By: Shine, Rodriguez, Lucio III, Button, H.B. No. 988
et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the system for appraising property for ad valorem tax
purposes; creating a criminal offense.
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. Subchapter A, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 6.155 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.155. CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS BY TAXING UNITS
PROHIBITED; PENALTY. (a) A member of the governing body, officer,
or employee of a taxing unit commits an offense if the person
directly or indirectly communicates with the chief appraiser or
another employee of the appraisal district in which the taxing unit
participates for the purpose of influencing the value at which
property in the district is appraised.
(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
SECTION 6. Section 11.253(a)(2), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Goods-in-transit" means tangible personal
property that:
(A) is acquired in or imported into this state to
be forwarded to another location in this state or outside this
state;
(B) is stored under a contract of bailment by a
public warehouse operator at one or more public warehouse
facilities in this state that are not in any way owned or controlled
by the owner of the personal property for the account of the person
who acquired or imported the property;
(C) is transported to another location in this
state or outside this state not later than 175 days, or, if
applicable, the greater number of days adopted by the taxing unit as
authorized by Subsection (l), after the date the person acquired
the property in or imported the property into this state; and
(D) does not include oil, natural gas, petroleum
products, aircraft, dealer's motor vehicle inventory, dealer's
vessel and outboard motor inventory, dealer's heavy equipment
inventory, or retail manufactured housing inventory.
SECTION 7. Section 11.253, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (e) and (g) and adding Subsection (l) to read as
follows:
(e) In determining the market value of goods-in-transit
that in the preceding year were stored in this state, the chief
appraiser shall exclude the cost of equipment, machinery, or
materials that entered into and became component parts of the
goods-in-transit but were not themselves goods-in-transit or that
were not transported to another location in this state or outside
this state before the expiration of 175 days, or, if applicable, the
greater number of days adopted by the taxing unit as authorized by
Subsection (l), after the date they were brought into this state by
the property owner or acquired by the property owner in this state.
For component parts held in bulk, the chief appraiser may use the
average length of time a component part was held by the owner of the
component parts during the preceding year at a location in this
state that was not owned by or under the control of the owner of the
component parts in determining whether the component parts were
transported to another location in this state or outside this state
before the expiration of 175 days, or, if applicable, the greater
number of days adopted by the taxing unit as authorized by
Subsection (l).
(g) If the property owner or the chief appraiser
demonstrates that the method provided by Subsection (d)
significantly understates or overstates the market value of the
property qualified for an exemption under Subsection (b) in the
current year, the chief appraiser shall determine the market value
of the goods-in-transit to be exempt by determining, according to
the property owner's records and any other available information,
the market value of those goods-in-transit owned by the property
owner on January 1 of the current year, excluding the cost of
equipment, machinery, or materials that entered into and became
component parts of the goods-in-transit but were not themselves
goods-in-transit or that were not transported to another location
in this state or outside this state before the expiration of 175
days, or, if applicable, the greater number of days adopted by the
taxing unit as authorized by Subsection (l), after the date they
were brought into this state by the property owner or acquired by
the property owner in this state.
(l) This subsection applies only to a taxing unit any part
of which is located in an area designated a disaster area by a
disaster declaration issued under Section 418.014 or 418.108,
Government Code, that has not expired or otherwise been terminated.
The governing body of a taxing unit, in the manner provided by law
for official action, may extend the date by which goods-in-transit
must be transported to another location in this state or outside
this state to a date not later than the 270th day after the date the
person acquired the property in or imported the property into this
state. An extension adopted by official action under this
subsection applies only to:
(1) the exemption from ad valorem taxation by the
taxing unit adopting the extension; and
(2) the tax year in which the extension is adopted.
SECTION 8. Section 23.55, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (e-1) and (r) to read as follows:
(e-1) A property owner may request in writing that the chief
appraiser determine whether a change of use of the property owner's
land has occurred. The request must state the manner in which the
property owner is currently using the land. Not later than the 90th
day after the date the chief appraiser receives the request, the
chief appraiser shall provide the property owner with a written
determination that includes a description of the current use of the
land and a statement as to whether the current use of the land has
resulted in a change of use of the land. If the chief appraiser
determines that a change of use of the land has not occurred, the
chief appraiser may not later determine that a change of use of the
land has occurred on the basis of the use described in the written
determination.
(r) The sanctions provided by Subsection (a) do not apply to
a change in the use of land if, after the change in use, the physical
characteristics of the land remain consistent with the physical
characteristics of the land during the period for which the land was
eligible for appraisal under this subchapter.
SECTION 9. Section 25.02, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
(c) Each appraisal record must have a unique account number.
If an appraisal district changes the account number of an appraisal
record, the appraisal district must provide written notice of the
change to the property owner as soon as practicable after the change
and provide notice of the change in the next notice of appraised
value of the property included in the record that is delivered to
the property owner under Section 25.19.
