H.B. No. 796
AN ACT
relating to the creation and maintenance by an appraisal district
of a publicly available Internet database of information regarding
protest hearings conducted by the appraisal review board
established for the district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.17(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) The database must provide a link to:
(1) the Internet website used by each taxing unit in
which the property is located to post the information described by
Section 26.18; and
(2) the Internet database created by the chief
appraiser under Section 41.13 that contains information regarding
protest hearings conducted by the appraisal review board
established for the appraisal district.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 41, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 41.13 to read as follows:
Sec. 41.13. PROTEST HEARING DATABASE. (a) The chief
appraiser of each appraisal district shall create and maintain a
publicly available and searchable Internet database that contains
information regarding protest hearings conducted by the appraisal
review board established for the district.
(b) For each protest hearing conducted by the appraisal
review board, the database must contain:
(1) the name of each board member who attended the
hearing;
(2) the date and time of the hearing;
(3) the account number and category for the property
that was the subject of the hearing;
(4) the appraised value according to the appraisal
district and the property owner's asserted value of the property
that was the subject of the hearing; and
(5) the board's determination of the protest,
including the board's determination of the value of the property if
the hearing was to consider a protest regarding appraised value.
(c) The chief appraiser shall update the database not later
than October 1 of each year.
(d) Beginning on January 1, 2025, the database shall include
information for protests relating to the most recent tax year and
each tax year thereafter until the database includes information
for protests relating to the most recent five tax years.
(e) Beginning on January 1, 2030, the database shall include
information for protests relating to the previous five tax years.
SECTION 3. Not later than the effective date of this Act,
the chief appraiser of each appraisal district shall create and
make available to the public the Internet database required by
Section 41.13, Tax Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 796 was passed by the House on April
5, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 796 was passed by the Senate on May
12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor