HBA-GUM S.B. 1401 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1401
By: Nixon, Drew
Ways & Means
5/5/1999
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law prohibits taxpayers from making an effective inequality of
appraisal argument, under Chapter 41 (Local Review), Tax Code before an
administrative or appraisal review board.  The 75th Texas Legislature added
statutory language was added to Chapter 42 (Judicial Review), Tax Code, to
allow taxpayers to assert an inequality of appraisal argument at the
district court level.  S.B. 1401 allows taxpayers to make the same
inequality of appraisal argument before an appraisal review board and
district court. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 41.43, Tax Code, as follows:

(a)  Provides that Subsection (b) is an exception to this subsection, which
relates to an appraisal district's burden of establishing the value of a
certain property.  

(b)  Requires a protest on the ground of unequal appraisal of property to
be determined in favor of the appraisal district unless the protesting
party, rather than in favor of the protesting party unless the appraisal
district, establishes that the appraisal ratio of the property is greater,
rather than not greater, than the median level of appraisal of a reasonable
and representative sample of certain specified properties.  Makes
conforming changes. 

(c)  Provides that, for purposes of this section (Protest of Determination
of Value or Inequality of Appraisal), the value of the property subject to
the protest and the value of a comparable property or sample property that
is used for comparison must be the market value determined by the appraisal
district when the property is a residence homestead subject to the
limitation on appraised value imposed by Section 23.23 (Limitation on
Appraised Value of Residence Homestead).  

SECTION 2.  Amends Sections 42.26(a), (b), and (d), Tax Code, as follows:

(a)  Adds language to require the district court (court) to grant relief on
the ground that a property is appraised unequally, if the appraisal ratio
of the property exceeds by at least 10 percent the median level of
appraisal of a sample of properties in the appraisal district, or the
appraised value of the property exceeds the median appraised value of a
reasonable number of comparable properties appropriately adjusted.  Makes
conforming changes. 

(b)  Requires the court to order the property's appraised value changed to
the value calculated on the basis of the median level of appraisal
according to Subsection (a)(3) (relating to the appropriately adjusted
appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties), if a
property owner is entitled to relief under that subsection.  Makes
conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

 (d)  Provides that, for purpose of this section,  the value of the
property subject to the suit and the value of a comparable property or
sample property that is used for comparison must be the market value
determined by the appraisal district when the property is a residence
homestead subject to the limitation on appraised value imposed by Section
23.23.  Deletes text requiring the district to grant relief on the ground
that property is appraised unequally if the value of the property exceeds
the median appraised value.  

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
 Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.