component of the
adopted tax rate of a taxing unit that will impose the amount of
taxes needed to fund maintenance and operation expenditures of the
taxing unit for the following year.
"The debt rate is the component of the adopted tax rate of a
taxing unit that will impose the amount of taxes needed to fund the
taxing unit's debt service for the following year.
"The no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate is the tax rate that
would generate the same amount of revenue in the current tax year as
was generated by a taxing unit's adopted tax rate in the preceding
tax year from property that is taxable in both the current tax year
and the preceding tax year.
"The no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance and operations
rate is the tax rate that would generate the same amount of revenue
for maintenance and operations in the current tax year as was
generated by a taxing unit's maintenance and operations rate in the
preceding tax year from property that is taxable in both the current
tax year and the preceding tax year.
"The rollback tax rate is the highest tax rate a taxing unit
may adopt before requiring voter approval at an election. An [In
the case of a taxing unit other than a school district, the voters
by petition may require that a rollback election be held if the unit
adopts a tax rate in excess of the unit's rollback tax rate. In the
case of a school district, an] election will automatically be held
if a taxing unit [the district] wishes to adopt a tax rate in excess
of the taxing unit's [district's] rollback tax rate."
(d-1) In addition to posting the information described by
Subsection (a), the county assessor-collector shall post on the
Internet website of the county for each taxing unit all or part of
the territory of which is located in the county:
(1) the tax rate calculation forms used by the
designated officer or employee of each taxing unit to calculate the
no-new-revenue and rollback tax rates of the taxing unit for the
most recent five tax years beginning with the 2020 tax year, as
certified by the designated officer or employee under Section
26.04(d-2); and
(2) the name and official contact information for each
member of the governing body of the taxing unit.
(d-2) Not later than August 1, the county
assessor-collector shall post on the website the tax rate
calculation forms described by Subsection (d-1)(1) for the current
tax year.
SECTION 45. Chapter 26, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Sections 26.17 and 26.18 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.17. REAL-TIME TAX DATABASE. (a) The tax notice
officer of each appraisal district shall create and maintain a
database that:
(1) is identified by the name of the office of tax
notices, instead of the name of the appraisal district, and as the
"Real-Time Tax Database";
(2) contains information that is provided by
designated officers or employees of the taxing units that are
located in the appraisal district in the manner required by rules
adopted by the comptroller;
(3) is continuously updated as preliminary and revised
data become available to and are provided by the designated
officers or employees of taxing units;
(4) is accessible to the public; and
(5) is searchable by property address and owner.
(b) The database must be capable of generating, with respect
to each property listed on the appraisal roll for the appraisal
district, a real-time tax notice that includes:
(1) the property's identification number;
(2) the property's market value;
(3) the property's taxable value;
(4) the name of each taxing unit in which the property
is located;
(5) for each taxing unit other than a school district
in which the property is located:
(A) the no-new-revenue tax rate; and
(B) the rollback tax rate;
(6) for each school district in which the property is
located:
(A) the rate to maintain the same amount of state
and local revenue per weighted student that the district received
in the school year beginning in the preceding tax year; and
(B) the rollback tax rate;
(7) the tax rate proposed by the governing body of each
taxing unit in which the property is located;
(8) for each taxing unit other than a school district
in which the property is located, the taxes that would be imposed on
the property if the taxing unit adopted a tax rate equal to:
(A) the no-new-revenue tax rate; and
(B) the proposed tax rate;
(9) for each school district in which the property is
located, the taxes that would be imposed on the property if the
district adopted a tax rate equal to:
(A) the rate to maintain the same amount of state
and local revenue per weighted student that the district received
in the school year beginning in the preceding tax year; and
(B) the proposed tax rate;
(10) for each taxing unit other than a school district
in which the property is located, the difference between the amount
calculated under Subdivision (8)(A) and the amount calculated under
Subdivision (8)(B);
(11) for each school district in which the property is
located, the difference between the amount calculated under
Subdivision (9)(A) and the amount calculated under Subdivision
(9)(B);
(12) the date, time, and location of each public
hearing, if applicable, on the proposed tax rate to be held by the
governing body of each taxing unit in which the property is located;
(13) the date, time, and location of the public
meeting at which the tax rate will be adopted to be held by the
governing body of each taxing unit in which the property is located;
and
(14) for each taxing unit in which the property is
located, an e-mail address at which the taxing unit is capable of
receiving written comments regarding the proposed tax rate of the
taxing unit.
(c) The address of the Internet website at which the
information contained in the database may be found must be in the
form "(insert name of county in which appraisal district is
established)CountyTaxRates.gov" or a substantially similar form.
(d) The database must provide a link to the Internet website
used by each taxing unit in which the property is located to post
the information described by Section 26.18. The link must be
preceded by the following statement:
"Click on the name of the taxing unit for the following information
about the taxing unit:
"(1) the names of and contact information for each
member of the governing body of the taxing unit;
"(2) the budget proposed or adopted for the current
year and the budgets for the preceding two years, as well as an
analysis of the change in the budget from year to year;
"(3) the amount of property tax revenue budgeted for
maintenance and operation expenses and debt service in the proposed
or adopted budget and in the budgets for the preceding two years;
"(4) the tax rates adopted for maintenance and
operation expenses and debt service for the preceding two years and
the rates proposed for those purposes for the current year; and
"(5) the most recent financial audit of the taxing
unit."
(e) The database must include the following definition of
the no-new-revenue tax rate: "The no-new-revenue tax rate is last
year's tax rate, adjusted for changes in taxable value. The
no-new-revenue tax rate takes into account all property on the tax
roll for both last year and this year."
(f) The officer or employee designated by the governing body
of each taxing unit to calculate the no-new-revenue tax rate and the
rollback tax rate for the taxing unit must electronically:
(1) enter in the database the information described by
Subsection (b) as the information becomes available; and
(2) incorporate into the database the completed tax
rate calculation forms prepared under Section 26.04(d-1) at the
same time the designated officer or employee submits the tax rates
to the governing body of the taxing unit under Section 26.04(e).
