Bill

HB 1463

84(R) - 2015
House Ways & Means
House Ways & Means
Property taxes

Vote Recommendation

Yes
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Neutral

Author(s)

Richard Raymond

Bill Caption

Relating to the procedure for canceling an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence homestead of an individual who is 65 years of age or older.

Fiscal Notes

A fiscal note dated May 15, 2015 anticipates no significant fiscal impact to the State or to units of local government.

Bill Analysis

House Bill 1463 would amend Section 11.43 of the Tax Code relating to the application for an exemption to provide that, in cases when a exemption claimed and obtained once doesn't need to be applied to every year, if the person previously allowed the exemption is 65 years of age or older, the chief appraiser could not cancel the exemption due to the person’s failure to file the new application unless the chief appraiser would comply with the requirements created by this bill.

House Bill 1463 would create Subsection 11.43(q) to require that a chief appraiser would have to first provide written notice of cancellation of an exemption under Section 11.13 to an individual that is 65 years of age or older.

The notice would have to include a form on which the individual could 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 would have to consider the individual's response in determining whether to continue to allow the exemption. In cases when the chief appraiser would not receive a response on or before the 60th day after the date the notice was mailed, the chief appraiser could 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 was qualified to receive the exemption.

This would not apply to an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for an individual 65 years of age or older that would be canceled because the chief appraiser determined that the individual receiving the exemption no longer owns the property subject to the exemption.

House Bill 1463 would amend Section 1.07(d) of the Tax Code to require that the notice mentioned above be sent by certified mail.

The second chamber sponsor is Senator Uresti.

Vote Recommendation Notes

House Bill 1463 aims at providing additional time to individuals 65 years of age or older to be able to respond to a chief appraiser before the chief appraiser determines that the individual is not qualified anymore for a homestead tax exemption.

It would also require that in cases when the chief appraiser doesn't receive a response from the property owner in the time allowed, that the chief appraiser make a reasonable effort to try and contact the property owner and verify whether the individual does or does not qualify for the exemption.

House Bill 1463 aims at helping senior citizens that may encounter issues related to their age that prevent them from answering appraisal districts' requests in time.

No significant fiscal impact is anticipated from this bill, and it would help older individuals benefit from the exemptions they are entitled to but does not create a new exemption. As a consequence, we support House Bill 1463.