87R16031 SMT-F
By: Shine, Rodriguez, Lucio III, Button, H.B. No. 988
et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 988:
By: Sanford C.S.H.B. No. 988
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration of the system for appraising
property for ad valorem tax purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.103, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(d) An appraisal review board shall incorporate [follow]
the model hearing procedures prepared by the comptroller when
adopting the board's [establishing its] procedures for hearings as
required by Section 41.01(c). An appraisal review board may adopt
procedures that supplement the model hearing procedures, provided
that the supplemental procedures do not contradict or circumvent
the model hearing procedures.
(e) Each year the comptroller shall review the hearing
procedures adopted by each appraisal review board to determine
whether the hearing procedures incorporate the model hearing
procedures prepared by the comptroller under this section
[41.66(a)].
SECTION 2. Section 5.104(l), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(l) The comptroller shall issue an annual report that
summarizes the information included in the surveys submitted during
the preceding tax year. The report must also include a summary of
the comments, complaints, and suggestions forwarded to the
comptroller during the preceding tax year by taxpayer liaison
officers under Section 6.052(a), the results of the comptroller's
review of appraisal review board hearing procedures during the
preceding tax year under Section 5.103(e), and the results of
requests for limited binding arbitration filed with the comptroller
during the preceding tax year under Section 41A.015. The report may
not disclose the identity of an individual who submitted a survey,
comment, complaint, suggestion, or request for arbitration.
SECTION 3. Section 6.04(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(d) The board shall develop and implement policies that
provide the public with reasonable opportunity to appear before the
board to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of the board.
Reasonable time shall be provided during each board meeting for
public comment on appraisal district and appraisal review board
policies and procedures, and a report from the taxpayer liaison
officer [if one is required by Section 6.052].
SECTION 4. Section 6.052, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(a) The board of directors for an appraisal district
[created for a county with a population of more than 120,000] shall
appoint a taxpayer liaison officer who shall serve at the pleasure
of the board. The taxpayer liaison officer shall administer the
public access functions required by Sections 6.04(d), (e), and (f),
and is responsible for resolving disputes not involving matters
that may be protested under Section 41.41. In addition, the
taxpayer liaison officer is responsible for receiving, and
compiling a list of, comments, complaints, and suggestions filed by
the chief appraiser, a property owner, or a property owner's agent
concerning the matters listed in Section 5.103(b) or any other
matter related to the fairness and efficiency of the appraisal
review board established for the appraisal district. The taxpayer
liaison officer shall forward to the comptroller comments,
complaints, and suggestions filed under this subsection in the form
and manner prescribed by the comptroller not later than December 31
of each year. A person may serve as the taxpayer liaison officer
for more than one appraisal district if each appraisal district for
which the person is appointed to serve as taxpayer liaison officer
is established for a county with a population of less than 120,000.
(b) The taxpayer liaison officer shall provide to the public
information and materials designed to assist property owners in
understanding the appraisal process, protest procedures, the
procedure for filing comments, complaints, and suggestions under
Subsection (a) of this section or a complaint under Section
6.04(g), and other matters. Information concerning the process for
submitting comments, complaints, and suggestions to the
comptroller concerning an appraisal review board shall be provided
at each protest hearing.
(c) The taxpayer liaison officer shall report to the board
at each meeting on the status of all comments, complaints, and
suggestions filed with the officer under Subsection (a) of this
section and all complaints filed with the board under Section
6.04(g).
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
taxpayer liaison officer does not commit an offense under this
chapter if the officer communicates with the chief appraiser or
another employee or agent of the appraisal district, a member of the
appraisal review board established for the appraisal district, a
member of the board of directors of the appraisal district, a
property tax consultant, a property owner, an agent of a property
owner, or another person if the communication is made in the good
faith exercise of the officer's statutory duties.
