| 1 | 1 | | 88R9454 MLH-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hefner H.B. No. 3242 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the eligibility of the surviving spouse of an elderly |
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| 8 | 8 | | person who qualified for a local option exemption from ad valorem |
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| 9 | 9 | | taxation by a taxing unit of a portion of the appraised value of the |
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| 10 | 10 | | deceased person's residence homestead to continue to receive an |
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| 11 | 11 | | exemption for the same property from the same taxing unit in an |
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| 12 | 12 | | amount equal to that of the exemption for which the deceased person |
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| 13 | 13 | | qualified without applying for the exemption. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Section 11.43, Tax Code, is amended by amending |
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| 16 | 16 | | Subsection (l) and adding Subsections (m-2) and (m-3) to read as |
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| 17 | 17 | | follows: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (l) The form for an application under Section 11.13 must |
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| 19 | 19 | | include a space for the applicant to state the applicant's date of |
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| 20 | 20 | | birth and, if applicable, the date of birth of the applicant's |
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| 21 | 21 | | spouse. Failure to provide the applicant's date of birth does not |
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| 22 | 22 | | affect the applicant's eligibility for an exemption under that |
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| 23 | 23 | | section, other than an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for |
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| 24 | 24 | | an individual 65 years of age or older. Failure to provide the date |
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| 25 | 25 | | of birth of the applicant's spouse does not affect the applicant's |
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| 26 | 26 | | eligibility for an exemption under Section 11.13 or the applicant's |
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| 27 | 27 | | spouse's eligibility for an exemption under that section, other |
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| 28 | 28 | | than an exemption under Section 11.13(q) for the surviving spouse |
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| 29 | 29 | | of an individual 65 years of age or older. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (m-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if a person who |
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| 31 | 31 | | receives an exemption under Section 11.13(d) for an individual 65 |
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| 32 | 32 | | years of age or older dies in a tax year, that person's surviving |
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| 33 | 33 | | spouse is entitled to receive an exemption under Section 11.13(q) |
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| 34 | 34 | | in the next tax year on the same property without applying for the |
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| 35 | 35 | | exemption if: |
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| 36 | 36 | | (1) the appraisal district learns of the person's |
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| 37 | 37 | | death from any source, including the death records maintained by |
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| 38 | 38 | | the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health |
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| 39 | 39 | | Services or a local registration official; and |
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| 40 | 40 | | (2) the surviving spouse is otherwise eligible to |
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| 41 | 41 | | receive the exemption as shown by: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (A) information in the records of the appraisal |
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| 43 | 43 | | district that was provided to the appraisal district in an |
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| 44 | 44 | | application for an exemption under Section 11.13 on the property or |
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| 45 | 45 | | in correspondence relating to the property; or |
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| 46 | 46 | | (B) information provided by the Texas Department |
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| 47 | 47 | | of Public Safety to the appraisal district under Section 521.049, |
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| 48 | 48 | | Transportation Code. |
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| 49 | 49 | | (m-3) Subsection (m-2) does not apply if the chief appraiser |
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| 50 | 50 | | determines that the surviving spouse is no longer entitled to any |
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| 51 | 51 | | exemption under Section 11.13 on the property. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed |
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| 53 | 53 | | for an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective |
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| 54 | 54 | | date of this Act. |
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| 55 | 55 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024. |
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