87R2694 SMT-F
By: Shine H.B. No. 988
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a property owner to bring suit to
compel an appraisal district, chief appraiser, or appraisal review
board to comply with a procedural requirement applicable to an ad
valorem tax protest.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 41, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. LIMITED SUIT TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE WITH PROCEDURAL
REQUIREMENT
Sec. 41.81. LIMITED SUIT. (a) A property owner who has
filed a notice of protest under this chapter may bring suit against
an appraisal district, chief appraiser, or appraisal review board
to compel the appraisal district, chief appraiser, or appraisal
review board to comply with a procedural requirement imposed under
this chapter or under a rule established by the appraisal review
board or the comptroller under this chapter that is applicable to
the protest.
(b) A property owner may bring suit under this section by
filing a petition or application in district court.
(c) A property owner may not bring suit under this section
unless the property owner has delivered written notice of the
procedural requirement the property owner alleges the appraisal
district, chief appraiser, or appraisal review board failed to
comply with and the appraisal district, chief appraiser, or
appraisal review board, as applicable, refuses to comply with the
requirement, or does not comply with or agree to comply with the
requirement, on or before the 10th day after the date the notice is
delivered. The notice must state how the alleged failure to comply
with the procedural requirement harms the property owner. The
notice must be delivered by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the chief appraiser if the property owner alleges
that the appraisal district or chief appraiser failed to comply
with the procedural requirement, or to the chairman of the
appraisal review board and the chief appraiser if the property
owner alleges that the appraisal review board failed to comply with
the requirement. The property owner may not file a petition under
this section:
(1) earlier than the earlier of:
(A) the date the appraisal district, chief
appraiser, or appraisal review board, as applicable, refuses to
comply with the procedural requirement, if applicable; or
(B) the 11th day after the date the notice is
delivered; or
(2) later than the 30th day after the first date the
property owner is authorized to file the petition under Subdivision
(1).
(d) A property owner who delivers written notice under
Subsection (c) is entitled to a postponement of a hearing on the
protest that is the basis for the owner's allegation in the notice
and that is scheduled to be held during:
(1) the 10-day period following delivery of the
notice; or
(2) the pendency of a suit brought under this section.
(e) A suit brought under this section is for the limited
purpose of determining whether the defendant failed to comply with
the procedural requirement that is the subject of the suit.
(f) A suit brought under this section may not address the
merits of a motion filed under Section 25.25 or a protest filed
under this chapter.
Sec. 41.82. NO DISCOVERY. Neither party may conduct
discovery in a suit brought under Section 41.81.
Sec. 41.83. HEARING. (a) The court in which a suit under
Section 41.81 is filed shall set the matter described in the
petition or application for hearing at the earliest possible date.
(b) At the end of the hearing, the court must determine the
merits of the suit.
(c) If the court determines that the defendant failed to
comply with a procedural requirement imposed on the defendant under
this chapter or under a rule established by the appraisal review
board or the comptroller under this chapter, the court:
(1) shall order the defendant to comply with the
procedural requirement;
(2) shall enter any order necessary to preserve rights
protected by, and impose duties required by, the law; and
(3) may award court costs and reasonable attorney's
fees to the property owner.
(d) An order entered under this section is final and may not
be appealed.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 41, Tax Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a procedural requirement as described by
Section 41.81 of that subchapter that a property owner alleges was
required to have been complied with on or after the effective date
of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2022.