SECTION 5. Section 41.01, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(c) The appraisal review board by rule shall adopt
procedures for hearings the board conducts under this subchapter
and Subchapter C. Before adopting the hearing procedures, the
board shall hold a public hearing to consider the hearing
procedures proposed for adoption by the board. Not later than May
15 of each year, the board shall hold the hearing, make any
amendments to the proposed hearing procedures the board determines
are necessary, and by resolution finally adopt the hearing
procedures. The board must comply with Section 5.103(d) when
adopting the hearing procedures. The chairman of the board has
exclusive authority over the administration of hearing procedures
adopted by the board.
(d) The appraisal review board shall distribute copies of
the hearing procedures adopted by the board to the board of
directors of, and the taxpayer liaison officer for, the appraisal
district for which the appraisal review board is established and to
the comptroller not later than the 15th day after the date the board
adopts the hearing procedures.
(e) The appraisal review board shall post a copy of the
hearing procedures adopted by the board:
(1) in a prominent place in each room in which the
board conducts hearings under this subchapter and Subchapter C; and
(2) if the appraisal district for which the board is
established maintains an Internet website, on the appraisal
district's website.
SECTION 6. Section 41.461(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) At least 14 days before a hearing on a protest, the chief
appraiser shall:
(1) deliver a copy of the pamphlet prepared by the
comptroller under Section 5.06 to the property owner initiating the
protest, or to an agent representing the owner if requested by the
agent;
(2) inform the property owner that the owner or the
agent of the owner is entitled on request to a copy of the data,
schedules, formulas, and all other information the chief appraiser
will introduce at the hearing to establish any matter at issue; and
(3) deliver a copy of the hearing procedures adopted
[established] by the appraisal review board under Section 41.01
[41.66] to the property owner.
SECTION 7. Section 41.66, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (q) to read as follows:
(a) The appraisal review board shall conduct hearings in
accordance with the hearing procedures adopted by the appraisal
review board under Section 41.01(c) [establish by rule the
procedures for hearings it conducts as provided by Subchapters A
and C of this chapter]. On request made by a property owner in the
owner's notice of protest or in a separate writing delivered to the
appraisal review board on or before the date the notice of protest
is filed, the property owner is entitled to a copy of the hearing
procedures. The copy of the hearing procedures shall be delivered
to the property owner not later than the 10th day before the date
the hearing on the protest begins and may be delivered with the
notice of the protest hearing required under Section 41.46(a). The
notice of protest form prescribed by the comptroller under Section
41.44(d) or any other notice of protest form made available to a
property owner by the appraisal review board or the appraisal
office shall provide the property owner an opportunity to make or
decline to make a request under this subsection. [The appraisal
review board shall post a copy of the hearing procedures in a
prominent place in the room in which the hearing is held.]
(q) A person who owns property in an appraisal district or
the chief appraiser of an appraisal district may file a complaint
with the taxpayer liaison officer for the appraisal district
alleging that the appraisal review board established for the
appraisal district has adopted or is implementing hearing
procedures that are not in compliance with the model hearing
procedures prepared by the comptroller under Section 5.103 or is
not complying with procedural requirements under this chapter. The
taxpayer liaison officer shall investigate the complaint and report
the findings of the investigation to the board of directors of the
appraisal district. The board of directors shall direct the
chairman of the appraisal review board to take remedial action if,
after reviewing the taxpayer liaison officer's report, the board of
directors determines that the allegations contained in the
complaint are true. The board of directors may remove the member of
the appraisal review board serving as chairman of the appraisal
review board from that member's position as chairman if the board
determines that the chairman has failed to take the actions
necessary to bring the appraisal review board into compliance with
Section 5.103(d) or this chapter, as applicable.
