86R1629 SMH/CAE-D
	By: Bohac	H.B. No. 384

	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 elderly
	persons and their surviving spouses.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 11.13, Tax Code, is amended by amending
	Subsection (i) and adding Subsections (s) and (t) to read as
	follows:
	(i)  The assessor and collector for a taxing unit may
	disregard the exemptions authorized by Subsection (b), (c), (d),
	[or] (n), (s), or (t) [of this section] and assess and collect a tax
	pledged for payment of debt without deducting the amount of the
	exemption if:
	(1)  prior to adoption of the exemption, the unit
	pledged the taxes for the payment of a debt; and
	(2)  granting the exemption would impair the obligation
	of the contract creating the debt.
	(s)  In addition to any other exemptions provided by this
	section, an individual is entitled to an exemption from taxation of
	the total appraised value of the individual's residence homestead
	if:
	(1)  the individual is 80 years of age or older; and
	(2)  the individual has received an exemption under
	this section for the residence homestead for at least the preceding
	10 years.
	(t)  The surviving spouse of an individual who qualified for
	an exemption under Subsection (s) is entitled to an exemption from
	taxation of the total appraised value of the same property to which
	the deceased spouse's exemption applied if:
	(1)  the deceased spouse died in a year in which the
	deceased spouse qualified for the exemption;
	(2)  the surviving spouse was 55 years of age or older
	when the deceased spouse died; and
	(3)  the property was the residence homestead of the
	surviving spouse when the deceased spouse died and remains the
	residence homestead of the surviving spouse.
	SECTION 2.  Section 11.42(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(c)  An exemption authorized by Section 11.13(c), [or] (d),
	or (s), 11.132, 11.133, or 11.134 is effective as of January 1 of
	the tax year in which the person qualifies for the exemption and
	applies to the entire tax year.
	SECTION 3.  Sections 11.43(k), (l), (m), (o), and (q), Tax
	Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(k)  A person who qualifies for an exemption authorized by
	Section 11.13(c), [or] (d), or (s) or 11.132 must apply for the
	exemption no later than the first anniversary of the date the person
	qualified for the exemption.
	(l)  The form for an application under Section 11.13 must
	include a space for the applicant to state the applicant's date of
	birth. Failure to provide the date of birth does not affect the
	applicant's eligibility for an exemption under that section, other
	than an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for an individual 65
	years of age or older or an exemption under Section 11.13(s) for an
	individual 80 years of age or older.
	(m)  Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (k), a person who
	receives an exemption under Section 11.13, other than an exemption
	under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for an individual 65 years of age or
	older or an exemption under Section 11.13(s) for an individual 80
	years of age or older, in a tax year is entitled to receive an
	exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for an individual 65 years
	of age or older or an exemption under Section 11.13(s) for an
	individual 80 years of age or older in the next tax year on the same
	property without applying for the exemption if the person becomes
	65 or 80 years of age, as applicable, in that next year as shown by:
	(1)  information in the records of the appraisal
	district that was provided to the appraisal district by the
	individual in an application for an exemption under Section 11.13
	on the property or in correspondence relating to the property; or
	(2)  the information provided by the Texas Department
	of Public Safety to the appraisal district under Section 521.049,
	Transportation Code.
	(o)  The application form for an exemption authorized by
	Section 11.13 must require an applicant for an exemption under
	Subsection (c), [or] (d), or (s) of that section who is not
	specifically identified on a deed or other appropriate instrument
	recorded in the applicable real property records as an owner of the
	residence homestead to provide an affidavit or other compelling
	evidence establishing the applicant's ownership of an interest in
	the homestead.
