Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2787 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R7928 MLH-D
2	2	By: Turner H.B. No. 2787
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the qualification of candidates for, and the training
10	10	and education of members of, the board of directors of an appraisal
11	11	district.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 5, Tax Code, is amended by adding Section
14	14	5.044 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 5.044. TRAINING OF APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF
16	16	DIRECTORS MEMBERS. (a) The comptroller shall:
17	17	(1) approve curricula and provide materials for use in
18	18	training and educating members of an appraisal district board of
19	19	directors;
20	20	(2) supervise a comprehensive course for training and
21	21	education of members of an appraisal district board of directors;
22	22	(3) issue certificates indicating completion of the
23	23	course; and
24	24	(4) make all materials for use in training and
25	25	educating members of an appraisal district board of directors
26	26	freely available online.
27	27	(b) The course established under Subsection (a):
28	28	(1) must:
29	29	(A) include information on the duties and
30	30	responsibilities of a member of an appraisal district board of
31	31	directors; and
32	32	(B) be at least four hours in length; and
33	33	(2) may:
34	34	(A) be provided online; and
35	35	(B) include a summary of the requirements of
36	36	Chapters 551 and 552, Government Code, but may not fully duplicate
37	37	training provided by the attorney general on the requirements of
38	38	those chapters.
39	39	(c) A member of an appraisal district board of directors
40	40	must complete the course established under Subsection (a) before
41	41	the beginning of each term the member serves on the board. A member
42	42	of an appraisal district board of directors may not vote,
43	43	deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of
44	44	the board unless the person has completed the course established
45	45	under Subsection (a) and received a certificate of course
46	46	completion.
47	47	(d) The comptroller may contract with service providers to
48	48	assist with the duties imposed under Subsection (a), but the course
49	49	required may not be provided by an appraisal district, the chief
50	50	appraiser or another employee of an appraisal district, a member of
51	51	the board of directors of an appraisal district, a member of an
52	52	appraisal review board, or a taxing unit.
53	53	(e) The comptroller may assess a fee to recover a portion of
54	54	the costs incurred for the course established under Subsection (a),
55	55	but the fee may not exceed $50 for each person trained. If the
56	56	training is provided to an individual other than a member of an
57	57	appraisal district board of directors, the comptroller may assess a
58	58	fee not to exceed $50 for each person trained.
59	59	(f) The course material for the course required under
60	60	Subsection (a) is the comptroller's Appraisal District Director's
61	61	Manual.
62	62	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
63	63	adding Section 6.0302 to read as follows:
64	64	Sec. 6.0302. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF DIRECTOR'S DUTIES. (a) An
65	65	individual may not be appointed to an appointive position on the
66	66	board of directors of an appraisal district unless the individual
67	67	has:
68	68	(1) signed the acknowledgement described by this
69	69	section; and
70	70	(2) submitted the signed acknowledgement to the chief
71	71	appraiser of the appraisal district.
72	72	(b) An individual may not file an application for a place on
73	73	the ballot for an elective position on the board of directors of an
74	74	appraisal district under Section 6.032 unless the individual has:
75	75	(1) signed the acknowledgement described by this
76	76	section; and
77	77	(2) submitted the signed acknowledgement to the chief
78	78	appraiser of the appraisal district.
79	79	(c) Each candidate for an appointive or elective position on
80	80	the board of directors of an appraisal district must sign a
81	81	statement in the following form:
82	82	"ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF DUTIES OF MEMBER OF APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF
83	83	DIRECTORS
84	84	"I hereby acknowledge that I have read and understand the
85	85	duties of a member of the board of directors of an appraisal
86	86	district. I understand that the statutory responsibilities
87	87	include:
88	88	"(1) establishing the appraisal district office;
89	89	"(2) hiring a chief appraiser;
90	90	"(3) adopting the appraisal district's annual operating
91	91	budget after filing notice and holding a public hearing;
92	92	"(4) adopting a new budget if voting taxing units
93	93	disapprove of the initial budget;
94	94	"(5) determining whether to remove members of the
95	95	appraisal review board if the board of directors of the appraisal
96	96	district is the appointing authority and potential grounds for
97	97	removal arise;
98	98	"(6) notifying voting taxing units of any vacancy in an
99	99	appointive position on the board and electing a replacement from
100	100	submitted nominees;
101	101	"(7) appointing a person to fill a vacancy in an
102	102	elective position on the board;
103	103	"(8) electing a chairman and a secretary of the board at
104	104	the first meeting each year;
105	105	"(9) holding board meetings at least quarterly;
106	106	"(10) developing and implementing policies regarding
107	107	reasonable access to the board;
108	108	"(11) preparing information describing the board's
109	109	functions and complaint procedures and making that information
110	110	available to the public and to participating taxing units;
111	111	"(12) notifying parties to a complaint filed with the
112	112	board of the status of the complaint, unless otherwise provided;
113	113	"(13) in populous counties, appointing a taxpayer
114	114	liaison officer and deputy taxpayer liaison officers;
115	115	"(14) annually evaluating the performance of the
116	116	taxpayer liaison officer and any deputy taxpayer liaison officers,
117	117	including reviewing the timeliness of complaint resolution;
118	118	"(15) referring matters investigated by a taxpayer
119	119	liaison officer relating to the appraisal review board's conduct to
120	120	the local administrative district judge with a recommendation;
121	121	"(16) developing a biennial written plan for the
122	122	periodic reappraisal of all property in the appraisal district,
123	123	filing notice and holding a public hearing on the plan, approving
124	124	the plan, and distributing copies of the plan to participating
125	125	taxing units and the comptroller;
126	126	"(17) making agreements with newly formed taxing units
127	127	on an estimated budget allocation for that taxing unit;
128	128	"(18) having an annual financial audit prepared by an
129	129	independent certified public accountant, delivering a copy of the
130	130	audit to each voting taxing unit, and making the audit available for
131	131	inspection at the appraisal district office;
132	132	"(19) designating the appraisal district depository
133	133	biennially;
134	134	"(20) receiving resolutions from voting taxing units
135	135	disapproving of board actions;
136	136	"(21) adhering to Local Government Code requirements
137	137	for purchasing and entering into contracts;
138	138	"(22) providing advice and consent to the chief
139	139	appraiser concerning the appointment of an agricultural appraisal
140	140	advisory board and determining the number of members of that
141	141	advisory board;
142	142	"(23) adhering to laws concerning the preservation,
143	143	microfilming, destruction, or other disposition of records; and
144	144	"(24) adopting and implementing a policy for the
145	145	temporary replacement of a member of an appraisal review board who
146	146	violates ex parte communication requirements.
147	147	"Furthermore, I recognize that the board does not appraise
148	148	property or review the value of individual properties. I
149	149	acknowledge that tax rates and tax burdens are determined by
150	150	applicable taxing jurisdictions, not the appraisal district board
151	151	of directors."
152	152	SECTION 3. The comptroller of public accounts shall make
153	153	available the training course required by Section 5.044, Tax Code,
154	154	as added by this Act, not later than November 1, 2025.
155	155	SECTION 4. Sections 5.044 and 6.0302, Tax Code, as added by
156	156	this Act, apply only to a person appointed or elected to the board
157	157	of directors of an appraisal district whose term begins on or after
158	158	January 1, 2026.
159	159	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.