SECTION 8. Chapter 41A, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Section 41A.015 to read as follows:
Sec. 41A.015. LIMITED BINDING ARBITRATION TO COMPEL
COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO
PROTESTS. (a) A property owner who has filed a notice of protest
under Chapter 41 may file a request for limited binding arbitration
under this section to compel the appraisal review board or chief
appraiser, as appropriate, to:
(1) rescind procedural rules adopted by the appraisal
review board that are not in compliance with the model hearing
procedures prepared by the comptroller under Section 5.103;
(2) schedule a hearing on a protest as required by
Section 41.45;
(3) deliver information to the property owner in the
manner required by Section 41.461;
(4) allow the property owner to offer evidence,
examine or cross-examine witnesses or other parties, and present
arguments as required by Section 41.66(b);
(5) set a hearing for a time and date certain and
postpone a hearing that does not begin within two hours of the
scheduled time as required by Section 41.66(i);
(6) schedule hearings on protests concerning multiple
properties identified in the same notice of protest on the same day
at the request of the property owner or the property owner's
designated agent as required by Section 41.66(j); or
(7) refrain from using or offering as evidence
information requested by the property owner under Section 41.461
that was not delivered to the property owner at least 14 days before
the hearing as required by Section 41.67(d).
(b) A property owner may not file a request for limited
binding arbitration under this section unless:
(1) the property owner has delivered written notice to
the chairman of the appraisal review board, the chief appraiser,
and the taxpayer liaison officer for the applicable appraisal
district by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the
procedural requirement with which the property owner alleges the
appraisal review board or chief appraiser failed to comply on or
before the fifth business day after the date the appraisal review
board or chief appraiser was required to comply with the
requirement; and
(2) the chairman of the appraisal review board or
chief appraiser, as applicable, fails to deliver to the property
owner on or before the 10th day after the date the notice is
delivered a written statement confirming that the appraisal review
board or chief appraiser, as applicable, will comply with the
requirement or cure a failure to comply with the requirement.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subtitle, the
failure to comply with a procedural requirement listed under
Subsection (a) is not a ground for postponement of a hearing on a
protest. An appraisal review board may cure an alleged failure to
comply with a procedural requirement that occurred during a hearing
by rescinding the order determining the protest for which the
hearing was held and scheduling a new hearing on the protest.
(d) A property owner must request limited binding
arbitration under this section by filing a request with the
comptroller. The property owner may not file the request earlier
than the 11th day or later than the 30th day after the date the
property owner delivers the notice required by Subsection (b)(1) to
the chairman of the appraisal review board, the chief appraiser,
and the taxpayer liaison officer for the applicable appraisal
district.
(e) A request for limited binding arbitration under this
section must be in a form prescribed by the comptroller and be
accompanied by an arbitration deposit payable to the comptroller in
the amount of:
(1) $450, if the property that is the subject of the
protest to which the arbitration relates qualifies as the property
owner's residence homestead under Section 11.13 and the appraised
or market value, as applicable, of the property is $500,000 or less,
as determined by the appraisal district for the most recent tax
year; or
(2) $550, for property other than property described
by Subdivision (1).
(f) The comptroller shall prescribe the form to be used for
submitting a request for limited binding arbitration under this
section. The form must require the property owner to provide:
(1) a statement that the property owner has provided
the written notice required by Subsection (b);
(2) a statement that the property owner has made the
arbitration deposit required by this section;
(3) a brief statement identifying the procedural
requirement with which the property owner alleges the appraisal
review board or chief appraiser, as applicable, has failed to
comply;
(4) a description of the action taken or not taken by
the appraisal review board or chief appraiser regarding the
procedural requirement identified under Subdivision (3);
(5) a description of the property to which the award
will apply; and
(6) any other information reasonably necessary for the
comptroller to appoint an arbitrator.
(g) On receipt of the request and deposit under this
section, the comptroller shall appoint an arbitrator from the
registry maintained under Section 41A.06 who is eligible to serve
as an arbitrator under Subsection (p) of this section. Section
41A.07(h) does not apply to the appointment of an arbitrator under
this section.