(g) The e-mail address described by Subsection (b)(14) must
be accompanied by the following statement: "An e-mail address is
provided for each taxing unit as a way for you to express your
support for or opposition to the proposed tax rate. If you wish to
express your support or opposition, you are encouraged to do so
before the date of the hearing shown on the notice."
(h) Each taxing unit shall establish an e-mail address for
the purpose described by Subsection (b)(14).
Sec. 26.18. POSTING OF TAX RATE AND BUDGET INFORMATION BY
TAXING UNIT ON WEBSITE. Each taxing unit shall maintain an Internet
website or have access to a generally accessible Internet website
that may be used for the purposes of this section. Each taxing unit
shall post or cause to be posted on the Internet website the
following information in a format prescribed by the comptroller:
(1) the name of each member of the governing body of
the taxing unit;
(2) the mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone
number of the taxing unit;
(3) the official contact information for each member
of the governing body of the taxing unit, if that information is
different from the information described by Subdivision (2);
(4) the taxing unit's budget for the preceding two
years;
(5) the taxing unit's proposed or adopted budget for
the current year;
(6) the change in the amount of the taxing unit's
budget from the preceding year to the current year, by dollar amount
and percentage;
(7) in the case of a taxing unit other than a school
district, the amount of property tax revenue budgeted for
maintenance and operations for:
(A) the preceding two years; and
(B) the current year;
(8) in the case of a taxing unit other than a school
district, the amount of property tax revenue budgeted for debt
service for:
(A) the preceding two years; and
(B) the current year;
(9) the tax rate for maintenance and operations
adopted by the taxing unit for the preceding two years;
(10) in the case of a taxing unit other than a school
district, the tax rate for debt service adopted by the taxing unit
for the preceding two years;
(11) in the case of a school district, the interest and
sinking fund tax rate adopted by the district for the preceding two
years;
(12) the tax rate for maintenance and operations
proposed by the taxing unit for the current year;
(13) in the case of a taxing unit other than a school
district, the tax rate for debt service proposed by the taxing unit
for the current year;
(14) in the case of a school district, the interest and
sinking fund tax rate proposed by the district for the current year;
and
(15) the most recent financial audit of the taxing
unit.
SECTION 46. 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),
26.08(d-2) [26.07(g)], 26.15(f), 31.11, 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 taxing
unit of the approval of the late homestead exemption;
(2) if the refund is required by Section 26.08(d-2)
[26.07(g)], on the date the subsequent tax rate is adopted [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 taxing unit approves the refund;
(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 required by Section 31.112(d) or (e), as applicable.
SECTION 47. Section 33.08(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) The governing body of the taxing unit or appraisal
district, in the manner required by law for official action, may
provide that taxes that become delinquent on or after June 1 under
Section 26.08(d-1) [26.07(f)], 26.15(e), 31.03, 31.031, 31.032,
31.04, or 42.42 incur an additional penalty to defray costs of
collection. The amount of the penalty may not exceed the amount of
the compensation specified in the applicable contract with an
attorney under Section 6.30 to be paid in connection with the
collection of the delinquent taxes.
SECTION 48. Section 41.03(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A taxing unit is entitled to challenge before the
appraisal review board:
(1) [the level of appraisals of any category of
property in the district or in any territory in the district, but
not the appraised value of a single taxpayer's property;
[(2)] an exclusion of property from the appraisal
records;
(2) [(3)] a grant in whole or in part of a partial
exemption;
(3) [(4)] a determination that land qualifies for
appraisal as provided by Subchapter C, D, E, or H, Chapter 23; or
(4) [(5)] failure to identify the taxing unit as one
in which a particular property is taxable.
SECTION 49. Section 41.12(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) By July 5 [20], the appraisal review board shall:
(1) hear and determine all or substantially all timely
filed protests;
(2) determine all timely filed challenges;
(3) submit a list of its approved changes in the
records to the chief appraiser; and
(4) approve the records.
SECTION 50. Section 41.44(d), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) A notice of protest is sufficient if it identifies the
protesting property owner, including a person claiming an ownership
interest in the property even if that person is not listed on the
appraisal records as an owner of the property, identifies the
property that is the subject of the protest, and indicates apparent
dissatisfaction with some determination of the appraisal office.
The notice need not be on an official form, but the comptroller
shall prescribe a form that provides for more detail about the
nature of the protest. The form must permit a property owner to
include each property in the appraisal district that is the subject
of a protest. The form must permit a property owner to request that
the protest be heard by a special panel established under Section
6.425 if the protest will be determined by an appraisal review board
to which that section applies and the property is included in a
classification described by Section 6.425(b). The comptroller,
each appraisal office, and each appraisal review board shall make
the forms readily available and deliver one to a property owner on
request.
SECTION 51. Section 41.45, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (d-1), (d-2), and (d-3) to
read as follows:
(d) This subsection does not apply to a special panel
established under Section 6.425. An appraisal review board
consisting of more than three members may sit in panels of not fewer
than three members to conduct protest hearings. [However, the
determination of a protest heard by a panel must be made by the
board.] If the recommendation of a panel is not accepted by the
board, the board may refer the matter for rehearing to a panel
composed of members who did not hear the original protest [hearing]
or, if there are not at least three members who did not hear the
original protest, the board may determine the protest. [Before
determining a protest or conducting a rehearing before a new panel
or the board, the board shall deliver notice of the hearing or
meeting to determine the protest in accordance with the provisions
of this subchapter.]
(d-1) An appraisal review board to which Section 6.425
applies shall sit in special panels established under that section
to conduct protest hearings. A special panel may conduct a protest
hearing relating to property only if the property is described by
Section 6.425(b) and the property owner has requested that a
special panel conduct the hearing or if the protest is assigned to
the special panel under Section 6.425(f). If the recommendation of
a special panel is not accepted by the board, the board may refer
the matter for rehearing to another special panel composed of
members who did not hear the original protest or, if there are not
at least three other special panel members who did not hear the
original protest, the board may determine the protest.
