Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB678 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R743 RDS-D
2	2	By: Hughes S.B. No. 678
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the reappraisal for ad valorem taxation purposes of
10	10	certain property completely destroyed or partially damaged by an
11	11	accidental fire.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
14	14	adding Section 23.025 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 23.025. REAPPRAISAL OF PROPERTY DESTROYED OR DAMAGED
16	16	BY FIRE. (a) In this section, "qualified property" means real
17	17	property that is completely destroyed or at least 15 percent
18	18	damaged by an accidental fire. For purposes of this subsection,
19	19	"real property" includes a manufactured home as that term is
20	20	defined by Section 1201.003, Occupations Code, that is used as a
21	21	dwelling, regardless of whether the owner of the manufactured home
22	22	elects to treat the manufactured home as real property under
23	23	Section 1201.2055, Occupations Code.
24	24	(b) A property owner may request the chief appraiser of an
25	25	appraisal district in which a qualified property owned by the
26	26	property owner and destroyed or damaged by an accidental fire is
27	27	located to reappraise the property. The owner must make the request
28	28	in writing not later than the 180th day after the date the fire
29	29	occurs.
30	30	(c) Except as provided by this subsection, the chief
31	31	appraiser shall reappraise a qualified property if requested to do
32	32	so by the owner of the property. The chief appraiser is not
33	33	required to reappraise the property if the property qualifies for
34	34	an exemption under Section 11.35 as the result of the same fire.
35	35	(d) The comptroller, in consultation with appraisal
36	36	districts, shall develop guidelines for determining the process for
37	37	reappraising property under this section, including for
38	38	determining whether a property is a qualified property and for
39	39	calculating an appropriate value of any exemption and appraisal
40	40	limitation applied during or after the tax year for which the
41	41	property is reappraised.
42	42	(e) The chief appraiser shall complete the reappraisal of
43	43	property as soon as practicable after a request is made.
44	44	(f) The chief appraiser shall include in the appraisal
45	45	records:
46	46	(1) the date the fire occurred;
47	47	(2) the appraised value of the property before the
48	48	fire occurred;
49	49	(3) the appraised value of the property immediately
50	50	after the fire occurred; and
51	51	(4) any other information required to be included in
52	52	the records.
53	53	(g) The amount of the taxes imposed by a taxing unit on
54	54	property reappraised under this section for the tax year in which a
55	55	fire occurs is calculated by:
56	56	(1) multiplying the amount of the taxes that otherwise
57	57	would be imposed by the taxing unit on the property for the entire
58	58	year by a fraction, the denominator of which is 365 and the
59	59	numerator of which is the number of days that elapsed before the
60	60	date the fire occurred;
61	61	(2) multiplying the amount of the taxes that would be
62	62	imposed by the taxing unit on the property for the entire year based
63	63	on the reappraised value of the property by a fraction, the
64	64	denominator of which is 365 and the numerator of which is the number
65	65	of days, including the date the fire occurred, remaining in the tax
66	66	year; and
67	67	(3) adding the amounts calculated under Subdivisions
68	68	(1) and (2).
69	69	(h) If property is reappraised under this section, the
70	70	assessor for each taxing unit shall calculate the amount of the tax
71	71	due on the property as provided by this section. If the property is
72	72	reappraised after the amount of the tax due on the property is
73	73	calculated, the assessor shall recalculate the amount of the tax
74	74	due on the property and correct the tax roll. If the tax bill has
75	75	been mailed and the tax on the property has not been paid, the
76	76	assessor shall mail a corrected tax bill to the person in whose name
77	77	the property is listed on the tax roll or to the person's authorized
78	78	agent. If the tax on the property has been paid, the tax collector
79	79	for the taxing unit shall refund to the person who paid the tax the
80	80	amount by which the payment exceeded the tax due.
81	81	SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2026, the comptroller
82	82	shall develop guidelines required by Section 23.025, Tax Code, as
83	83	added by this Act, and shall distribute those guidelines to each
84	84	appraisal district.
85	85	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to the
86	86	reappraisal of property destroyed or damaged by an accidental fire
87	87	only if the fire occurs on or after January 1, 2026.
88	88	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
89	89	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
90	90	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
91	91	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
92	92	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.