Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3273 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 3273
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to public notice of the availability on the Internet of
6	6	property-tax-related information.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 25.19(m), Tax Code, as added by Chapter
9	9	209 (H.B. 2723), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session,
10	10	2021, is redesignated as Section 25.19(l-1), Tax Code, and amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	(l-1) [(m)] A notice required by Subsection (a) or (g) must
13	13	include the notice required by Section 26.04(e-2). [following
14	14	statement: "Beginning August 7th, visit Texas.gov/PropertyTaxes to
15	15	find a link to your local property tax database on which you can
16	16	easily access information regarding your property taxes, including
17	17	information regarding the amount of taxes that each entity that
18	18	taxes your property will impose if the entity adopts its proposed
19	19	tax rate. Your local property tax database will be updated
20	20	regularly during August and September as local elected officials
21	21	propose and adopt the property tax rates that will determine how
22	22	much you pay in property taxes."]
23	23	SECTION 2. Section 26.04, Tax Code, is amended by amending
24	24	Subsections (e-2) and (e-4) and adding Subsection (e-6) to read as
25	25	follows:
26	26	(e-2) The [By August 7 or as soon thereafter as practicable,
27	27	the] chief appraiser of each appraisal district shall post
28	28	prominently on the appraisal district's Internet website, if the
29	29	appraisal district maintains an Internet website, and the assessor
30	30	for each taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district
31	31	shall post prominently on the taxing unit's Internet website
32	32	[deliver by regular mail or e-mail to each owner of property located
33	33	in the appraisal district] a notice informing each owner of
34	34	property located in the appraisal district that the estimated
35	35	amount of taxes to be imposed on the owner's property by each taxing
36	36	unit in which the property is located may be found in the property
37	37	tax database maintained by the appraisal district under Section
38	38	26.17. The notice must include:
39	39	(1) the following statement in bold typeface: "Visit
40	40	Texas.gov/PropertyTaxes to find a link to your local property tax
41	41	database on which you can easily access information regarding your
42	42	property taxes, including information regarding the amount of taxes
43	43	that each entity that taxes your property will impose if the entity
44	44	adopts its proposed tax rate. Your local property tax database will
45	45	be updated regularly during August and September as local elected
46	46	officials propose and adopt the property tax rates that will
47	47	determine how much you pay in property taxes.";
48	48	(2) a statement that the property owner may request
49	49	from the county assessor-collector for the county in which the
50	50	property is located or, if the county assessor-collector does not
51	51	assess taxes for the county, the person who assesses taxes for the
52	52	county under Section 6.24(b), contact information for the assessor
53	53	for each taxing unit in which the property is located, who must
54	54	provide the information described by this subsection to the owner
55	55	on request; [and]
56	56	(3) the name, address, and telephone number of the
57	57	county assessor-collector for the county in which the property is
58	58	located or, if the county assessor-collector does not assess taxes
59	59	for the county, the person who assesses taxes for the county under
60	60	Section 6.24(b); and
61	61	(4) instructions describing how a property owner may
62	62	register on the appraisal district's Internet website, if the
63	63	appraisal district maintains an Internet website, to have
64	64	notifications regarding updates to the property tax database
65	65	delivered to the owner by e-mail.
66	66	(e-4) The comptroller:
67	67	(1) with the advice of the property tax administration
68	68	advisory board, shall adopt rules prescribing the form of the
69	69	notice required by Subsection (e-2); and
70	70	(2) may adopt rules regarding the format, posting, and
71	71	publication [delivery] of the notice.
72	72	(e-6) By August 7 or as soon thereafter as practicable, the
73	73	chief appraiser of each appraisal district shall publish in a
74	74	newspaper of general circulation in the county for which the
75	75	appraisal district is established the notice required by Subsection
76	76	(e-2). If there is no newspaper of general circulation in the
77	77	county for which the appraisal district is established, the notice
78	78	shall be posted at the appraisal office for the district.
79	79	SECTION 3. Section 26.05(d-1), Tax Code, is amended to read
80	80	as follows:
81	81	(d-1) The governing body of a taxing unit other than a
82	82	school district may not hold a public hearing on a proposed tax rate
83	83	or a public meeting to adopt a tax rate until the fifth day after the
84	84	date the chief appraiser of each appraisal district in which the
85	85	taxing unit participates has:
86	86	(1) posted [delivered] the notice required by Section
87	87	26.04(e-2) or published or posted the notice required by Section
88	88	26.04(e-6); and
89	89	(2) complied with Section 26.17(f).
90	90	SECTION 4. Section 26.17, Tax Code, is amended by adding
91	91	Subsection (g) to read as follows:
92	92	(g) The chief appraiser of each appraisal district that
93	93	maintains an Internet website shall deliver to a property owner by
94	94	e-mail notifications regarding updates to the property tax database
95	95	if the owner registers on the website to receive such notifications
96	96	in that manner.
97	97	SECTION 5. Section 41.46(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
98	98	follows:
99	99	(a) The appraisal review board before which a protest
100	100	hearing is scheduled shall deliver written notice to the property
101	101	owner initiating a protest not later than the 15th day before the
102	102	date of the hearing. The notice must include:
103	103	(1) the date, time, and place of the hearing;
104	104	(2) a description of the subject matter of the hearing
105	105	that is sufficient to identify the specific action being protested,
106	106	such as:
107	107	(A) the determination of the appraised value of
108	108	the property owner's property;
109	109	(B) the denial to the property owner in whole or
110	110	in part of a partial exemption; or
111	111	(C) the determination that the property owner's
112	112	land does not qualify for appraisal as provided by Subchapter C, D,
113	113	E, or H, Chapter 23; [and]
114	114	(3) a statement that the property owner is entitled to
115	115	a postponement of the hearing as provided by Section 41.45 unless
116	116	the property owner waives in writing notice of the hearing; and
117	117	(4) the notice required by Section 26.04(e-2).
118	118	SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only
119	119	to a notice required to be delivered for an ad valorem tax year that
120	120	begins on or after the effective date of this Act.
121	121	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.
122	122	______________________________ ______________________________
123	123	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
124	124	I certify that H.B. No. 3273 was passed by the House on April
125	125	20, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 110, Nays 36, 2 present, not
126	126	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
127	127	No. 3273 on May 17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0,
128	128	1 present, not voting.
129	129	______________________________
130	130	Chief Clerk of the House
131	131	I certify that H.B. No. 3273 was passed by the Senate, with
132	132	amendments, on May 12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
133	133	0.
134	134	______________________________
135	135	Secretary of the Senate
136	136	APPROVED: __________________
137	137	Date
138	138	__________________
139	139	Governor