(d-2) The determination of a protest heard by a panel under
Subsection (d) or (d-1) must be made by the board.
(d-3) The board must deliver notice of a hearing or meeting
to determine a protest heard by a panel, or to rehear a protest,
under Subsection (d) or (d-1) in accordance with the provisions of
this subchapter.
SECTION 52. Section 41.46(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) The appraisal review board before which a protest
hearing is scheduled shall deliver written notice to the property
owner initiating a protest of the date, time, [and] place, and
subject matter of [fixed for] the hearing on the protest and of the
property owner's entitlement to a postponement of the hearing as
provided by Section 41.45 unless the property owner waives in
writing notice of the hearing. The board shall deliver the notice
not later than the 15th day before the date of the hearing.
SECTION 53. Section 41.461, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 41.461. NOTICE OF CERTAIN MATTERS BEFORE HEARING;
DELIVERY OF REQUESTED INFORMATION. (a) At least 14 days before the
first scheduled [a] hearing on a protest, the chief appraiser
shall:
(1) deliver a copy of the pamphlet prepared by the
comptroller under Section 5.06 [5.06(a)] to the property owner
initiating the protest if the owner is representing himself, or to
an agent representing the owner if requested by the agent;
(2) inform the property owner that the owner or the
agent of the owner is entitled on request to [may inspect and may
obtain] a copy of the data, schedules, formulas, and all other
information the chief appraiser will [plans to] introduce at the
hearing to establish any matter at issue; and
(3) deliver a copy of the hearing procedures
established by the appraisal review board under Section 41.66 to
the property owner.
(b) The chief appraiser may not charge a property owner or
the designated agent of the owner for copies provided to the [an]
owner or designated agent under this section, regardless of the
manner in which the copies are prepared or delivered [may not exceed
the charge for copies of public information as provided under
Subchapter F, Chapter 552, Government Code, except:
[(1) the total charge for copies provided in
connection with a protest of the appraisal of residential property
may not exceed $15 for each residence; and
[(2) the total charge for copies provided in
connection with a protest of the appraisal of a single unit of
property subject to appraisal, other than residential property, may
not exceed $25].
(c) A chief appraiser shall deliver information requested
by a property owner or the agent of the owner under Subsection
(a)(2):
(1) by regular first-class mail, deposited in the
United States mail, postage prepaid, and addressed to the property
owner or agent at the address provided in the request for the
information;
(2) in an electronic format as provided by an
agreement under Section 1.085; or
(3) subject to Subsection (d), by referring the
property owner or the agent of the owner to a secure Internet
website with user registration and authentication or to the exact
Internet location or uniform resource locator (URL) address on an
Internet website maintained by the appraisal district on which the
requested information is identifiable and readily available.
(d) If a chief appraiser provides a property owner or the
agent of the owner information under Subsection (c)(3), the notice
must contain a statement in a conspicuous font that clearly
indicates that the property owner or the agent of the owner may on
request receive the information by regular first-class mail or in
person at the appraisal office. On request by a property owner or
the agent of the owner, the chief appraiser must provide the
information by regular first-class mail or in person at the
appraisal office.
SECTION 54. Section 41.47, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (c-2) and (f) and amending Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(c-2) The board may not determine the appraised value of the
property that is the subject of a protest to be an amount greater
than the appraised value of the property as shown in the appraisal
records submitted to the board by the chief appraiser under Section
25.22 or 25.23.
(e) The notice of the issuance of the order must contain a
prominently printed statement in upper-case bold lettering
informing the property owner in clear and concise language of the
property owner's right to appeal the order of the board [board's
decision] to district court. The statement must describe the
deadline prescribed by Section 42.06(a) [of this code] for filing a
written notice of appeal[,] and the deadline prescribed by Section
42.21(a) [of this code] for filing the petition for review with the
district court.
(f) The appraisal review board shall take the actions
required by Subsections (a) and (d) not later than the 15th day
after the date the hearing on the protest is concluded.
SECTION 55. Section 41.66, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (h), (i), (j), and (k) and adding Subsections (j-1),
(k-1), and (p) to read as follows:
(h) The appraisal review board shall postpone a hearing on a
protest if the property owner or the designated agent of the owner
requests additional time to prepare for the hearing and establishes
to the board that the chief appraiser failed to comply with Section
41.461. The board is not required to postpone a hearing more than
one time under this subsection.
(i) A hearing on a protest filed by a property owner or the
designated agent of the owner [who is not represented by an agent
designated under Section 1.111] shall be set for a time and date
certain. If the hearing is not commenced within two hours of the
time set for the hearing, the appraisal review board shall postpone
the hearing on the request of the property owner or the designated
agent of the owner.
(j) On the request of a property owner or the [a] designated
agent of the owner, an appraisal review board shall schedule
hearings on protests concerning up to 20 designated properties to
be held consecutively on the same day. The designated properties
must be identified in the same notice of protest, and the notice
must contain in boldfaced type the statement "request for same-day
protest hearings." A property owner or the designated agent of the
owner may [not] file more than one request under this subsection
with the appraisal review board in the same tax year. The appraisal
review board may schedule hearings on protests concerning more than
20 properties filed by the same property owner or the designated
agent of the owner and may use different panels to conduct the
hearings based on the board's customary scheduling. The appraisal
review board may follow the practices customarily used by the board
in the scheduling of hearings under this subsection.
