87R6792 DRS-F
By: Burns H.B. No. 2941
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment of appraisal review board members.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 6.052(f), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(f) The taxpayer liaison officer [for an appraisal district
described by Section 6.41(d-1)] is responsible for providing
clerical assistance to the local administrative district judge in
the selection of appraisal review board members. The officer shall
deliver to the local administrative district judge any applications
to serve on the board that are submitted to the officer and shall
perform other duties as requested by the local administrative
district judge. The officer may not influence the process for
selecting appraisal review board members.
SECTION 2. Sections 6.41(d), (d-1), (d-2), (d-3), (e), (f),
(g), (i), and (j), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) Members [Except as provided by Subsection (d-1),
members] of the board are appointed by the local administrative
district judge under Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Government Code, in
the county in which the appraisal district is established
[resolution of a majority of the appraisal district board of
directors]. A vacancy on the board is filled in the same manner for
the unexpired portion of the term.
(d-1) [In a county with a population of 120,000 or more the
members of the board are appointed by the local administrative
district judge under Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Government Code, in
the county in which the appraisal district is established.] All
applications submitted to the appraisal district or to the
appraisal review board from persons seeking appointment as a member
of the appraisal review board shall be delivered to the local
administrative district judge. The appraisal district may provide
the local administrative district judge with information regarding
whether an applicant for appointment to or a member of the board
owes any delinquent ad valorem taxes to a taxing unit participating
in the appraisal district.
(d-2) A local administrative district judge [making
appointments under Subsection (d-1)] may make [such] appointments
to the board directly or may, by written order, appoint from three
to five persons to perform the duties of appraisal review board
commissioner. If the local administrative district judge chooses
to appoint appraisal review board commissioners, each commissioner
shall possess the same qualifications as those required of an
appraisal review board member.
(d-3) The local administrative judge [making appointments
under Subsection (d-1)] shall cause the proper officer to notify
[such] appointees to the board of their [such] appointment, and
when and where they are to appear.
(e) Members of the board hold office for terms of two years
beginning January 1. The appraisal district board of directors by
resolution shall provide for staggered terms, so that the terms of
as close to one-half of the members as possible expire each year.
In making the initial or subsequent appointments, [the board of
directors or] the local administrative district judge or the
judge's designee shall designate those members who serve terms of
one year as needed to comply with this subsection.
(f) A member of the board may be removed from the board [by a
majority vote of the appraisal district board of directors, or] by
the local administrative district judge or the judge's designee[,
as applicable, that appointed the member]. Grounds for removal are:
(1) a violation of Section 6.412, 6.413, 41.66(f), or
41.69;
(2) good cause relating to the attendance of members
at called meetings of the board as established by written policy
adopted by a majority of the appraisal district board of directors;
or
(3) evidence of repeated bias or misconduct.
(g) Subsection (a) does not preclude the boards of directors
of two or more adjoining appraisal districts from providing for the
operation of a consolidated appraisal review board by interlocal
contract. Members of a consolidated appraisal review board are
appointed jointly by the local administrative district judges in
the counties in which the appraisal districts that are parties to
the contract are established.
(i) [This subsection applies only to an appraisal district
described by Subsection (d-1).] A chief appraiser or another
employee or agent of the appraisal district, a member of the
appraisal review board for the appraisal district, a member of the
board of directors of the appraisal district, a property tax
consultant, or an agent of a property owner commits an offense if
the person communicates with the local administrative district
judge regarding the appointment of appraisal review board members.
This subsection does not apply to:
(1) a communication between a member of the appraisal
review board and the local administrative district judge regarding
the member's reappointment to the board;
(2) a communication between the taxpayer liaison
officer for the appraisal district and the local administrative
district judge in the course of the performance of the officer's
clerical duties so long as the officer does not offer an opinion or
comment regarding the appointment of appraisal review board
members;
(3) a communication between a chief appraiser or
another employee or agent of the appraisal district, a member of the
appraisal review board for the appraisal district, or a member of
the board of directors of the appraisal district and the local
administrative district judge regarding information relating to or
described by Subsection (d-1), (d-5), or (f) of this section or
Section 411.1296, Government Code;
(4) a communication between a property tax consultant
or a property owner or an agent of the property owner and the
taxpayer liaison officer for the appraisal district regarding
information relating to or described by Subsection (f). The
taxpayer liaison officer for the appraisal district shall report
the contents of the communication relating to or described by
Subsection (f) to the local administrative district judge; or
(5) a communication between a property tax consultant
or a property owner or an agent of the property owner and the local
administrative district judge regarding information relating to or
described by Subsection (f).
(j) A chief appraiser or another employee or agent of an
appraisal district commits an offense if the person communicates
with a member of the appraisal review board for the appraisal
district, a member of the board of directors of the appraisal
district, or[, if the appraisal district is an appraisal district
described by Subsection (d-1),] the local administrative district
judge regarding a ranking, scoring, or reporting of the percentage
by which the appraisal review board or a panel of the board reduces
the appraised value of property.
SECTION 3. Section 6.412(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(d) A person is ineligible to serve on the appraisal review
board of an appraisal district established for a county with a
population of 120,000 or more [described by Section 6.41(d-1)] 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;
(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 4. Section 411.1296(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The [If the members of the appraisal review board of an
appraisal district are appointed by the local administrative
district judge, the] appraisal district may provide criminal
history record information obtained under this section to the local
administrative district judge or to the appraisal review board
commissioners appointed by the local administrative district
judge.
SECTION 5. The changes made to Section 6.41, Tax Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to the appointment of appraisal
review board members to terms beginning on or after January 1, 2022.
This Act does not affect the term of an appraisal review board
member serving on December 31, 2021, if the member was appointed
before that date to a term that began before December 31, 2021, and
expires December 31, 2022.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it 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
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.