89R16229 MLH-D
By: Plesa H.B. No. 4013
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition of the board of directors of certain
appraisal districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 6.0301, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (c), (d), and (g) and adding Subsections (b-1), (c-1),
(c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows:
(b-1) The board of directors of the appraisal district shall
divide the district into four numbered, single-member districts for
electing directors.
(c) The appraisal district is governed by a board of nine
directors. Four [Five] directors are appointed by the taxing units
that participate in the district in the manner prescribed by
Section 6.03. One director is elected from each single-member
district. To be elected to a position on the board of directors of
the district, a candidate must receive more votes than any other
candidate for that position. The district shall hold an election to
elect the appropriate number of directors on the uniform election
date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, in November of
each even-numbered year. [Three directors are elected by majority
vote at the general election for state and county officers by the
voters of the county in which the district is established.] The
county assessor-collector serves as an ex officio director.
(c-1) The board of directors may revise the single-member
districts as necessary or appropriate.
(c-2) The board of directors shall revise each
single-member district after each federal decennial census to
reflect population changes.
(c-3) When the boundaries of the single-member districts
are changed, a director in office on the effective date of the
change, or elected or appointed before the effective date of the
change to a term of office beginning on or after the effective date
of the change, is entitled to serve the term or the remainder of the
term in the single-member district to which elected or appointed
even though the change in boundaries places the director's
residence outside the single-member district from which the
director was elected or appointed.
(d) To be eligible to serve in an appointive position on the
board of directors, an individual [other than the county
assessor-collector] must be a resident of the district and must
have resided in the district for at least two years immediately
preceding the date the individual takes office. To be eligible to
serve in an elective position on the board of directors, an
individual must be a resident of the single-member district from
which the individual is elected and have resided in the
single-member district for at least two years immediately preceding
the date the individual takes office. An individual who is
otherwise eligible to serve on the board is not ineligible because
of membership on the governing body of a taxing unit. An employee
of a taxing unit that participates in the district is not eligible
to serve on the board unless the individual is also a member of the
governing body or an elected official of a taxing unit that
participates in the district.
(g) If a vacancy occurs in an elective position on the board
of directors, the board of directors shall appoint by majority vote
of its members a person to fill the vacancy. A person appointed to
fill a vacancy in an elective position must have the qualifications
required of a director elected at a general election for the
position on the board to which the person is appointed.
SECTION 2. Section 6.032, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A person shall indicate on the application for a place
on the ballot the single-member district that the person seeks to
represent.
SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2026, the board of
directors of each appraisal district established in a county with a
population of 75,000 or more shall divide the district into
single-member districts as required by Section 6.0301(b-1), Tax
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. Sections 5.13(b), (c), and (d), Chapter 1 (S.B.
2), Acts of the 88th Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 2023, are
repealed.
SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
only to an election of members of the board of directors of an
appraisal district that is held on or after January 1, 2026.
(b) At the first meeting of the board of directors of an
appraisal district described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as
amended by this Act, that is held on or after January 1, 2027, the
four directors elected on the uniform election date prescribed by
Section 41.001, Election Code, in November 2026 shall draw lots to
determine which two directors shall serve a term of two years and
which two directors shall serve a term of four years. Thereafter,
all elected directors serve four-year terms.
(c) The term of an appointed appraisal district director
serving on December 31, 2026, on the board of directors of an
appraisal district described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as
amended by this Act, expires on January 1, 2027. Not later than
December 31, 2026, the taxing units participating in the appraisal
district that are entitled to appoint directors shall appoint four
directors to serve terms that begin on January 1, 2027. Two
directors shall be appointed to serve a term of one year, and the
other two directors shall be appointed to serve a term of three
years. Thereafter, all appointed directors serve four-year terms.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.