(j-1) An appraisal review board may schedule the hearings on
all protests filed by a property owner or the designated agent of
the owner to be held consecutively. The notice of the hearings must
state the date and time that the first hearing will begin, state the
date the last hearing will end, and list the order in which the
hearings will be held. The order of the hearings listed in the
notice may not be changed without the agreement of the property
owner or the designated agent of the owner, the chief appraiser, and
the appraisal review board. The board may not reschedule a hearing
for which notice is given under this subsection to a date earlier
than the seventh day after the date the last hearing was scheduled
to end unless agreed to by the property owner or the designated
agent of the owner, the chief appraiser, and the appraisal review
board. Unless agreed to by the parties, the board must provide
written notice of the date and time of the rescheduled hearing to
the property owner or the designated agent of the owner not later
than the seventh day before the date of the hearing.
(k) This subsection does not apply to a special panel
established under Section 6.425. If an appraisal review board sits
in panels to conduct protest hearings, protests shall be randomly
assigned to panels, except that the board may consider the type of
property subject to the protest or the ground of the protest for the
purpose of using the expertise of a particular panel in hearing
protests regarding particular types of property or based on
particular grounds. If a protest is scheduled to be heard by a
particular panel, the protest may not be reassigned to another
panel without the consent of the property owner or the designated
agent of the owner. If the appraisal review board has cause to
reassign a protest to another panel, a property owner or the
designated agent of the owner may agree to reassignment of the
protest or may request that the hearing on the protest be postponed.
The board shall postpone the hearing on that request. A change of
members of a panel because of a conflict of interest, illness, or
inability to continue participating in hearings for the remainder
of the day does not constitute reassignment of a protest to another
panel.
(k-1) On the request of a property owner or the designated
agent of the owner, an appraisal review board to which Section 6.425
applies shall assign a protest relating to property described by
Section 6.425(b) to a special panel. In addition, the chairman of
the appraisal review board may assign a protest relating to
property not described by Section 6.425(b) to a special panel as
authorized by Section 6.425(f). Protests assigned to special
panels shall be randomly assigned to those panels. If a protest is
scheduled to be heard by a particular special panel, the protest may
not be reassigned to another special panel without the consent of
the property owner or the designated agent of the owner. If the
board has cause to reassign a protest to another special panel, a
property owner or the designated agent of the owner may agree to
reassignment of the protest or may request that the hearing on the
protest be postponed. The board shall postpone the hearing on that
request. A change of members of a special panel because of a
conflict of interest, illness, or inability to continue
participating in hearings for the remainder of the day does not
constitute reassignment of a protest to another special panel.
(p) At the end of a hearing on a protest, the appraisal
review board shall provide the property owner or the designated
agent of the owner one or more documents indicating that the members
of the board hearing the protest signed the affidavit required by
Subsection (g).
SECTION 56. Section 41.67(d), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) Information that was previously requested under Section
41.461 by the protesting party that was not delivered [made
available] to the protesting party at least 14 days before the
scheduled or postponed hearing may not be used or offered in any
form as evidence in the hearing, including as a document or through
argument or testimony.
SECTION 57. Section 41.71, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 41.71. EVENING AND WEEKEND HEARINGS. (a) An
appraisal review board by rule shall provide for hearings on
protests [in the evening or] on a Saturday or after 5 p.m. on a
weekday [Sunday].
(b) The board may not schedule:
(1) the first hearing on a protest held on a weekday
evening to begin after 7 p.m.; or
(2) a hearing on a protest on a Sunday.
SECTION 58. Section 41A.06(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) To initially qualify to serve as an arbitrator under
this chapter, a person must:
(1) meet the following requirements, as applicable:
(A) be licensed as an attorney in this state; or
(B) have:
(i) completed at least 30 hours of training
in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution procedures from a
university, college, or legal or real estate trade association; and
(ii) been licensed or certified
continuously during the five years preceding the date the person
agrees to serve as an arbitrator as:
(a) a real estate broker or sales
agent under Chapter 1101, Occupations Code;
(b) a real estate appraiser under
Chapter 1103, Occupations Code; or
(c) a certified public accountant
under Chapter 901, Occupations Code; [and]
(2) complete the course for training and education of
appraisal review board members established under Section 5.041 and
be issued a certificate indicating course completion;
(3) complete the training program on property tax law
for the training and education of arbitrators established under
Section 5.043; and
(4) agree to conduct an arbitration for a fee that is
not more than:
(A) $400, if the property qualifies as the
owner's residence homestead under Section 11.13 and the appraised
or market value, as applicable, of the property is $500,000 or less,
as determined by the order;
(B) $450, if the property qualifies as the
owner's residence homestead under Section 11.13 and the appraised
or market value, as applicable, of the property is more than
$500,000, as determined by the order;
(C) $450, if the property does not qualify as the
owner's residence homestead under Section 11.13 and the appraised
or market value, as applicable, of the property is $1 million or
less, as determined by the order;
(D) $750, if the property does not qualify as the
owner's residence homestead under Section 11.13 and the appraised
or market value, as applicable, of the property is more than $1
million but not more than $2 million, as determined by the order;
(E) $1,000, if the property does not qualify as
the owner's residence homestead under Section 11.13 and the
appraised or market value, as applicable, of the property is more
than $2 million but not more than $3 million, as determined by the
order; or
(F) $1,500, if the property does not qualify as
the owner's residence homestead under Section 11.13 and the
appraised or market value, as applicable, of the property is more
than $3 million but not more than $5 million, as determined by the
order.
SECTION 59. Section 41A.061(b), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) To renew the person's agreement to serve as an
arbitrator, the person must:
(1) file a renewal application with the comptroller at
the time and in the manner prescribed by the comptroller;
(2) continue to meet the requirements provided by
Sections 41A.06(b)(1) and (4) [Section 41A.06(b)]; and
(3) during the preceding two years have completed at
least eight hours of continuing education in arbitration and
alternative dispute resolution procedures offered by a university,
college, real estate trade association, or legal association.
SECTION 60. Section 41A.07, Tax Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (e), (f), and (g) and adding Subsection (h) to
read as follows:
(e) To be eligible for appointment as an arbitrator under
this section [Subsection (a)], the arbitrator must reside[:
[(1) in the county in which the property that is the
subject of the appeal is located; or
[(2)] in this state [if no available arbitrator on the
registry resides in that county].
