| 1 | 1 | | 89R2969 MLH-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Plesa H.B. No. 1577 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to eligibility for the exemption from ad valorem taxation |
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| 10 | 10 | | of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of certain first |
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| 11 | 11 | | responders. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Section 11.134(a)(1), Tax Code, is amended to |
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| 14 | 14 | | read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) "First responder" means: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (A) an individual listed under Section 615.003, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Government Code; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (B) a special agent of United States Immigration |
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| 19 | 19 | | and Customs Enforcement; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (C) a customs and border protection officer or |
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| 21 | 21 | | border patrol agent of United States Customs and Border Protection; |
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| 22 | 22 | | or |
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| 23 | 23 | | (D) an immigration enforcement agent or |
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| 24 | 24 | | deportation officer of the United States Department of Homeland |
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| 25 | 25 | | Security. |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 2. Section 11.134(b), Tax Code, is amended to read |
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| 27 | 27 | | as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (b) The surviving spouse of a first responder who is killed |
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| 29 | 29 | | or fatally injured in the line of duty is entitled to an exemption |
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| 30 | 30 | | from taxation of the total appraised value of the surviving |
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| 31 | 31 | | spouse's residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not |
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| 32 | 32 | | remarried since the death of the first responder and: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) in the case of the surviving spouse of a first |
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| 34 | 34 | | responder described by Subsection (a)(1)(A), is an eligible |
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| 35 | 35 | | survivor for purposes of Chapter 615, Government Code, as |
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| 36 | 36 | | determined by the Employees Retirement System of Texas under that |
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| 37 | 37 | | chapter; or [and] |
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| 38 | 38 | | (2) in the case of the surviving spouse of a first |
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| 39 | 39 | | responder described by Subsection (a)(1)(B), (C), or (D), was a |
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| 40 | 40 | | resident of this state at the time of the first responder's death |
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| 41 | 41 | | [has not remarried since the death of the first responder]. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 43 | 43 | | to a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2026. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026. |
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