	(q)  A chief appraiser may not cancel an exemption under
	Section 11.13 that is received by an individual who is 65 years of
	age or older without first providing written notice of the
	cancellation to the individual receiving the exemption. The notice
	must include a form on which the individual may indicate whether the
	individual is qualified to receive the exemption and a
	self-addressed postage prepaid envelope with instructions for
	returning the form to the chief appraiser. The chief appraiser
	shall consider the individual's response on the form in determining
	whether to continue to allow the exemption. If the chief appraiser
	does not receive a response on or before the 60th day after the date
	the notice is mailed, the chief appraiser may cancel the exemption
	on or after the 30th day after the expiration of the 60-day period,
	but only after making a reasonable effort to locate the individual
	and determine whether the individual is qualified to receive the
	exemption. For purposes of this subsection, sending an additional
	notice of cancellation that includes, in bold font equal to or
	greater in size than the surrounding text, the date on which the
	chief appraiser is authorized to cancel the exemption to the
	individual receiving the exemption immediately after the
	expiration of the 60-day period by first class mail in an envelope
	on which is written, in all capital letters, "RETURN SERVICE
	REQUESTED," or another appropriate statement directing the United
	States Postal Service to return the notice if it is not deliverable
	as addressed, or providing the additional notice in another manner
	that the chief appraiser determines is appropriate, constitutes a
	reasonable effort on the part of the chief appraiser. This
	subsection does not apply to an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or
	(d) for an individual 65 years of age or older or an exemption under
	Section 11.13(s) for an individual 80 years of age or older that is
	canceled because the chief appraiser determines that the individual
	receiving the exemption no longer owns the property subject to the
	exemption.
	SECTION 4.  Section 26.10(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(b)  If the appraisal roll shows that a residence homestead
	exemption under Section 11.13(c), [or] (d), or (s), 11.132, 11.133,
	or 11.134 applicable to a property on January 1 of a year terminated
	during the year and if the owner of the property qualifies a
	different property for one of those residence homestead exemptions
	during the same year, the tax due against the former residence
	homestead is calculated by:
	(1)  subtracting:
	(A)  the amount of the taxes that otherwise would
	be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had
	the owner qualified for the residence homestead exemption for the
	entire year; from
	(B)  the amount of the taxes that otherwise would
	be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had
	the owner not qualified for the residence homestead exemption
	during the year;
	(2)  multiplying the remainder determined under
	Subdivision (1) 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; and
	(3)  adding the product determined under Subdivision
	(2) and the amount described by Subdivision (1)(A).
	SECTION 5.  Section 26.112, Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 26.112.  CALCULATION OF TAXES ON RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF
	CERTAIN PERSONS. (a)  Except as provided by Section 26.10(b), if
	at any time during a tax year property is owned by an individual who
	qualifies for an exemption under Section 11.13(c), [or] (d), or
	(s), 11.133, or 11.134, the amount of the tax due on the property
	for the tax year is calculated as if the individual qualified for
	the exemption on January 1 and continued to qualify for the
	exemption for the remainder of the tax year.
	(b)  If an individual qualifies for an exemption under
	Section 11.13(c), [or] (d), or (s), 11.133, or 11.134 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 paid the tax the amount by which the
	payment exceeded the tax due.
	SECTION 6.  Section 33.01(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(d)  In lieu of the penalty imposed under Subsection (a), a
	delinquent tax incurs a penalty of 50 percent of the amount of the
	tax without regard to the number of months the tax has been
	delinquent if the tax is delinquent because the property owner
	received an exemption under:
	(1)  Section 11.13 and the chief appraiser subsequently
	cancels the exemption because the residence was not the principal
	residence of the property owner and the property owner received an
	exemption for two or more additional residence homesteads for the
	tax year in which the tax was imposed;
	(2)  Section 11.13(c) or (d) for a person who is 65
	years of age or older and the chief appraiser subsequently cancels
	the exemption because the property owner was younger than 65 years
	of age; [or]
	(3)  Section 11.13(s) for a person who is 80 years of
	age or older and the chief appraiser subsequently cancels the
	exemption because the property owner was younger than 80 years of
	age; or
	(4)  Section 11.13(q) or (t) and the chief appraiser
	subsequently cancels the exemption because the property owner was
	younger than 55 years of age when the property owner's spouse died.
	SECTION 7.  Subchapter A, Chapter 41, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 41.0012 to read as follows:
	Sec. 41.0012.  COMPUTATION OF WEALTH PER STUDENT FOR
	2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
	chapter, in computing a school district's wealth per student for
	the 2020-2021 school year, a school district's taxable value of
	property under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, is
	determined as if the residence homestead exemption for a person 80
	years of age or older or the person's surviving spouse under Section
	1-b(q), Article VIII, Texas Constitution, as proposed by the 86th
	Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, had been in effect for the 2019
	tax year. This section expires September 1, 2021.