(f) A person is not eligible for appointment as an
arbitrator under this section [Subsection (a)] if at any time
during the preceding five years, the person has:
(1) represented a person for compensation in a
proceeding under this title in the appraisal district in which the
property that is the subject of the appeal is located;
(2) served as an officer or employee of that appraisal
district; or
(3) served as a member of the appraisal review board
for that appraisal district.
(g) The comptroller may not appoint an arbitrator under this
section [Subsection (a)] if the comptroller determines that there
is good cause not to appoint the arbitrator, including information
or evidence indicating repeated bias or misconduct by the person
while acting as an arbitrator.
(h) A property owner may request that, in appointing an
initial arbitrator under this section, the comptroller appoint an
arbitrator who resides in the county in which the property that is
the subject of the appeal is located or an arbitrator who resides
outside that county. In appointing an initial arbitrator under
Subsection (a), the comptroller shall comply with the request of
the property owner unless the property owner requests that the
comptroller appoint an arbitrator who resides in the county in
which the property that is the subject of the appeal is located and
there is not an available arbitrator who resides in that county. In
appointing a substitute arbitrator under Subsection (d), the
comptroller shall consider but is not required to comply with the
request of the property owner. This subsection does not authorize a
property owner to request the appointment of a specific individual
as an arbitrator.
SECTION 61. Section 41A.09(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) An award under this section:
(1) must include a determination of the appraised or
market value, as applicable, of the property that is the subject of
the appeal;
(2) may include any remedy or relief a court may order
under Chapter 42 in an appeal relating to the appraised or market
value of property;
(3) shall specify the arbitrator's fee, which may not
exceed the amount provided by Section 41A.06(b)(4) [41A.06(b)(2)];
(4) is final and may not be appealed except as
permitted under Section 171.088, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
for an award subject to that section; and
(5) may be enforced in the manner provided by
Subchapter D, Chapter 171, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
SECTION 62. Section 45.105(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) The governing body of an independent school district
that governs a junior college district under Subchapter B, Chapter
130, in a county with a population of more than two million may
dedicate a specific percentage of the local tax levy to the use of
the junior college district for facilities and equipment or for the
maintenance and operating expenses of the junior college district.
To be effective, the dedication must be made by the governing body
on or before the date on which the governing body adopts its tax
rate for a year. The amount of local tax funds derived from the
percentage of the local tax levy dedicated to a junior college
district from a tax levy may not exceed the amount that would be
levied by five percent of the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate
for the tax year calculated as provided by Section 26.04, Tax Code,
on all property taxable by the school district. All real property
purchased with these funds is the property of the school district,
but is subject to the exclusive control of the governing body of the
junior college district for as long as the junior college district
uses the property for educational purposes.
SECTION 63. Section 130.016(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) If the board of trustees of an independent school
district that divests itself of the management, control, and
operation of a junior college district under this section or under
Section 130.017 [of this code] was authorized by [Subsection (e)
of] Section 45.105(e) or under former Section 20.48(e) [20.48 of
this code] to dedicate a portion of its tax levy to the junior
college district before the divestment, the junior college district
may levy an ad valorem tax from and after the divestment. In the
first two years in which the junior college district levies an ad
valorem tax, the tax rate adopted by the governing body may not
exceed the rate that, if applied to the total taxable value
submitted to the governing body under Section 26.04, Tax Code,
would impose an amount equal to the amount of taxes of the school
district dedicated to the junior college under [Subsection (e) of]
Section 45.105(e) or former Section 20.48(e) [20.48 of this code]
in the last dedication before the divestment. In subsequent years,
the tax rate of the junior college district is subject to Section
26.08 [26.07], Tax Code.
SECTION 64. Section 403.302(o), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(o) The comptroller shall adopt rules governing the conduct
of the study after consultation with the comptroller's property tax
administration advisory board [Comptroller's Property Value Study
Advisory Committee].
SECTION 65. Sections 281.124(d) and (e), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) If a majority of the votes cast in the election favor the
proposition, the tax rate for the specified tax year is the rate
approved by the voters, and that rate is not subject to [a rollback
election under] Section 26.08 [26.07], Tax Code. The board shall
adopt the tax rate as provided by Chapter 26, Tax Code.
(e) If the proposition is not approved as provided by
Subsection (d) [(c)], the board may not adopt a tax rate for the
district for the specified tax year that exceeds the rate that was
not approved, and Section 26.08 [26.07], Tax Code, applies to the
adopted rate if that rate exceeds the district's rollback tax rate.
SECTION 66. Section 102.007(d), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) An adopted budget must contain a cover page that
includes:
(1) one of the following statements in 18-point or
larger type that accurately describes the adopted budget:
(A) "This budget will raise more revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of increase), which is a (insert percentage increase)
percent increase from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll).";
(B) "This budget will raise less revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of decrease), which is a (insert percentage decrease)
percent decrease from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll)."; or
(C) "This budget will raise the same amount of
revenue from property taxes as last year's budget. The property tax
revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this
year is (insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax
rate by the value of new property added to the roll).";
(2) the record vote of each member of the governing
body by name voting on the adoption of the budget;
(3) the municipal property tax rates for the preceding
fiscal year, and each municipal property tax rate that has been
adopted or calculated for the current fiscal year, including:
(A) the property tax rate;
(B) the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate;
(C) the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance
and operations tax rate;
(D) the rollback tax rate; and
(E) the debt rate; and
(4) the total amount of municipal debt obligations.
