88R1315 DRS-D
By: Metcalf H.B. No. 2250
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the selection and authority of the board of directors of
an appraisal district in certain counties; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Sections 6.0301 and 6.0302 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.0301. ELECTED APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
IN CERTAIN COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only to a county
that:
(1) has a population of more than 400,000; and
(2) is adjacent to a county with a population of more
than 3.3 million and no other counties with a population of more
than 300,000.
(b) Sections 6.03, 6.031, 6.033, 6.034, 6.037, and 6.10 do
not apply to an appraisal district established in a county to which
this section applies.
(c) The appraisal district established in a county to which
this section applies is governed by a board of elected
directors. One director is elected from each of the four
commissioners precincts in the county in which the appraisal
district is established and one director is elected at large from
the county. The county assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting
director. The county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if
the board enters into a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the
commissioners court of the county enters into a contract under
Section 6.24(b). The directors other than the county
assessor-collector are elected at the general election for state
and county officers and serve two-year terms beginning on January 1
of odd-numbered years.
(d) To be eligible to serve on the board of directors of an
appraisal district established in a county to which this section
applies, an individual other than the county assessor-collector
must:
(1) be a resident of:
(A) the commissioners precinct from which the
office is elected, in the case of a director elected from a
commissioners precinct; or
(B) the county in which the appraisal district is
established, in the case of a director elected at large; and
(2) have resided in the appraisal district for at
least two years immediately preceding the date the individual takes
office.
(e) A vacancy on the board of directors of an appraisal
district established in a county to which this section applies,
other than a vacancy in the position held by the county
assessor-collector, is filled for the remainder of the unexpired
term by appointment by the commissioners court of the county in
which the appraisal district is established. An individual
appointed to fill a vacancy on the board of directors must meet the
qualifications of the vacated position.
(f) If as a result of a change in the boundaries of a
commissioners precinct an individual serving as a director no
longer resides in the precinct from which the office is elected, the
individual is not for that reason disqualified from office during
the remainder of the term of office being served at the time the
boundary change takes effect. If as a result of a change in the
boundaries of a commissioners precinct an individual elected as a
director before the boundary change to a term that begins after the
boundary change no longer resides in the precinct from which
elected, the individual is not for that reason disqualified from
serving the term to which elected.
(g) For an appraisal district established in a county to
which this section applies, a reference in Sections 6.051, 6.06,
6.061, and 6.063 to the taxing units entitled to vote on the
appointment of members of the board of directors of the appraisal
district means the taxing units that participate in the appraisal
district.
Sec. 6.0302. BALLOT PROCEDURES FOR APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD
MEMBER; FILING FEE. (a) This section applies only to a member of
the board of directors of an appraisal district required to be
elected under Section 6.0301.
(b) Except as provided by this section, Chapter 144,
Election Code, applies to a candidate for the office of member of
the board of directors of an appraisal district.
(c) An application for a place on the ballot must be filed
with the county judge of the county for which the appraisal district
is established and be accompanied by a filing fee of $1,250.
(d) A filing fee received under this section shall be
deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the county general
fund.
SECTION 2. Section 6.036, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for a
position on the board of directors of an appraisal district
established in a county to which Section 6.0301 applies if the
individual or a business entity in which the individual has a
substantial interest is a party to a contract described by
Subsection (a) of this section.
SECTION 3. Section 6.15(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a routine
communication between the chief appraiser and the county
assessor-collector that relates to the administration of an
appraisal roll, including a communication made in connection with
the certification, correction, or collection of an account,
regardless of whether the county assessor-collector serves on [was
appointed to] the board of directors of the appraisal district [or
serves as a nonvoting director].
SECTION 4. (a) The directors of an appraisal district
established in a county described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as
added by this Act, shall be elected as provided by that section
beginning with the general election conducted in 2024. Members
then elected take office January 1, 2025.
(b) The change in the manner of selection of appraisal
district directors made by this Act for an appraisal district
established in a county described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as
added by this Act, does not affect the selection of directors who
serve on the board of directors before January 1, 2025.
(c) The term of an appraisal district director serving on
December 31, 2024, in an appraisal district established in a county
described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as added by this Act, expires
on January 1, 2025.
SECTION 5. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2025.
(b) This section, Section 6.0302, Tax Code, as added by this
Act, and Section 4 of this Act take effect September 1, 2023.