Bill Text: TX HB348 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to the administration of appraisal districts; authorizing a fee.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-07-31 - Referred to Ways & Means [HB348 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB348-Introduced.html
  85S11032 CJC-D
 
  By: Burkett H.B. No. 348
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the administration of appraisal districts; authorizing
  a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 5.103(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The model hearing procedures shall address:
               (1)  the statutory duties of an appraisal review board;
               (2)  the process for conducting a hearing;
               (3)  the scheduling of hearings;
               (4)  the postponement of hearings;
               (5)  the notices required under this title;
               (6)  the determination of good cause under Section
  41.44(b);
               (7)  the determination of good cause under Sections
  41.45(e) and (e-1);
               (8)  a party's right to offer evidence and argument;
               (9)  a party's right to examine or cross-examine
  witnesses or other parties;
               (10)  a party's right to appear by an agent;
               (11)  the prohibition of an appraisal review board's
  consideration of information not provided at a hearing;
               (12)  ex parte and other prohibited communications;
               (13)  the exclusion of evidence at a hearing as
  required by Section 41.67(d);
               (14)  the postponement of a hearing as required by
  Section 41.66(h);
               (15)  conflicts of interest; and
               (16)  [the process for the administration of
  applications for membership on an appraisal review board; and
               [(17)]  any other matter related to fair and efficient
  appraisal review board hearings.
         SECTION 2.  Section 5.12(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  At the written request of the governing bodies of a
  majority of the taxing units participating in an appraisal district
  [or of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the
  appointment of appraisal district directors], the comptroller
  shall audit the performance of the appraisal district. The
  governing bodies may request a general audit of the performance of
  the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or more
  particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other
  appraisal district matters.
         SECTION 3.  Section 5.13(h), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (h)  At any time after the request for an audit is made, the
  comptroller may discontinue the audit in whole or in part if
  requested to do so by:
               (1)  the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
  units participating in the district, if the audit was requested by a
  majority of those units; or
               (2)  the taxpayers who requested the audit, [the
  governing bodies of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote
  on the appointment of appraisal district directors, if the audit
  was requested by a majority of those units; or
               [(3)]  if the audit was requested under Section 5.12(c)
  [of this code, by the taxpayers who requested the audit].
         SECTION 4.  Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
  Subsections (a) and (l) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3),
  and (m) to read as follows:
         (a)  The appraisal district is governed by a board of five or
  seven directors, as provided by Subsections (a-1) and (a-2).
         (a-1)  This subsection applies to an appraisal district
  established in a county with a population of less than 200,000. The
  appraisal district is governed by a board of five directors. One
  director is elected from each of the four commissioners precincts
  of the county for which the appraisal district is established. The
  county assessor-collector is a director by virtue of the person's
  office. The directors other than the county assessor-collector are
  elected at the general election for state and county officers and
  serve two-year terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered years.
  [Five directors are appointed by the taxing units that participate
  in the district as provided by this section. If the county
  assessor-collector is not appointed to the board, the county
  assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting director.] The county
  assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if the board enters into
  a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the commissioners court of
  the county enters into a contract under Section 6.24(b). If the
  county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve, the appraisal
  district is governed by the four directors elected from the
  commissioners precincts and a director elected from the county at
  large. The director elected from the county at large is elected at
  the same election and serves the same term of office as the four
  directors elected from the commissioners precincts.
         (a-2)  This subsection applies to an appraisal district
  established in a county with a population of 200,000 or more. The
  appraisal district is governed by a board of seven directors. One
  director is elected from each of the four commissioners precincts
  of the county for which the appraisal district is established and
  two directors are elected from the county at large. The county
  assessor-collector is a director by virtue of the person's office.
  The directors other than the county assessor-collector are elected
  at the general election for state and county officers and serve
  two-year terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered years. The
  county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if the board
  enters into a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the
  commissioners court of the county enters into a contract under
  Section 6.24(b). If the county assessor-collector is ineligible to
  serve, the appraisal district is governed by the four directors
  elected from the commissioners precincts and three directors
  elected from the county at large in the manner provided by this
  subsection.
         (a-3)  To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, an
  individual other than the [a] county assessor-collector [serving as
  a nonvoting director] must:
               (1)  be a resident of:
                     (A)  the commissioners precinct from which the
  office is elected, in the case of a director elected from a
  commissioners precinct; or
                     (B)  the county for which the appraisal district
  is established, in the case of a director elected at large;
  [district] and
               (2)  [must] have resided in the appraisal 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.]