SECTION 67. Section 111.008(d), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) An adopted budget must contain a cover page that
includes:
(1) one of the following statements in 18-point or
larger type that accurately describes the adopted budget:
(A) "This budget will raise more revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of increase), which is a (insert percentage increase)
percent increase from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll).";
(B) "This budget will raise less revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of decrease), which is a (insert percentage decrease)
percent decrease from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll)."; or
(C) "This budget will raise the same amount of
revenue from property taxes as last year's budget. The property tax
revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this
year is (insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax
rate by the value of new property added to the roll).";
(2) the record vote of each member of the
commissioners court by name voting on the adoption of the budget;
(3) the county property tax rates for the preceding
fiscal year, and each county property tax rate that has been adopted
or calculated for the current fiscal year, including:
(A) the property tax rate;
(B) the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate;
(C) the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance
and operations tax rate;
(D) the rollback tax rate; and
(E) the debt rate; and
(4) the total amount of county debt obligations.
SECTION 68. Section 111.039(d), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) An adopted budget must contain a cover page that
includes:
(1) one of the following statements in 18-point or
larger type that accurately describes the adopted budget:
(A) "This budget will raise more revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of increase), which is a (insert percentage increase)
percent increase from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll).";
(B) "This budget will raise less revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of decrease), which is a (insert percentage decrease)
percent decrease from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll)."; or
(C) "This budget will raise the same amount of
revenue from property taxes as last year's budget. The property tax
revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this
year is (insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax
rate by the value of new property added to the roll).";
(2) the record vote of each member of the
commissioners court by name voting on the adoption of the budget;
(3) the county property tax rates for the preceding
fiscal year, and each county property tax rate that has been adopted
or calculated for the current fiscal year, including:
(A) the property tax rate;
(B) the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate;
(C) the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance
and operations tax rate;
(D) the rollback tax rate; and
(E) the debt rate; and
(4) the total amount of county debt obligations.
SECTION 69. Section 111.068(c), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) An adopted budget must contain a cover page that
includes:
(1) one of the following statements in 18-point or
larger type that accurately describes the adopted budget:
(A) "This budget will raise more revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of increase), which is a (insert percentage increase)
percent increase from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll).";
(B) "This budget will raise less revenue from
property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of (insert total
dollar amount of decrease), which is a (insert percentage decrease)
percent decrease from last year's budget. The property tax revenue
to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is
(insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the
value of new property added to the roll)."; or
(C) "This budget will raise the same amount of
revenue from property taxes as last year's budget. The property tax
revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this
year is (insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax
rate by the value of new property added to the roll).";
(2) the record vote of each member of the
commissioners court by name voting on the adoption of the budget;
(3) the county property tax rates for the preceding
fiscal year, and each county property tax rate that has been adopted
or calculated for the current fiscal year, including:
(A) the property tax rate;
(B) the no-new-revenue [effective] tax rate;
(C) the no-new-revenue [effective] maintenance
and operations tax rate;
(D) the rollback tax rate; and
(E) the debt rate; and
(4) the total amount of county debt obligations.
SECTION 70. Section 1101.254(f), Special District Local
Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:
(f) This section does not affect the applicability of [any
rights district voters may have to petition for an election under]
Section 26.08 [26.07], Tax Code, to the district's tax rate, except
that if district voters approve a tax rate increase under this
section, [the voters may not petition for an election under]
Section 26.08 [26.07], Tax Code, does not apply [as] to the tax rate
for that year.
SECTION 71. Sections 1122.2522, 3828.157, and 8876.152,
Special District Local Laws Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1122.2522. ROLLBACK TAX RATE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE.
[(a)] If in any year the board adopts a tax rate that exceeds the
rollback tax rate calculated as provided by Chapter 26, Tax Code,
[the qualified voters of the district by petition may require that]
an election under Section 26.08 of that code must be held to
determine whether or not to approve [reduce] the tax rate adopted by
the board for that year [to the rollback tax rate].
[(b) To the extent a conflict exists between this section
and a provision of the Tax Code, the provision of the Tax Code
prevails.]
Sec. 3828.157. INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN TAX CODE
PROVISIONS. Sections 26.04, 26.05, and 26.08 [26.07], Tax Code, do
not apply to a tax imposed under Section 3828.153 or 3828.156.
Sec. 8876.152. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN TAX PROVISIONS.
(a) Sections 26.04, 26.05, 26.06, 26.061, and 26.08 [26.07], Tax
Code, do not apply to a tax imposed by the district.
(b) Sections 49.236(a)(1) and (2) and (b) [Section 49.236],
Water Code, apply [as added by Chapter 248 (H.B. 1541), Acts of the
78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, applies] to the district.
SECTION 72. Section 49.107(g), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(g) Sections 26.04, 26.05, 26.061, and 26.08 [26.07], Tax
Code, do not apply to a tax levied and collected under this section
or an ad valorem tax levied and collected for the payment of the
interest on and principal of bonds issued by a district.
SECTION 73. Section 49.108(f), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(f) Sections 26.04, 26.05, 26.061, and 26.08 [26.07], Tax
Code, do not apply to a tax levied and collected for payments made
under a contract approved in accordance with this section.
SECTION 74. Sections 49.236(a) and (d), Water Code, as
added by Chapter 335 (S.B. 392), Acts of the 78th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2003, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Before the board adopts an ad valorem tax rate for the
district for debt service, operation and maintenance purposes, or
contract purposes, the board shall give notice of each meeting of
the board at which the adoption of a tax rate will be considered.
The notice must:
(1) contain a statement in substantially the following
form:
"NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX RATE
"The (name of the district) will hold a public hearing on a
proposed tax rate for the tax year (year of tax levy) on (date and
time) at (meeting place). Your individual taxes may increase at a
greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on the tax rate
that is adopted and on the change in the taxable value of your
property in relation to the change in taxable value of all other
property [and the tax rate that is adopted]. The change in the
taxable value of your property in relation to the change in the
taxable value of all other property determines the distribution of
the tax burden among all property owners.