	SECTION 8.  Section 42.2518, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (a-2) and amending Subsection (b) to read as
	follows:
	(a-2)  Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, in addition
	to state aid a school district is entitled to under Subsection (a),
	a school district is also entitled to additional state aid to the
	extent that state and local revenue under this chapter and Chapter
	41 is less than the state and local revenue that would have been
	available to the district under Chapter 41 and this chapter as those
	chapters existed on September 1, 2019, if the residence homestead
	exemption for a person 80 years of age or older or the person's
	surviving spouse under Section 1-b(q), Article VIII, Texas
	Constitution, as proposed by the joint resolution to add that
	subsection adopted by the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019,
	had not been adopted.
	(b)  The lesser of the school district's currently adopted
	maintenance and operations tax rate or the adopted maintenance and
	operations tax rate for:
	(1)  the 2014 tax year is used for the purpose of
	determining additional state aid under Subsection (a); and
	(2)  the 2019 tax year is used for the purpose of
	determining additional state aid under Subsection (a-2) [this
	section].
	SECTION 9.  Section 42.252, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
	(f)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in
	computing each school district's local share of program cost under
	this section for the 2020-2021 school year, a school district's
	taxable value of property under Subchapter M, Chapter 403,
	Government Code, is determined as if the residence homestead
	exemption for a person 80 years of age or older or the person's
	surviving spouse under Section 1-b(q), Article VIII, Texas
	Constitution, as proposed by the 86th Legislature, Regular Session,
	2019, had been in effect for the 2019 tax year. This subsection
	expires September 1, 2021.
	SECTION 10.  Section 42.302, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
	(h)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in
	computing a school district's enrichment tax rate ("DTR") and local
	revenue ("LR") for the 2020-2021 school year, a school district's
	taxable value of property under Subchapter M, Chapter 403,
	Government Code, is determined as if the residence homestead
	exemption for a person 80 years of age or older or the person's
	surviving spouse under Section 1-b(q), Article VIII, Texas
	Constitution, as proposed by the 86th Legislature, Regular Session,
	2019, had been in effect for the 2019 tax year. This subsection
	expires September 1, 2021.
	SECTION 11.  Section 44.004(c), Education Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(c)  The notice of public meeting to discuss and adopt the
	budget and the proposed tax rate may not be smaller than one-quarter
	page of a standard-size or a tabloid-size newspaper, and the
	headline on the notice must be in 18-point or larger type.  Subject
	to Subsection (d), the notice must:
	(1)  contain a statement in the following form:
	"NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS BUDGET AND PROPOSED TAX RATE
	"The (name of school district) will hold a public meeting at
	(time, date, year) in (name of room, building, physical location,
	city, state). The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the school
	district's budget that will determine the tax rate that will be
	adopted. Public participation in the discussion is invited." The
	statement of the purpose of the meeting must be in bold type. In
	reduced type, the notice must state: "The tax rate that is
	ultimately adopted at this meeting or at a separate meeting at a
	later date may not exceed the proposed rate shown below unless the
	district publishes a revised notice containing the same information
	and comparisons set out below and holds another public meeting to
	discuss the revised notice.";
	(2)  contain a section entitled "Comparison of Proposed
	Budget with Last Year's Budget," which must show the difference,
	expressed as a percent increase or decrease, as applicable, in the
	amounts budgeted for the preceding fiscal year and the amount
	budgeted for the fiscal year that begins in the current tax year for
	each of the following:
	(A)  maintenance and operations;
	(B)  debt service; and
	(C)  total expenditures;
	(3)  contain a section entitled "Total Appraised Value
	and Total Taxable Value," which must show the total appraised value
	and the total taxable value of all property and the total appraised
	value and the total taxable value of new property taxable by the
	district in the preceding tax year and the current tax year as
	calculated under Section 26.04, Tax Code;
	(4)  contain a statement of the total amount of the
	outstanding and unpaid bonded indebtedness of the school district;
	(5)  contain a section entitled "Comparison of Proposed
	Rates with Last Year's Rates," which must:
	(A)  show in rows the tax rates described by
	Subparagraphs (i)-(iii), expressed as amounts per $100 valuation of
	property, for columns entitled "Maintenance & Operations,"
	"Interest & Sinking Fund," and "Total," which is the sum of
	"Maintenance & Operations" and "Interest & Sinking Fund":
	(i)  the school district's "Last Year's
	Rate";
	(ii)  the "Rate to Maintain Same Level of
	Maintenance & Operations Revenue & Pay Debt Service," which:
	(a)  in the case of "Maintenance &
	Operations," is the tax rate that, when applied to the current