         (l)  A [If a] vacancy [occurs] on the board of directors is
  filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment by the
  commissioners court of the county for which the appraisal district
  is established.  A person appointed to fill a vacancy on the board
  of directors must meet the qualifications of the vacated position
  [other than a vacancy in the position held by a county
  assessor-collector serving as a nonvoting director, each taxing
  unit that is entitled to vote by this section may nominate by
  resolution adopted by its governing body a candidate to fill the
  vacancy. The unit shall submit the name of its nominee to the chief
  appraiser within 45 days after notification from the board of
  directors of the existence of the vacancy, and the chief appraiser
  shall prepare and deliver to the board of directors within the next
  five days a list of the nominees. The board of directors shall
  elect by majority vote of its members one of the nominees to fill
  the vacancy].
         (m)  If as a result of a change in the boundaries of a
  commissioners precinct an individual serving as a director no
  longer resides in the precinct from which the office is elected, the
  individual is not for that reason disqualified from office during
  the remainder of the term of office being served at the time the
  boundary change takes effect. If as a result of a change in the
  boundaries of a commissioners precinct an individual elected as a
  director before the boundary change to a term that begins after the
  boundary change no longer resides in the precinct from which
  elected, the individual is not for that reason disqualified from
  serving the term to which elected.
         SECTION 5.  Section 6.036(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (a)  An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for, to
  be appointed to, or to serve on the board of directors of an
  appraisal district if the individual or a business entity in which
  the individual has a substantial interest is a party to a contract
  with:
               (1)  the appraisal district; or
               (2)  a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal
  district, if the contract relates to the performance of an activity
  governed by this title.
         SECTION 6.  Section 6.051(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The acquisition or conveyance of real property or the
  construction or renovation of a building or other improvement by an
  appraisal district must be approved by the governing bodies of
  three-fourths of the taxing units that participate in the district
  [entitled to vote on the appointment of board members]. The board
  of directors by resolution may propose a property transaction or
  other action for which this subsection requires approval of the
  taxing units. The chief appraiser shall notify the presiding
  officer of each governing body entitled to vote on the approval of
  the proposal by delivering a copy of the board's resolution,
  together with information showing the costs of other available
  alternatives to the proposal. On or before the 30th day after the
  date the presiding officer receives notice of the proposal, the
  governing body of a taxing unit by resolution may approve or
  disapprove the proposal. If a governing body fails to act on or
  before that 30th day or fails to file its resolution with the chief
  appraiser on or before the 10th day after that 30th day, the
  proposal is treated as if it were disapproved by the governing body.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 6.06(a), (b), and (i), Tax Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Each year the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
  budget for the operations of the district for the following tax year
  and shall submit copies to each taxing unit participating in the
  district and to the district board of directors before June 15. The
  chief appraiser [He] shall include in the budget a list showing each
  proposed position, the proposed salary for the position, all
  benefits proposed for the position, each proposed capital
  expenditure, and an estimate of the amount of the budget that will
  be allocated to each taxing unit. Each taxing unit that
  participates in the district [entitled to vote on the appointment
  of board members] shall maintain a copy of the proposed budget for
  public inspection at its principal administrative office.
         (b)  The board of directors shall hold a public hearing to
  consider the budget. The secretary of the board shall deliver to
  the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
  participating in the district not later than the 10th day before the
  date of the hearing a written notice of the date, time, and place
  fixed for the hearing. The board shall complete its hearings, make
  any amendments to the proposed budget it desires, and finally
  approve a budget before September 15. If governing bodies of a
  majority of the taxing units participating in the district
  [entitled to vote on the appointment of board members] adopt
  resolutions disapproving a budget and file them with the secretary
  of the board within 30 days after its adoption, the budget does not
  take effect, and the board shall adopt a new budget within 30 days
  of the disapproval.
         (i)  The fiscal year of an appraisal district is the calendar
  year unless the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
  units participating in the district [entitled to vote on the
  appointment of board members] adopt resolutions proposing a
  different fiscal year and file them with the secretary of the board
  not more than 12 and not less than eight months before the first day
  of the fiscal year proposed by the resolutions. If the fiscal year
  of an appraisal district is changed under this subsection, the
  chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed budget for the fiscal year
  as provided by Subsection (a) [of this section] before the 15th day
  of the seventh month preceding the first day of the fiscal year
  established by the change, and the board of directors shall adopt a
  budget for the fiscal year as provided by Subsection (b) [of this
  section] before the 15th day of the fourth month preceding the first
  day of the fiscal year established by the change. Unless the
  appraisal district adopts a different method of allocation under
  Section 6.061 [of this code], the allocation of the budget to each
  taxing unit shall be calculated as provided by Subsection (d) [of
  this section] using the amount of property taxes imposed by each
  participating taxing unit in the most recent tax year preceding the
  fiscal year established by the change for which the necessary
  information is available. Each taxing unit shall pay its
  allocation as provided by Subsection (e) [of this section], except
  that the first payment shall be made before the first day of the
  fiscal year established by the change and subsequent payments shall
  be made quarterly. In the year in which a change in the fiscal year
  occurs, the budget that takes effect on January 1 of that year may
  be amended as necessary as provided by Subsection (c) [of this
  section] in order to accomplish the change in fiscal years.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 6.061(b) and (e), Tax Code, are amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The taxing units participating in an appraisal district
  may adopt a different method of allocating the costs of operating
  the district if the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
  units that participate in the district [are entitled to vote on the
  appointment of board members] adopt resolutions providing for the
  other method. However, a change under this subsection is not valid
  if it requires any taxing unit to pay a greater proportion of the
  appraisal district's costs than the unit would pay under Section
  6.06 [of this code] without the consent of the governing body of
  that unit.