"(Names of all board members and, if a vote was taken, an
indication of how each voted on the proposed tax rate and an
indication of any absences.)";
(2) contain the following information:
(A) the district's total adopted tax rate for the
preceding year and the proposed tax rate, expressed as an amount per
$100;
(B) the difference, expressed as an amount per
$100 and as a percent increase or decrease, as applicable, in the
proposed tax rate compared to the adopted tax rate for the preceding
year;
(C) the average appraised value of a residence
homestead in the district in the preceding year and in the current
year; the district's total homestead exemption, other than an
exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of
age or older, applicable to that appraised value in each of those
years; and the average taxable value of a residence homestead in the
district in each of those years, disregarding any homestead
exemption available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of
age or older;
(D) the amount of tax that would have been
imposed by the district in the preceding year on a residence
homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a residence
homestead in that year, disregarding any homestead exemption
available only to disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or
older;
(E) the amount of tax that would be imposed by the
district in the current year on a residence homestead appraised at
the average appraised value of a residence homestead in that year,
disregarding any homestead exemption available only to disabled
persons or persons 65 years of age or older, if the proposed tax
rate is adopted; [and]
(F) the difference between the amounts of tax
calculated under Paragraphs (D) and (E), expressed in dollars and
cents and described as the annual percentage increase or decrease,
as applicable, in the tax to be imposed by the district on the
average residence homestead in the district in the current year if
the proposed tax rate is adopted; and
(G) if the proposed combined debt service,
operation and maintenance, and contract tax rate exceeds the
rollback tax rate, a description of the purpose of the proposed tax
increase; and
(3) contain a statement in substantially the following
form:
"NOTICE OF VOTE ON TAX RATE [TAXPAYERS' RIGHT TO ROLLBACK ELECTION]
"If operation and maintenance taxes on the average residence
homestead increase by more than eight percent, [the qualified
voters of the district by petition may require that] an election
must be held to determine whether to ratify [reduce] the operation
and maintenance tax rate [to the rollback tax rate] under Section
49.236(d), Water Code."
(d) If the governing body of a district adopts a combined
debt service, operation and maintenance, and contract tax rate that
exceeds the rollback tax rate, [would impose more than 1.08 times
the amount of tax imposed by the district in the preceding year on a
residence homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a
residence homestead in the district in that year, disregarding any
homestead exemption available only to disabled persons or persons
65 years of age or older, the qualified voters of the district by
petition may require that] an election must be held to determine
whether [or not] to ratify [reduce] the tax rate adopted for the
current year [to the rollback tax rate] in accordance with the
procedures provided by Sections 26.08(b), (c), and (d)
[26.07(b)-(g) and 26.081], Tax Code. For purposes of Sections
26.08(b), (c), and (d), Tax Code, [26.07(b)-(g)] and this section
[subsection], the rollback tax rate is the sum of the following tax
rates:
(1) the current year's debt service tax rate;
(2) the current year's [and] contract tax rate; and
(3) [rates plus] the operation and maintenance tax
rate that would impose 1.08 times the amount of the operation and
maintenance tax imposed by the district in the preceding year on a
residence homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a
residence homestead in the district in that year, disregarding any
homestead exemption available only to disabled persons or persons
65 years of age or older.
SECTION 75. Section 6B(f), Chapter 1472, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:
(f) The district may provide that payments required by any
of the district's contracts, agreements, or leases may be payable
from the sale of notes, taxes, or bonds, or any combination of
notes, taxes, or bonds, or may be secured by a lien on or a pledge of
any available funds, including proceeds of the district's
maintenance tax, and may be payable subject to annual appropriation
by the district. The district may pledge to impose and may impose a
maintenance tax in an amount sufficient to comply with the
district's obligations under the district's contracts, leases, and
agreements at a maximum aggregate rate not to exceed 10 cents for
each $100 valuation of taxable property in the district. Sections
26.012, 26.04, 26.05, and 26.08 [26.07, and 26.012], Tax Code, do
not apply to maintenance taxes levied and collected for payments
under a contract, agreement, lease, time warrant, or maintenance
note issued or executed under this section.
SECTION 76. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Sections 403.302(m-1) and (n), Government Code;
(2) Section 140.010, Local Government Code;
(3) Section 1063.255, Special District Local Laws
Code;
(4) Sections 5.103(e) and (f), 6.412(e), 22.23(c),
26.07, 26.08(o), and 41A.06(c), Tax Code;
(5) Section 49.236, Water Code, as added by Chapter
248 (H.B. 1541), Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session,
2003; and
(6) Section 49.2361, Water Code.
SECTION 77. Section 5.041, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to an appraisal review board member appointed to serve
a term of office that begins on or after January 1, 2020.
SECTION 78. The comptroller of public accounts shall
implement Section 5.043, Tax Code, as added by this Act, as soon as
practicable after January 1, 2020.
SECTION 79. Sections 5.05, 5.102, 5.13, and 23.01, Tax
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to the appraisal of
property for ad valorem tax purposes for a tax year beginning on or
after January 1, 2020.
SECTION 80. (a) The comptroller of public accounts shall
comply with Sections 5.07(f), (g), (h), and (i), Tax Code, as added
by this Act, as soon as practicable after January 1, 2020.
(b) The comptroller of public accounts shall comply with
Section 5.091, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, not later than
January 1, 2021.
SECTION 81. The comptroller of public accounts shall
prepare and make available the survey form and instructions for
completing and submitting the form required by Section 5.104, Tax
Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after January 1,
2020. An appraisal district is not required to provide the survey
form or instructions under a requirement of that section until the
form and instructions are prepared and made available by the
comptroller of public accounts.
SECTION 82. Section 6.41(d-9), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to the appointment of appraisal review board
members to terms beginning on or after January 1, 2021.
SECTION 83. Section 6.412, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
does not affect the eligibility of a person serving on an appraisal
review board immediately before January 1, 2020, to continue to
serve on the board for the term to which the member was appointed.