(h) The appraisal review board, the chief appraiser, and the
property owner are parties to a limited binding arbitration
conducted under this section. The appraisal review board may
appear by counsel, by the chairman, or by a person designated by the
chairman. The chief appraiser may appear by counsel, in person, or
by a designated employee. The property owner may appear in the
manner provided by Section 41A.08(b)(2), (3), (4), or (5).
(i) The arbitrator shall make an arbitration award and
deliver an electronic copy of the award to:
(1) the property owner;
(2) the chairman of the appraisal review board;
(3) the chief appraiser; and
(4) the comptroller.
(j) An award under this section:
(1) shall include a determination of whether the
appraisal review board or chief appraiser failed to comply with a
procedural requirement as alleged in the request for limited
binding arbitration;
(2) if the arbitrator determines that the appraisal
review board or chief appraiser failed to comply with a procedural
requirement as alleged in the request, shall direct the appraisal
review board or chief appraiser, as applicable, to:
(A) comply with the procedural requirement; or
(B) if the hearing on the protest has been held
and the appraisal review board has issued an order determining the
protest, rescind the order and hold a new hearing on the protest
that complies with the procedural requirement;
(3) shall specify the arbitrator's fee;
(4) is final and may not be appealed; and
(5) is enforceable as provided by Section 41A.09.
(k) If the arbitrator determines that the appraisal review
board or chief appraiser failed to comply with the procedural
requirement that was the subject of the limited binding
arbitration:
(1) the comptroller, on receipt of a copy of the award,
shall refund the property owner's arbitration deposit, less the
amount retained by the comptroller under Section 41A.05(b); and
(2) the appraisal district shall pay the arbitrator's
fee.
(l) If the arbitrator determines that the appraisal review
board or chief appraiser complied with the procedural requirement
that was the subject of the limited binding arbitration, the
comptroller shall:
(1) pay the arbitrator's fee out of the owner's
arbitration deposit; and
(2) refund to the owner the owner's arbitration
deposit, less the arbitrator's fee and the amount retained by the
comptroller under Section 41A.05(b).
(m) As soon as practicable after receiving notice of an
award, the appraisal review board or the chief appraiser shall:
(1) take any action required to comply with the
requirements of the award; and
(2) if the award requires the appraisal review board
to conduct a new hearing under Chapter 41, schedule and conduct the
hearing.
(n) An award under this section does not affect the property
owner's right to appeal the final determination of a protest by the
appraisal review board under Chapter 42.
(o) A property owner may request a single limited binding
arbitration under this section that covers more than one property,
more than one protest hearing, or an allegation of the failure by
the appraisal review board or chief appraiser to comply with more
than one procedural requirement so long as the requirements of
Subsection (b) are met with regard to each alleged failure to
comply. The amount of the arbitration deposit and the amount of the
arbitrator's fee are computed as if a single property were the
subject of the arbitration. If the arbitration involves property
described by Subsection (e)(1) and property described by Subsection
(e)(2), the amount of the arbitration deposit and the amount of the
arbitrator's fee are computed as if only the property described by
Subsection (e)(2) were the subject of the arbitration. If the
arbitration involves an allegation of the failure by the appraisal
review board or chief appraiser to comply with more than one
procedural requirement, Subsection (k) applies if the arbitrator
determines that the appraisal review board or chief appraiser
failed to comply with one or more of the procedural requirements
that were the subject of the arbitration and Subsection (l) applies
if the arbitrator determines that the appraisal review board or
chief appraiser complied with all of the procedural requirements
that were the subject of the arbitration.
(p) Section 41A.06 applies to the registration and
qualification of an arbitrator under this section except that an
arbitrator under this section must:
(1) be a licensed attorney; and
(2) agree to conduct an arbitration for a fee that is
not more than:
(A) $400 if the property is described by
Subsection (e)(1); or
(B) $500 if the property is described by
Subsection (e)(2).
(q) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
provisions of this chapter apply to a limited binding arbitration
under this section. In the event of a conflict between this section
and another provision of this chapter, this section controls.
SECTION 9. 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.