| 1 | 1 | | 86R8472 CJC-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Johnson S.B. No. 854 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the award of attorney's fees in a judicial appeal of |
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| 8 | 8 | | certain ad valorem tax determinations. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 42.29, Tax Code, is amended to read as |
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| 11 | 11 | | follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 42.29. ATTORNEY'S FEES. (a) A property owner may be |
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| 13 | 13 | | awarded reasonable attorney's fees in an amount authorized by this |
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| 14 | 14 | | section if the property owner [who] prevails: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) in an appeal to the court under Section 42.25 or |
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| 16 | 16 | | 42.26 and the appraised value of the property as determined by the |
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| 17 | 17 | | court is less than 90 percent of the appraised value according to |
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| 18 | 18 | | the appraisal roll; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) [,] in an appeal to the court of a determination of |
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| 20 | 20 | | an appraisal review board on a motion filed under Section 25.25; [,] |
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| 21 | 21 | | or |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) in an appeal to the court of a determination of an |
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| 23 | 23 | | appraisal review board of a protest of the denial in whole or in |
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| 24 | 24 | | part of an exemption under Section 11.17, 11.22, 11.23, 11.231, or |
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| 25 | 25 | | 11.24 [may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees]. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (b) Subject to Subsection (c), the [The] amount of the award |
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| 27 | 27 | | to a property owner may not exceed the greater of: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) $15,000; or |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) 20 percent of the total amount by which the |
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| 30 | 30 | | property owner's tax liability is reduced as a result of the appeal. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) The [(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the] amount |
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| 32 | 32 | | of an award of attorney's fees to a property owner may not exceed |
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| 33 | 33 | | the lesser of: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) $100,000; or |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) the total amount by which the property owner's tax |
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| 36 | 36 | | liability is reduced as a result of the appeal. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (d) An appraisal district may be awarded reasonable |
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| 38 | 38 | | attorney's fees in an amount not to exceed $100,000 if the district |
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| 39 | 39 | | prevails in an appeal to the court under Section 42.25 or 42.26 and |
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| 40 | 40 | | the appraised value of the property as determined by the court is at |
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| 41 | 41 | | least 10 percent greater than the appraised value according to the |
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| 42 | 42 | | appraisal roll. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section |
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| 44 | 44 | | 42.29, Tax Code, applies only to an appeal filed under Chapter 42, |
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| 45 | 45 | | Tax Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. An appeal |
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| 46 | 46 | | filed under Chapter 42, Tax Code, before the effective date of this |
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| 47 | 47 | | Act is governed by the law in effect when the appeal was filed, and |
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| 48 | 48 | | the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 50 | 50 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 51 | 51 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 53 | 53 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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