89R3892 MLH-F
By: Patterson H.B. No. 4090
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the total
appraised value of the residence homesteads of certain disabled
first responders and their surviving spouses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 11.1315 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.1315. RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF TOTALLY DISABLED FIRST
RESPONDERS. (a) In this section:
(1) "First responder" means an individual listed under
Section 615.003, Government Code.
(2) "Qualifying disabled first responder" means a
first responder who:
(A) has a total and permanent disability as the
result of an injury occurring in the line of duty; and
(B) provides a chief appraiser with the
documentation prescribed by this section that demonstrates the
disability and that the disability resulted from the injury.
(3) "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned by
Section 11.13.
(4) "Surviving spouse" means the individual who was
married to a qualifying disabled first responder at the time of the
qualifying disabled first responder's death.
(5) "Total and permanent disability" means an
impairment to the mind or body that:
(A) renders a person unable to engage in a
substantial gainful occupation; and
(B) is reasonably certain to continue throughout
the person's life.
(b) Subject to Subsection (g), a qualifying disabled first
responder is entitled to an exemption from taxation of the total
appraised value of the qualifying disabled first responder's
residence homestead.
(c) The surviving spouse of a qualifying disabled first
responder who qualified for an exemption under Subsection (b) when
the qualifying disabled first responder died is entitled to an
exemption from taxation of the total appraised value of the same
property to which the qualifying disabled first responder's
exemption applied if:
(1) the surviving spouse has not remarried since the
death of the qualifying disabled first responder; and
(2) the property:
(A) was the residence homestead of the surviving
spouse when the qualifying disabled first responder died; and
(B) remains the residence homestead of the
surviving spouse.
(d) If a surviving spouse who qualifies for an exemption
under Subsection (c) subsequently qualifies a different property as
the surviving spouse's residence homestead, the surviving spouse is
entitled to an exemption from taxation of the subsequently
qualified homestead in an amount equal to the dollar amount of the
exemption from taxation of the former homestead under Subsection
(c) in the last year in which the surviving spouse received an
exemption under that subsection for that homestead if the surviving
spouse has not remarried since the death of the qualifying disabled
first responder. The surviving spouse is entitled to receive from
the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in which the former
residence homestead was located a written certificate providing the
information necessary to determine the amount of the exemption to
which the surviving spouse is entitled on the subsequently
qualified homestead.
(e) A first responder who applies for an exemption from
taxation under this section must provide to the chief appraiser the
following:
(1) documentation from the United States Social
Security Administration stating that the applicant is totally and
permanently disabled;
(2) a signed statement from the organization that
employed the applicant as a first responder at the time of the
incident that caused the applicant's total and permanent disability
certifying:
(A) the name and address of the organization;
(B) the name and title of the individual who
signed the statement;
(C) the date and location of the incident;
(D) a description of the incident; and
(E) a statement that the incident:
(i) was the actual cause of the applicant's
total and permanent disability; and
(ii) occurred in the absence of the
applicant's wilful negligence;
(3) any documentation of the incident that caused the
applicant's total and permanent disability that is in the
possession of the organization that employed the applicant as a
first responder; and
(4) a statement from a physician licensed by the Texas
Medical Board certifying that:
(A) the applicant has a total and permanent
disability that renders the applicant unable to engage in a
substantial gainful occupation;
(B) the incident described by the organization
under Subdivision (2) was the sole cause of the applicant's total
and permanent disability; and
(C) the total and permanent disability is
reasonably certain to continue throughout the applicant's life.
(f) If an applicant is ineligible to receive a medical
status determination from the United States Social Security
Administration due to the applicant's ineligibility for Social
Security benefits or Medicare benefits, the applicant may, instead
of the documentation required by Subsection (e)(1), provide to the
chief appraiser:
(1) documentation from the United States Social
Security Administration stating that the applicant is ineligible to
receive a medical status determination; and
(2) a statement under Subsection (e)(4) from a second
physician licensed by the Texas Medical Board who is professionally
unrelated to the physician who provided the statement required by
that subdivision.
(g) A qualifying disabled first responder may not receive an
exemption under this section if the qualifying disabled first
responder's total and permanent disability is the result of a heart
attack, stroke, or vascular rupture unless:
(1) the heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture took
place not more than 24 hours after the qualifying disabled first
responder performed stressful or strenuous physical activity that
is not a routine duty of the qualifying disabled first responder;
and
(2) the qualifying disabled first responder's treating
cardiologist certifies within a reasonable degree of medical
certainty that:
(A) the stressful or strenuous physical activity
described in Subdivision (1) caused the heart attack, stroke, or
vascular rupture; and
(B) the heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture
was not caused by a preexisting vascular disease or condition.
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, 11.1315, 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,
11.1315, 11.132, 11.133, 11.134, 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,
11.35, or 11.36, 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. The heading to Section 11.439, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 11.439. LATE APPLICATIONS FOR DISABLED VETERANS AND
QUALIFYING DISABLED FIRST RESPONDERS EXEMPTIONS.
SECTION 5. Section 11.439, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny
an application for an exemption under Section 11.1315 for the
residence homestead of a qualifying disabled first responder but
not the surviving spouse of the qualifying disabled first responder
after the filing deadline provided by Section 11.43 if the
application is filed not later than five years after the
delinquency date for the taxes on the property.
SECTION 6. 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 11.1315 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 residence homestead 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 7. 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 QUALIFYING DISABLED
FIRST RESPONDER. (a) If a person qualifies for an exemption under
Section 11.131 or 11.1315 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 11.1315 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 8. 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, 11.1315, 11.133,
or 11.134, Tax Code, in the year that is the subject of the study is
not considered to be taxable property.
SECTION 9. Section 11.1315, Tax Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year that begins
on or after January 1, 2026.
SECTION 10. It is the intent of the 89th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2025, that the amendments made by this Act to
Section 11.43(c), Government Code, be harmonized with another Act
of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, relating to
nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2025, authorizing the legislature to provide for
an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market
value of the residence homesteads of certain disabled first
responders and their surviving spouses is approved by the voters.
If that constitutional amendment is not approved by the voters,
this Act has no effect.