	taxable value for the district, as certified by the chief appraiser
	under Section 26.01, Tax Code, and as adjusted to reflect changes
	made by the chief appraiser as of the time the notice is prepared,
	would impose taxes in an amount that, when added to state funds to
	be distributed to the district under Chapter 42, would provide the
	same amount of maintenance and operations taxes and state funds
	distributed under Chapter 42 per student in average daily
	attendance for the applicable school year that was available to the
	district in the preceding school year; and
	(b)  in the case of "Interest & Sinking
	Fund," is the tax rate that, when applied to the current taxable
	value for the district, as certified by the chief appraiser under
	Section 26.01, Tax Code, and as adjusted to reflect changes made by
	the chief appraiser as of the time the notice is prepared, and when
	multiplied by the district's anticipated collection rate, would
	impose taxes in an amount that, when added to state funds to be
	distributed to the district under Chapter 46 and any excess taxes
	collected to service the district's debt during the preceding tax
	year but not used for that purpose during that year, would provide
	the amount required to service the district's debt; and
	(iii)  the "Proposed Rate";
	(B)  contain fourth and fifth columns aligned with
	the columns required by Paragraph (A) that show, for each row
	required by Paragraph (A):
	(i)  the "Local Revenue per Student," which
	is computed by multiplying the district's total taxable value of
	property, as certified by the chief appraiser for the applicable
	school year under Section 26.01, Tax Code, and as adjusted to
	reflect changes made by the chief appraiser as of the time the
	notice is prepared, by the total tax rate, and dividing the product
	by the number of students in average daily attendance in the
	district for the applicable school year; and
	(ii)  the "State Revenue per Student," which
	is computed by determining the amount of state aid received or to be
	received by the district under Chapters 42, 43, and 46 and dividing
	that amount by the number of students in average daily attendance in
	the district for the applicable school year; and
	(C)  contain an asterisk after each calculation
	for "Interest & Sinking Fund" and a footnote to the section that, in
	reduced type, states "The Interest & Sinking Fund tax revenue is
	used to pay for bonded indebtedness on construction, equipment, or
	both. The bonds, and the tax rate necessary to pay those bonds, were
	approved by the voters of this district.";
	(6)  contain a section entitled "Comparison of Proposed
	Levy with Last Year's Levy on Average Residence," which must:
	(A)  show in rows the information described by
	Subparagraphs (i)-(iv), rounded to the nearest dollar, for columns
	entitled "Last Year" and "This Year":
	(i)  "Average Market Value of Residences,"
	determined using the same group of residences for each year;
	(ii)  "Average Taxable Value of Residences,"
	determined after taking into account the limitation on the
	appraised value of residences under Section 23.23, Tax Code, and
	after subtracting all homestead exemptions applicable in each year,
	other than exemptions available only to disabled persons, [or]
	persons 65 years of age or older or their surviving spouses, or
	persons 80 years of age or older or their surviving spouses, and
	using the same group of residences for each year;
	(iii)  "Last Year's Rate Versus Proposed
	Rate per $100 Value"; and
	(iv)  "Taxes Due on Average Residence,"
	determined using the same group of residences for each year; and
	(B)  contain the following
	information:  "Increase (Decrease) in Taxes" expressed in dollars
	and cents, which is computed by subtracting the "Taxes Due on
	Average Residence" for the preceding tax year from the "Taxes Due on
	Average Residence" for the current tax year;
	(7)  contain the following statement in bold
	print:  "Under state law, the dollar amount of school taxes imposed
	on the residence of a person 65 years of age or older or of the
	surviving spouse of such a person, if the surviving spouse was 55
	years of age or older when the person died, may not be increased
	above the amount paid in the first year after the person turned 65,
	regardless of changes in tax rate or property value.";
	(8)  contain the following statement in bold
	print:  "Notice of Rollback Rate:  The highest tax rate the
	district can adopt before requiring voter approval at an election
	is (the school district rollback rate determined under Section
	26.08, Tax Code).  This election will be automatically held if the
	district adopts a rate in excess of the rollback rate of (the school
	district rollback rate)."; [and]
	(9)  contain a section entitled "Fund Balances," which
	must include the estimated amount of interest and sinking fund
	balances and the estimated amount of maintenance and operation or
	general fund balances remaining at the end of the current fiscal
	year that are not encumbered with or by corresponding debt
	obligation, less estimated funds necessary for the operation of the
	district before the receipt of the first payment under Chapter 42 in
	the succeeding school year; and
	(10)  contain the following statement in bold
	print:  "Under state law, the residence of a person 80 years of age
	or older or of the surviving spouse of such a person, if the
	surviving spouse was 55 years of age or older when the person died,
	is exempt from taxes."
