88R11095 SHH-D
By: Parker S.B. No. 1956
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence
homestead of a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient or the
surviving spouse of a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 11.136 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.136. RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF
HONOR RECIPIENT. (a) In this section:
(1) "Congressional Medal of Honor recipient" means a
person who has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
(2) "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned by
Section 11.13.
(3) "Surviving spouse" means the individual who was
married to a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient at the time of
the recipient's death.
(b) A Congressional Medal of Honor recipient is entitled to
an exemption from taxation of the total appraised value of the
recipient's residence homestead.
(c) The surviving spouse of a Congressional Medal of Honor
recipient is entitled to an exemption from taxation of the total
appraised value of the surviving spouse's residence homestead if
the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the
recipient.
SECTION 2. Section 11.42(e), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(e) A person who qualifies for an exemption under Section
11.131, 11.136, or 11.35 after January 1 of a tax year may receive
the exemption for the applicable portion of that tax year
immediately on qualification for the exemption.
SECTION 3. Section 11.43(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) An exemption provided by Section 11.13, 11.131, 11.132,
11.133, 11.134, 11.136, 11.17, 11.18, 11.182, 11.1827, 11.183,
11.19, 11.20, 11.21, 11.22, 11.23(a), (h), (j), (j-1), or (m),
11.231, 11.254, 11.27, 11.271, 11.29, 11.30, 11.31, 11.315, or
11.35, once allowed, need not be claimed in subsequent years, and
except as otherwise provided by Subsection (e), the exemption
applies to the property until it changes ownership or the person's
qualification for the exemption changes. However, except as
provided by Subsection (r), the chief appraiser may require a
person allowed one of the exemptions in a prior year to file a new
application to confirm the person's current qualification for the
exemption by delivering a written notice that a new application is
required, accompanied by an appropriate application form, to the
person previously allowed the exemption. If the person previously
allowed the exemption is 65 years of age or older, the chief
appraiser may not cancel the exemption due to the person's failure
to file the new application unless the chief appraiser complies
with the requirements of Subsection (q), if applicable.
SECTION 4. Section 26.10(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) If the appraisal roll shows that a residence homestead
exemption under Section 11.131 or 11.136 applicable to a property
on January 1 of a year terminated during the year, the tax due
against the residence homestead is calculated by multiplying the
amount of the taxes that otherwise would be imposed on the residence
homestead for the entire year had the individual not qualified for
the applicable exemption [under Section 11.131] during the year by
a fraction, the denominator of which is 365 and the numerator of
which is the number of days that elapsed after the date the
exemption terminated.
SECTION 5. Section 26.1125, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 26.1125. CALCULATION OF TAXES ON RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD
OF 100 PERCENT OR TOTALLY DISABLED VETERAN OR CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL
OF HONOR RECIPIENT. (a) If a person qualifies for an exemption
under Section 11.131 or 11.136 after the beginning of a tax year,
the amount of the taxes on the residence homestead of the person for
the tax year is calculated by multiplying the amount of the taxes
that otherwise would be imposed on the residence homestead for the
entire year had the person not qualified for the applicable
exemption [under Section 11.131] by a fraction, the denominator of
which is 365 and the numerator of which is the number of days that
elapsed before the date the person qualified for the applicable
exemption [under Section 11.131].
(b) If a person qualifies for an exemption under Section
11.131 or 11.136 with respect to the property after the amount of
the tax due on the property is calculated and the effect of the
qualification is to reduce the amount of the tax due on the
property, the assessor for each taxing unit shall recalculate the
amount of the tax due on the property and correct the tax roll. If
the tax bill has been mailed and the tax on the property has not been
paid, the assessor shall mail a corrected tax bill to the person in
whose name the property is listed on the tax roll or to the person's
authorized agent. If the tax on the property has been paid, the tax
collector for the taxing unit shall refund to the person who was the
owner of the property on the date the tax was paid the amount by
which the payment exceeded the tax due.
SECTION 6. Section 403.302(d-1), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d-1) For purposes of Subsection (d), a residence homestead
that receives an exemption under Section 11.131, 11.133, [or]
11.134, or 11.136, Tax Code, in the year that is the subject of the
study is not considered to be taxable property.
SECTION 7. Section 11.136, Tax Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year that begins
on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 88th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2023, authorizing the legislature to provide for
an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market
value of the residence homestead of a Congressional Medal of Honor
recipient or the surviving spouse of a Congressional Medal of Honor
recipient is approved by the voters. If that constitutional
amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.