Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3241 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R1132 TJB-F
2	2	By: Middleton H.B. No. 3241
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the system for appraising property for ad valorem tax
8	8	purposes.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 403.302(a) and (a-2), Government Code,
11	11	are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) Every two years, the [The] comptroller shall conduct a
13	13	study using comparable sales and generally accepted auditing and
14	14	sampling techniques to determine the total taxable value of all
15	15	property in each school district. The study shall determine the
16	16	taxable value of all property and of each category of property in
17	17	the district and the productivity value of all land that qualifies
18	18	for appraisal on the basis of its productive capacity and for which
19	19	the owner has applied for and received a productivity appraisal.
20	20	The comptroller shall make appropriate adjustments in the study to
21	21	account for actions taken under Chapter 41, Education Code.
22	22	(a-2) In a [If in any] year in which the comptroller does not
23	23	conduct a study for a school district, the taxable value of property
24	24	in the district is presumed to be:
25	25	(1) the [school] district's local value for that year
26	26	if the most recent study for the district resulted in a
27	27	determination by the comptroller that the district's local value
28	28	was:
29	29	(A) valid; or
30	30	(B) not valid and exceeded the comptroller's
31	31	value for the district; or
32	32	(2) the comptroller's value for the district from the
33	33	most recent study if the study resulted in a determination by the
34	34	comptroller that the district's local value was not valid and did
35	35	not exceed the comptroller's value [is considered to be valid].
36	36	SECTION 2. Section 5.10(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
37	37	follows:
38	38	(a) Every [At least once every] two years, the comptroller
39	39	shall conduct a study in each appraisal district to determine the
40	40	degree of uniformity of and the median level of appraisals by the
41	41	appraisal district within each major category of property. The
42	42	comptroller shall publish a report of the findings of the study,
43	43	including in the report the median levels of appraisal for each
44	44	major category of property, the coefficient of dispersion around
45	45	the median level of appraisal for each major category of property,
46	46	and any other standard statistical measures that the comptroller
47	47	considers appropriate. In conducting the study, the comptroller
48	48	shall apply appropriate standard statistical analysis techniques
49	49	to data collected as part of the study of school district taxable
50	50	values required by Section 403.302, Government Code.
51	51	SECTION 3. Section 23.01, Tax Code, is amended by amending
52	52	Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
53	53	(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this subchapter to the
54	54	contrary, if the appraised value of property in a tax year is
55	55	lowered under Subtitle F, the appraised value of the property as
56	56	finally determined under that subtitle is considered to be the
57	57	appraised value of the property for that tax year. [In the
58	58	following tax year, the chief appraiser may not increase the
59	59	appraised value of the property unless the increase by the chief
60	60	appraiser is reasonably supported by substantial evidence when all
61	61	of the reliable and probative evidence in the record is considered
62	62	as a whole. If the appraised value is finally determined in a
63	63	protest under Section 41.41(a)(2) or an appeal under Section 42.26,
64	64	the chief appraiser may satisfy the requirement to reasonably
65	65	support by substantial evidence an increase in the appraised value
66	66	of the property in the following tax year by presenting evidence
67	67	showing that the inequality in the appraisal of property has been
68	68	corrected with regard to the properties that were considered in
69	69	determining the value of the subject property. The burden of proof
70	70	is on the chief appraiser to support an increase in the appraised
71	71	value of property under the circumstances described by this
72	72	subsection.]
73	73	(h) The chief appraiser has the burden of supporting an
74	74	increase in the appraised value of property from the preceding tax
75	75	year.
76	76	SECTION 4. Section 23.013(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
77	77	as follows:
78	78	(b) A sale is not considered to be a comparable sale unless
79	79	the sale occurred within 24 months of the date as of which the
80	80	market value of the subject property is to be determined[, except
81	81	that a sale that did not occur during that period may be considered
82	82	to be a comparable sale if enough comparable properties were not
83	83	sold during that period to constitute a representative sample].
84	84	SECTION 5. Section 25.18, Tax Code, is amended by amending
85	85	Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), (b-3), and
86	86	(b-4) to read as follows:
87	87	(b) The plan shall provide for the following reappraisal
88	88	activities for all real and personal property in the district at
89	89	least once every three years, except as provided by Subsections
90	90	(b-1), (b-2), (b-3), and (b-4):
91	91	(1) identifying properties to be appraised through
92	92	physical inspection or by other reliable means of identification,
93	93	including deeds or other legal documentation, aerial photographs,
94	94	land-based photographs, surveys, maps, and property sketches;
95	95	(2) identifying and updating relevant characteristics
96	96	of each property in the appraisal records;
97	97	(3) defining market areas in the district;
98	98	(4) identifying property characteristics that affect
99	99	property value in each market area, including:
100	100	(A) the location and market area of property;
101	101	(B) physical attributes of property, such as
102	102	size, age, and condition;
103	103	(C) legal and economic attributes; and
104	104	(D) easements, covenants, leases, reservations,
105	105	contracts, declarations, special assessments, ordinances, or legal
106	106	restrictions;
107	107	(5) developing an appraisal model that reflects the
108	108	relationship among the property characteristics affecting value in
109	109	each market area and determines the contribution of individual
110	110	property characteristics;
111	111	(6) applying the conclusions reflected in the model to
112	112	the characteristics of the properties being appraised; and
113	113	(7) reviewing the appraisal results to determine
114	114	value.
115	115	(b-1) The plan shall provide for the reappraisal of all real
116	116	and personal property in the district not more often than once every
117	117	two years.
118	118	(b-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (b-1), at any time during
119	119	a tax year before the date the chief appraiser submits the completed
120	120	appraisal records to the appraisal review board under Section
121	121	25.22, an owner of real or personal property is entitled to a
122	122	reappraisal of the owner's property for that year on written
123	123	request delivered to the chief appraiser.
124	124	(b-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (b-1), the plan must allow
125	125	the chief appraiser, for a tax year in which real property is not
126	126	reappraised, to add to the market value of the property the amount
127	127	of any increase in the value of the property attributable to an
128	128	improvement to the property made during the preceding tax year.
129	129	(b-4) Subsection (b-1) does not apply to the appraisal of a
130	130	residence homestead in the tax year in which a limitation on
131	131	appraised value under Section 23.23(a) expires.
132	132	SECTION 6. Section 403.302(a-1), Government Code, is
133	133	repealed.
134	134	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
135	135	23.01, 23.013, and 25.18, Tax Code, apply only to the appraisal of
136	136	property for a tax year beginning on or after the effective date of
137	137	this Act.
138	138	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
139	139	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
140	140	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
141	141	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
142	142	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.