By: Van de Putte	S.B. No. 163
	(Turner of Tarrant, Hilderbran, Isaac, Bohac,
	N. Gonzalez of El Paso, et al.)

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence
	homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services
	of the United States who is killed in action.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Tax Code, is amended by
	adding Section 11.132 to read as follows:
	Sec. 11.132.  RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF SURVIVING SPOUSE OF
	MEMBER OF ARMED SERVICES KILLED IN ACTION.  (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned by
	Section 11.13.
	(2)  "Surviving spouse" means the individual who was
	married to a member of the armed services of the United States at
	the time of the member's death.
	(b)  The surviving spouse of a member of the armed services
	of the United States who is killed in action is entitled to an
	exemption from taxation of the total appraised value of the
	surviving spouse's residence homestead if the surviving spouse has
	not remarried since the death of the member of the armed services.
	(c)  A surviving spouse who receives an exemption under
	Subsection (b) for a residence homestead is entitled to receive an
	exemption from taxation of a property that the surviving spouse
	subsequently qualifies as the surviving spouse's residence
	homestead in an amount equal to the dollar amount of the exemption
	from taxation of the first property for which the surviving spouse
	received the exemption under Subsection (b) in the last year in
	which the surviving spouse received that exemption if the surviving
	spouse has not remarried since the death of the member of the armed
	services. The surviving spouse is entitled to receive from the
	chief appraiser of the appraisal district in which the first
	property for which the surviving spouse claimed the exemption 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.
	SECTION 2.  Subsection (c), Section 11.43, Tax Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(c)  An exemption provided by Section 11.13, 11.131, 11.132,
	11.17, 11.18, 11.182, 11.1827, 11.183, 11.19, 11.20, 11.21, 11.22,
	11.23(h), (j), or (j-1), 11.231, 11.254, 11.29, 11.30, or 11.31,
	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, 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.
	SECTION 3.  Subsection (a), Section 11.431, Tax Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny an
	application for a residence homestead exemption, including an
	exemption under Section 11.131 for the residence homestead of a
	disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran or an
	exemption under Section 11.132 for the residence homestead of the
	surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United
	States who is killed in action, after the deadline for filing it has
	passed if it is filed not later than one year after the delinquency
	date for the taxes on the homestead.
	SECTION 4.  Subsection (d-1), Section 403.302, 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 or 11.132, Tax
	Code, in the year that is the subject of the study is not considered
	to be taxable property.
	SECTION 5.  Section 11.132, Tax Code, as added by this Act,
	applies only to a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2014.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2014, but only
	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 83rd Legislature,
	Regular Session, 2013, authorizing the legislature to provide for
	an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market
	value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member
	of the armed services of the United States who is killed in action
	is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not approved by the
	voters, this Act has no effect.