(d) This subsection does not apply to an appraisal record
for a residential property, for an improvement only, or for a
property on which a delinquent tax is due. On the written request
of a property owner, the chief appraiser shall combine contiguous
parcels or tracts of the owner's real property into a single
appraisal record. On the written request of a property owner, the
chief appraiser shall separate identifiable segments of the owner's
parcel or tract of real property into individual appraisal records.
(e) A property owner must make a request under Subsection
(d) before January 1 of the tax year for which the requested change
to the appraisal records is to be made. The request must contain a
legal description as contained in a deed sufficient to describe the
property subject to the request.
(f) If a chief appraiser refuses to combine parcels or
tracts, or separate a parcel or tract, on request of a property
owner under Subsection (d), the appraisal review board may order
the requested change on a motion filed by the property owner under
Section 25.25 or a protest filed under Chapter 41.
SECTION 10. Section 25.19, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (m) and (n) to read as follows:
(m) The chief appraiser may not deliver a corrected or
amended notice of appraised value later than June 1 for property for
which a person files a rendition statement or property report as
required by Chapter 22 unless the purpose of the notice is to:
(1) include omitted property; or
(2) correct a clerical error.
(n) As soon as practicable after delivering a notice
required by this section to a property owner, the chief appraiser
shall post the notice on the appraisal district's Internet website,
if the appraisal district maintains a website, as part of the
appraisal record pertaining to the property.
SECTION 11. Section 31.11(h), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(h) This section does not apply to an overpayment caused by
a change of exemption status or correction of a tax roll, including
an overpayment received after a correction of a tax roll as a result
of an appeal under Chapter 42. Such an overpayment is covered by
Section 26.15 or 42.43, as applicable.
SECTION 12. 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 13. Section 41.44(d), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) A notice of protest is sufficient if it identifies the
protesting property owner, including a person claiming an ownership
interest in the property even if that person is not listed on the
appraisal records as an owner of the property, identifies the
property that is the subject of the protest, and indicates apparent
dissatisfaction with some determination of the appraisal
office. The notice need not be on an official form, but the
comptroller shall prescribe a form that provides for more detail
about the nature of the protest. The form must permit a property
owner to include each property in the appraisal district that is the
subject of a protest. The form must permit a property owner to
request that the protest be heard by a special panel established
under Section 6.425 if the protest will be determined by an
appraisal review board to which that section applies and the
property is included in a classification described by Section
6.425(b). The form must permit a property owner to request that the
protest be heard by a single-member panel authorized by Section
41.45(b-4). The comptroller, each appraisal office, and each
appraisal review board shall make the forms readily available and
deliver one to a property owner on request.
SECTION 14. Subchapter C, Chapter 41, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 41.445 to read as follows:
Sec. 41.445. INFORMAL CONFERENCE BEFORE HEARING ON PROTEST.
(a) The appraisal review board shall schedule an informal
conference with the appraisal office for each property owner who
files a notice of protest with the board, to be held before the
hearing on the protest. Notice of the date, time, and location of
the informal conference shall be delivered to the property owner
with the notice of protest hearing required under Section 41.46.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the informal
conference may not be scheduled to be held on the same day on which
the hearing on the protest is scheduled to be held or during the
five-day period preceding that date.
(c) On request made in writing by the property owner to the
appraisal office with good cause shown, the appraisal office shall
reschedule the informal conference for a later date that is before
the date of the hearing on the protest. The rescheduling of the
informal conference under this subsection does not require the
delivery of additional written notice to the property owner. The
appraisal office may reschedule the informal conference for a date
during the five-day period described by Subsection (b) with the
property owner's consent.
(d) The appraisal office shall cancel the informal
conference if the property owner informs the appraisal office, in
writing, that the property owner elects not to participate in the
conference.
(e) The property owner's failure to appear at the informal
conference does not prevent the appraisal review board from hearing
the protest and issuing an order determining the protest.
SECTION 15. Section 41.45(b-1), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b-1) An appraisal review board shall conduct a hearing on a
protest by telephone conference call if [:
[(1)] the property owner notifies the board that the
property owner intends to appear by telephone conference call in
the owner's notice of protest or by written notice filed with the
board not later than the 10th day before the date of the hearing [;
or
[(2) the board proposes that the hearing be conducted
by telephone conference call and the property owner agrees to the
hearing being conducted in that manner].
SECTION 16. Section 41.45, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (b-4) and (b-5) and amending Subsections (d), (d-2),
and (d-3) to read as follows:
(b-4) An appraisal review board shall sit in a single-member
panel to conduct a protest hearing under this section if the
property owner requests that the hearing be conducted by a
single-member panel:
(1) in the notice of protest; or
(2) in writing submitted to the board not later than
the 10th day before the date of the hearing.
(b-5) If the recommendation of a single-member panel that
conducts a hearing under Subsection (b-4) is not accepted by the
appraisal review board, the board may refer the matter for
rehearing to a single-member panel composed of a member who did not
hear the original protest or the board may determine the protest.