SECTION 84. Section 6.42(d), Tax Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to a recommendation, determination, decision, or other
action by an appraisal review board or a panel of such a board on or
after January 1, 2020. A recommendation, determination, decision,
or other action by an appraisal review board or a panel of such a
board before January 1, 2020, is governed by the law as it existed
immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 85. Sections 11.4391(a) and 22.23, Tax Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a
tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2020.
SECTION 86. (a) An appraisal district established in a
county with a population of 120,000 or more and each taxing unit
located wholly or partly in such an appraisal district shall comply
with Sections 26.04(e-2), 26.05(d-1) and (d-2), 26.17, and 26.18,
Tax Code, as added by this Act, beginning with the 2021 tax year.
(b) An appraisal district established in a county with a
population of less than 120,000 and each taxing unit located wholly
in such an appraisal district shall comply with Sections
26.04(e-2), 26.05(d-1) and (d-2), 26.17, and 26.18, Tax Code, as
added by this Act, beginning with the 2022 tax year.
SECTION 87. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date
this section takes effect:
(1) the designated officer or employee of each taxing
unit shall submit to the county assessor-collector for each county
in which all or part of the territory of the taxing unit is located
the worksheets used by the designated officer or employee to
calculate the effective and rollback tax rates of the taxing unit
for the 2015-2019 tax years; and
(2) the county assessor-collector for each county
shall post the worksheets submitted to the county
assessor-collector under Subdivision (1) of this subsection on the
Internet website of the county.
(b) This section takes effect immediately if this Act
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this section takes effect on the 91st day after the last day
of the legislative session.
SECTION 88. A taxing unit that does not own, operate, or
control an Internet website is not required to comply with Sections
26.05(b)(2) and 26.065(b), Tax Code, as amended by this Act, until
the first tax year in which the taxing unit is required by law to
maintain or have access to an Internet website.
SECTION 89. Section 33.08(b), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to taxes that become delinquent on or after
January 1, 2020. Taxes that become delinquent before that date are
governed by the law as it existed immediately before that date, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 90. Section 41.03(a), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a challenge under Chapter 41, Tax Code, for
which a challenge petition is filed on or after January 1, 2020. A
challenge under Chapter 41, Tax Code, for which a challenge
petition was filed before January 1, 2020, is governed by the law in
effect on the date the challenge petition was filed, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 91. Sections 41.45 and 41.66(k), Tax Code, as
amended by this Act, and Section 41.66(k-1), Tax Code, as added by
this Act, apply only to a protest filed under Chapter 41, Tax Code,
on or after January 1, 2021. A protest filed under that chapter
before January 1, 2021, is governed by the law in effect on the date
the protest was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 92. Sections 41.46, 41.461, 41.47, 41.66(h), (i),
and (j), and 41.67, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, and Sections
41.66(j-1) and (p), Tax Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a
protest for which the notice of protest was filed by a property
owner or the designated agent of the owner with the appraisal review
board established for an appraisal district on or after January 1,
2020.
SECTION 93. Section 41.71, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a hearing on a protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code,
that is scheduled on or after January 1, 2020. A hearing on a
protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code, that is scheduled before
January 1, 2020, is governed by the law in effect on the date the
hearing was scheduled, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 94. Section 41A.07, Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a request for binding arbitration received by
the comptroller of public accounts from an appraisal district on or
after January 1, 2020.
SECTION 95. The changes in law made by this Act in the
qualifications of persons serving as arbitrators in binding
arbitrations of appeals of appraisal review board orders do not
affect the entitlement of a person serving as an arbitrator
immediately before January 1, 2020, to continue to serve as an
arbitrator and to conduct hearings on arbitrations until the person
is required to renew the person's agreement with the comptroller of
public accounts to serve as an arbitrator. The changes in law apply
only to a person who initially qualifies to serve as an arbitrator
or who renews the person's agreement with the comptroller of public
accounts to serve as an arbitrator on or after January 1, 2020.
This Act does not prohibit a person who is serving as an arbitrator
on January 1, 2020, from renewing the person's agreement with the
comptroller of public accounts to serve as an arbitrator if the
person has the qualifications required for an arbitrator under the
Tax Code as amended by this Act.
SECTION 96. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date
this section takes effect, the comptroller of public accounts shall
mail a written notice to each appraisal district and the assessor
for each taxing unit in this state of:
(1) the deadline for complying with each new
requirement, duty, or function imposed by this Act on an appraisal
district or taxing unit; and
(2) any change made by this Act to the deadline for
complying with an existing requirement, duty, or function of an
appraisal district or taxing unit.
(b) This section takes effect immediately if this Act
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this section takes effect on the 91st day after the last day
of the legislative session.
SECTION 97. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this Act,
this Act takes effect January 1, 2020.
(b) The following provisions take effect September 1, 2020:
(1) Sections 6.41(b) and (d-9), Tax Code, as amended
by this Act;
(2) Sections 6.41(b-1), (b-2), and (d-10), Tax Code,
as added by this Act;
(3) Section 6.414(d), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act;
(4) Section 6.425, Tax Code, as added by this Act;
(5) Section 41.44(d), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act;
(6) Section 41.45(d), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act;
(7) Sections 41.45(d-1), (d-2), and (d-3), Tax Code,
as added by this Act;
(8) Section 41.66(k), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act; and
(9) Section 41.66(k-1), Tax Code, as added by this
Act.
(c) The following provisions take effect January 1, 2021:
(1) Sections 25.19(b-3) and (b-4), Tax Code, as added
by this Act;
(2) Sections 26.04(d-1), (d-2), (d-3), (e-2), (e-3),
(e-4), and (e-5), Tax Code, as added by this Act;
(3) Sections 26.04(e-1) and (g), Tax Code, as amended
by this Act;
(4) Sections 26.05(d-1) and (d-2), Tax Code, as added
by this Act; and
(5) Section 26.05(e), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act.
(d) Sections 25.19(b) and (i), Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, take effect January 1, 2022.