         (e)  A change in allocation of district costs made as
  provided by this section remains in effect until changed in a manner
  provided by this section or rescinded by resolution of a majority of
  the governing bodies of the taxing units that participate in the
  district [that are entitled to vote on appointment of board members
  under Section 6.03 of this code].
         SECTION 9.  Section 6.063(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The report of the audit is a public record. A copy of
  the report shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the
  governing body of each taxing unit that participates in the
  district [eligible to vote on the appointment of district
  directors], and a reasonable number of copies shall be available
  for inspection at the appraisal office.
         SECTION 10.  Section 6.15(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a routine
  communication between the chief appraiser and the county
  assessor-collector that relates to the administration of an
  appraisal roll, including a communication made in connection with
  the certification, correction, or collection of an account,
  regardless of whether the county assessor-collector serves on [was
  appointed to] the board of directors of the appraisal district [or
  serves as a nonvoting director].
         SECTION 11.  Sections 6.41(b), (d), (d-1), (e), (f), (j),
  and (k), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The board consists of three members. The [However, the]
  district board of directors by resolution of a majority of its
  members may increase the size of the appraisal review board to the
  number of members the board of directors considers appropriate,
  subject to Subsection (d-1).
         (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), members of the
  board are appointed by resolution of a majority of the appraisal
  district board of directors.  A vacancy on the board is filled [in
  the same manner] for the unexpired portion of the term in the same
  manner as the original appointment.
         (d-1)  If the district board of directors increases the size
  of the appraisal review board under Subsection (b), each director
  is entitled to appoint an equal number of members to the expanded
  appraisal review board. [In a county with a population of 120,000
  or more the members of the board are appointed by the local
  administrative district judge under Subchapter D, Chapter 74,
  Government Code, in the county in which the appraisal district is
  established. All applications submitted to the appraisal district
  or to the appraisal review board from persons seeking appointment
  as a member of the appraisal review board shall be delivered to the
  local administrative district judge. The appraisal district may
  provide the local administrative district judge with information
  regarding whether an applicant for appointment to or a member of the
  board owes any delinquent ad valorem taxes to a taxing unit
  participating in the appraisal district.]
         (e)  Members of the board hold office for terms of two years
  beginning January 1. The appraisal district board of directors by
  resolution shall provide for staggered terms, so that the terms of
  as close to one-half of the members as possible expire each year.
  In making the initial or subsequent appointments, the board of
  directors [or the local administrative district judge or the
  judge's designee] shall designate those members who serve terms of
  one year as needed to comply with this subsection.
         (f)  A member of the appraisal review board may be removed
  from the board by a majority vote of the appraisal district board of
  directors, or by the member of the appraisal district board of
  directors [local administrative district judge or the judge's
  designee], as applicable, that appointed the member. Grounds for
  removal are:
               (1)  a violation of Section 6.412, 6.413, 41.66(f), or
  41.69;
               (2)  good cause relating to the attendance of members
  at called meetings of the board as established by written policy
  adopted by a majority of the appraisal district board of directors;
  or
               (3)  clear and convincing evidence of repeated bias or
  misconduct.
         (j)  A chief appraiser or another employee or agent of an
  appraisal district commits an offense if the person communicates
  with a member of the appraisal review board for the appraisal
  district or[,] a member of the board of directors of the appraisal
  district[, or, if the appraisal district is an appraisal district
  described by Subsection (d-1), the local administrative district
  judge] regarding a ranking, scoring, or reporting of the percentage
  by which the appraisal review board or a panel of the board reduces
  the appraised value of property.
         (k)  An offense under Subsection [(i) or] (j) is a Class A
  misdemeanor.
