Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB211 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R4407 CJC-F
2	2	By: Flores S.B. No. 211
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the procedures for protests and appeals of certain ad
8	8	valorem tax determinations.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 41.45(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	(b) A property owner initiating a protest is entitled to
13	13	appear to offer evidence or argument. A property owner may offer
14	14	evidence or argument by affidavit without personally appearing and
15	15	may appear by telephone conference call to offer argument. A
16	16	property owner who appears by telephone conference call must offer
17	17	any evidence by affidavit. A property owner must submit an
18	18	affidavit described by this subsection to the board hearing the
19	19	protest before the board begins the hearing on the protest. On
20	20	receipt of an affidavit, the board shall notify the chief
21	21	appraiser. The chief appraiser [may inspect the affidavit and] is
22	22	entitled to a copy of the affidavit on request. The board and the
23	23	chief appraiser shall review the evidence or argument provided by
24	24	the property owner before the hearing on the protest.
25	25	SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Tax Code, is amended by adding
26	26	Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
27	27	SUBCHAPTER B-1. APPEALS FROM APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD DETERMINATIONS
28	28	IN CERTAIN COUNTIES
29	29	Sec. 42.35. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
30	30	applies only to the appeal of an order issued by an appraisal review
31	31	board that is located in a county:
32	32	(1) that has a population of less than 45,500;
33	33	(2) that shares a border with a county that has a
34	34	population of 1.5 million or more and is within 200 miles of an
35	35	international border; and
36	36	(3) through which the Atascosa River flows.
37	37	Sec. 42.36. APPEALS TO JUSTICE COURT. (a) As an
38	38	alternative to bringing an appeal under Section 42.01(a)(1) to a
39	39	district court as provided by Subchapter B, a property owner may
40	40	bring the appeal to a justice court if:
41	41	(1) the appeal relates only to a determination of
42	42	appraised value or eligibility for an exemption from taxation; and
43	43	(2) the amount of taxes due on the portion of the
44	44	taxable value of the property that is in dispute, calculated using
45	45	the preceding year's tax rates, is $5,000 or less.
46	46	(b) Venue of an action brought under Section 42.01(a)(1) in
47	47	justice court is in any justice precinct in which the property that
48	48	is the subject of the order being appealed is located.
49	49	(c) If the justice court determines that the justice court
50	50	does not have jurisdiction of the appeal, the court shall dismiss
51	51	the appeal. In that event, the property owner may appeal the order
52	52	to a district court by filing a petition for review with the
53	53	district court not later than the 30th day after the date of the
54	54	dismissal.
55	55	(d) Sections 42.21, 42.23, 42.24, 42.25, and 42.26 apply to
56	56	an appeal brought under Section 42.01(a)(1) to a justice court in
57	57	the same manner as those sections apply to an appeal brought under
58	58	Section 42.01(a)(1) to a district court.
59	59	Sec. 42.37. REPRESENTATION IN JUSTICE COURT. In an appeal
60	60	brought under Section 42.01(a)(1) to a justice court, an appraisal
61	61	district may be, but is not required to be, represented by legal
62	62	counsel.
63	63	Sec. 42.38. EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
64	64	expires September 1, 2025.
65	65	SECTION 3. On the expiration of Subchapter B-1, Chapter 42,
66	66	Tax Code, as added by this Act, the Office of Court Administration
67	67	of the Texas Judicial System, using existing resources, shall
68	68	conduct a study on that subchapter's effectiveness in increasing
69	69	court efficiency and improving property owners' ability to exercise
70	70	their appeal rights under Chapter 42, Tax Code. Not later than
71	71	December 1, 2026, the office shall issue a report on the study to
72	72	the appropriate standing committees of the house of representatives
73	73	and the senate. The report must include the office's
74	74	recommendation as to whether the legislature, in the next regular
75	75	legislative session following the issuance of the report, should
76	76	enact legislation similar to Subchapter B-1, Chapter 42, Tax Code,
77	77	as added by this Act.
78	78	SECTION 4. An appeal under Subchapter B-1, Chapter 42, Tax
79	79	Code, as added by this Act, that is pending on September 1, 2025, is
80	80	governed by that subchapter as it existed on August 31, 2025, and
81	81	that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
82	82	SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies to the
83	83	appeal of an order of an appraisal review board without regard to
84	84	whether the order was issued before the effective date of this Act.
85	85	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.