(d) This subsection does not apply to a single-member panel
established under Subsection (b-4) of this section or a special
panel established under Section 6.425. An appraisal review board
consisting of more than three members may sit in panels of not fewer
than three members to conduct protest hearings. If the
recommendation of a panel is not accepted by the board, the board
may refer the matter for rehearing to a panel composed of members
who did not hear the original protest or, if there are not at least
three members who did not hear the original protest, the board may
determine the protest.
(d-2) The determination of a protest heard by a panel under
Subsection (b-4), (d), or (d-1) must be made by the board.
(d-3) The board must deliver notice of a hearing or meeting
to determine a protest heard by a panel, or to rehear a protest,
under Subsection (b-4), (d), or (d-1) in accordance with the
provisions of this subchapter.
SECTION 17. 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 18. Section 41.47, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
(c) If the protest is of the determination of the appraised
value of the owner's property, the appraisal review board must
state in the order the appraised value of the property, listed
separately in the case of real property as the appraised value of
the land and the appraised value of any improvement to the land as
allocated by the chief appraiser:
(1) as shown in the appraisal records submitted to the
board by the chief appraiser under Section 25.22 or 25.23; and
(2) as finally determined by the board.
(d-1) This subsection applies only to an appraisal district
established in a county with a population of 120,000 or more. The
requirements of this subsection are in addition to the requirements
of Subsection (d). On written request submitted to the chief
appraiser, the chief appraiser shall deliver by e-mail, in the
manner provided by this subsection, a copy of the notice of issuance
of the order and a copy of the order required by Subsection (d) if
the property subject to the order is not the subject of an agreement
under Section 1.085. A request under this subsection may be
submitted only by the property owner whose property is subject to
the protest for which the order is issued, an attorney representing
the property owner, or an individual designated by the property
owner under Section 1.111. A person may include in a single request
more than one property owned by the same property owner or multiple
properties owned by multiple property owners. A person may submit
more than one request. A person submitting a request must indicate
in the request that the chief appraiser must make the delivery to
the property owner, an attorney representing the property owner, an
individual designated by the property owner under Section 1.111, or
a combination of those persons. A person must submit a request
before the protest hearing relating to each property included in
the request. The chief appraiser shall deliver, as provided by this
subsection, a copy of the notice of issuance of the order and a copy
of the order required by Subsection (d) not later than the 21st day
after the date the appraisal review board issues the order.
SECTION 19. 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 20. 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:
(1) appeal the final determination of a protest by the
appraisal review board under Chapter 42; or
(2) pursue any other legal or statutory remedy
available to the property owner.
(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 21. Section 42.01, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A property owner may not appeal separately the portion
of an order of an appraisal review board determining the appraised
value of land or the portion of the order determining the appraised
value of an improvement to the land if the order determined the
appraised value of both.
SECTION 22. Section 42.015(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person leasing property who is contractually
obligated to reimburse the property owner for taxes imposed on the
property is entitled to appeal an order of the appraisal review
board determining a protest relating to the property:
(1) brought by the person under Section 41.413; or
(2) brought by the property owner if the property
owner does not appeal the order.
SECTION 23. Section 42.23(e), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(e) For purposes of Subsection (d), a property owner may
designate a cause of action under Section 42.25 or 42.26 as the
basis for an appeal, but may not designate a cause of action under
both sections as the basis for the appeal. Discovery regarding a
cause of action that is not specifically designated by the property
owner under Subsection (d) shall be conducted as provided by the
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. A [The] court may not enter an
order, including a protective order [to modify the provisions of
this subsection] under Rule 192.6 of the Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure, that conflicts with Subsection (d).
SECTION 24. Section 11.253, Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a tax year beginning on or after January 1,
2022.
SECTION 25. Section 25.19, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a notice of appraised value for a tax year beginning
on or after January 1, 2022.
SECTION 26. Section 41.445, Tax Code, as added by this Act,
and Section 41.45(b-1), Tax Code, as amended by this Act, apply only
to a protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code, for which a notice of
protest is filed by a property owner on or after the effective date
of this Act. A protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code, for which a
notice of protest is filed by a property owner before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
notice of protest is filed, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 27. Sections 41.45 and 41.47, Tax Code, as amended
by this Act, apply only to a protest under Chapter 41, Tax Code, for
which a notice of protest is filed on or after January 1, 2022.
SECTION 28. Sections 42.01, 42.015, and 42.23, Tax Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to an appeal under Chapter 42, Tax
Code, that is filed on or after January 1, 2022.
SECTION 29. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2022.
(b) Sections 5.103, 5.104, 6.04, 6.052, 41.01, 41.461, and
41.66, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 41A.015, Tax
Code, as added by this Act, take effect immediately if this Act
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, those sections of this Act take effect September 1, 2021.