         SECTION 12.  Section 6.414(b), Tax Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         (b)  An auxiliary board member is appointed by resolution of
  a majority of the appraisal district board of directors [in the same
  manner and] for the same term as an appraisal review board member
  under Section 6.41 and is subject to the same eligibility
  requirements and restrictions as a board member under Sections
  6.41, 6.411, 6.412, and 6.413.
         SECTION 13.  Section 41.45, Tax Code, is amended by adding
  Subsection (b-4) to read as follows:
         (b-4)  At all times during a hearing on a protest, an
  appraisal review board member conducting the hearing must be able
  to be identified by either an identification badge or a nameplate.
  The badge or nameplate must be of sufficient size to be visible and
  must clearly state:
               (1)  the first and last name of the appraisal review
  board member; and
               (2)  if applicable, the first and last name of the
  appraisal district director who appointed the appraisal review
  member to the board.
         SECTION 14.  Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
  general primary election is as follows:
               (1)  United States senator $5,000
               (2)  office elected statewide, except United States
  senator 3,750
               (3)  United States representative 3,125
               (4)  state senator 1,250
               (5)  state representative 750
               (6)  member, State Board of Education 300
               (7)  chief justice or justice, court of appeals, other
  than a justice specified by Subdivision (8) 1,875
               (8)  chief justice or justice of a court of appeals that
  serves a court of appeals district in which a county with a
  population of more than one million is wholly or partly
  situated 2,500
               (9)  district judge or judge specified by Section
  52.092(d) for which this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a
  fee 1,500
               (10)  district or criminal district judge of a court in
  a judicial district wholly contained in a county with a population
  of more than 1.5 million 2,500
               (11)  judge, statutory county court, other than a judge
  specified by Subdivision (12) 1,500
               (12)  judge of a statutory county court in a county with
  a population of more than 1.5 million 2,500
               (13)  district attorney, criminal district attorney,
  or county attorney performing the duties of a district
  attorney 1,250
               (14)  county commissioner, district clerk, county
  clerk, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county treasurer,
  or judge, constitutional county court:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or
  more 1,250
                     (B)  county with a population of under
  200,000 750
               (15)  justice of the peace or constable:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or
  more 1,000
                     (B)  county with a population of under
  200,000 375
               (16)  county surveyor75
               (17)  office of the county government for which this
  schedule does not otherwise prescribe a fee 750
               (18)  appraisal district director:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or
  more 1,250
                     (B)  county with a population of under
  200,000 750
         SECTION 15.  The following provisions of the Tax Code are
  repealed:
               (1)  Sections 6.03(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h),
  (i), (j), and (k);
               (2)  Section 6.031;
               (3)  Section 6.033;
               (4)  Section 6.034;
               (5)  Section 6.037;
               (6)  Section 6.052(f);
               (7)  Section 6.10; and
               (8)  Sections 6.41(d-2), (d-3), (d-4), (d-5), (d-6),
  (d-7), (d-8), (d-9), and (i).
         SECTION 16.  (a)  Appraisal district directors shall be
  elected as provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this
  Act, beginning with the primary and general elections conducted in
  2018. Members then elected take office January 1, 2019.
         (b)  The change in the manner of selection of appraisal
  district directors made by this Act does not affect the selection of
  directors who serve on the board before January 1, 2019.
         (c)  The term of an appraisal district director serving on
  December 31, 2018, expires on January 1, 2019.
         SECTION 17.  (a) The change in the manner of selection of
  appraisal review board members made by Section 6.41, Tax Code, as
  amended by this Act, does not affect the selection of members who
  serve on the board before January 1, 2019.
         (b)  The term of an appraisal review board member serving on
  December 31, 2018, expires on January 1, 2019.
         (c)  Auxiliary members may be appointed under Section 6.414,
  Tax Code, as amended by this Act, by the elected appraisal review
  board members on or after January 1, 2019.
         (d)  The change in the manner of selection of auxiliary
  members made by Section 6.414, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
  does not affect the selection of auxiliary members who serve before
  January 1, 2019.
         (e)  The term of an auxiliary member serving on December 31,
  2018, expires on January 1, 2019.
         SECTION 18.  The repeal by this Act of Section 6.41(i), Tax
  Code, and the change in law made by this Act to Section 6.41(j), Tax
  Code, do not apply to an offense committed under either of those
  subsections before January 1, 2019. An offense committed before
  January 1, 2019, is governed by the applicable subsection as it
  existed on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section,
  an offense was committed before January 1, 2019, if any element of
  the offense occurred before that date.
         SECTION 19.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided by this
  section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2019.
         (b)  This section and Sections 14, 16, and 17 of this Act take
  effect December 1, 2017.

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