	SECTION 12.  Section 46.003, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
	(j)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in
	computing a district's bond tax rate ("BTR") and taxable value of
	property ("DPV") for the 2020-2021 school year, a school district's
	taxable value of property under Subchapter M, Chapter 403,
	Government Code, is determined as if the residence homestead
	exemption for a person 80 years of age or older or the person's
	surviving spouse under Section 1-b(q), Article VIII, Texas
	Constitution, as proposed by the 86th Legislature, Regular Session,
	2019, had been in effect for the 2019 tax year. This subsection
	expires September 1, 2021.
	SECTION 13.  Section 46.032, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in
	computing a district's existing debt tax rate ("EDTR") and taxable
	value of property ("DPV") for the 2020-2021 school year, a school
	district's taxable value of property under Subchapter M, Chapter
	403, Government Code, is determined as if the residence homestead
	exemption for a person 80 years of age or older or the person's
	surviving spouse under Section 1-b(q), Article VIII, Texas
	Constitution, as proposed by the 86th Legislature, Regular Session,
	2019, had been in effect for the 2019 tax year. This subsection
	expires September 1, 2021.
	SECTION 14.  Section 46.071, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (a-2) and amending Subsections (b) and (c) to
	read as follows:
	(a-2)  Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, in addition
	to state aid a school district is entitled to under Subsection (a),
	a school district is also entitled to additional state aid under
	this subchapter to the extent that state and local revenue used to
	service debt eligible under this chapter is less than the state and
	local revenue that would have been available to the district under
	this chapter as it existed on September 1, 2019, if the residence
	homestead exemption for a person 80 years of age or older or the
	person's surviving spouse under Section 1-b(q), Article VIII, Texas
	Constitution, as proposed by the 86th Legislature, Regular Session,
	2019, had not been adopted.
	(b)  Subject to Subsections (c)-(e), additional state aid
	under this section is equal to the amount by which the loss of local
	interest and sinking revenue for debt service attributable to the
	increase in the residence homestead exemption under Section 1-b(c),
	Article VIII, Texas Constitution, and the additional limitation on
	tax increases under Section 1-b(d) of that article as proposed by
	S.J.R. 1, 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, and the
	residence homestead exemption under Section 1-b(q), Article VIII,
	Texas Constitution, as proposed by the 86th Legislature, Regular
	Session, 2019, is not offset by a gain in state aid under this
	chapter.
	(c)  For the purpose of determining state aid under
	Subsection (a) or (a-2) [this section], local interest and sinking
	revenue for debt service is limited to revenue required to service
	debt eligible under this chapter as of September 1, 2015, or as of
	September 1, 2019, respectively, including refunding of the
	applicable [that] debt, subject to Section 46.061.  The limitation
	imposed by Section 46.034(a) does not apply for the purpose of
	determining state aid under Subsection (a) or (a-2) [this section].
	SECTION 15.  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 11.13(s) or (t), 11.131,
	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 16.  The exemptions from ad valorem taxation of a
	residence homestead authorized by Sections 11.13(s) and (t), Tax
	Code, as added by this Act, apply only to taxes imposed beginning
	with the 2020 tax year.
	SECTION 17.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2020, but only
	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 86th Legislature,
	Regular Session, 2019, to exempt from ad valorem taxation the total
	market value of the residence homesteads of certain elderly persons
	and their surviving spouses is approved by the voters. If that
	constitutional amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act
	has no effect.