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Relating to ad valorem taxation; creating a criminal offense.
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB 988, Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($486,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2023.
In addition to the administrative costs for the Comptroller's office, other costs associated with implementing the provisions of the bill cannot be determined. Passage of the bill would result in reduced taxable property values. As a result, the costs to the Foundation School Fund could be increased through the operation of the school finance formulas.
HB 988 would require appraisal review boards to incorporate the model hearing procedures prepared by the Comptroller. The Comptroller would have to review the hearing procedures adopted by each appraisal review board on an annual basis.
HB 988 would also require each appraisal district to employ a taxpayer liaison officer. A taxpayer liaison officer may serve more than one district if each appraisal district for which the officer is appointed is in a county with a population less than 120,000.
The bill would also establish procedures for handling property owner's protests and certain requests relating to the appraisal district's evaluation of their property. The bill would prohibit a property owner from filing a request for limited binding arbitration in certain circumstances where procedural rules were not followed unless the property owner delivers a written notice to the chairman of the appraisal review board, the chief appraiser, and the taxpayer liaison officer by certified mail, return receipt requested, before the fifth business day after the date the appraiser was required to comply with the procedural requirement.
The bill would also limit a property owner's window of opportunity to file a request for binding arbitration with the comptroller's office to not before the 11th day and not later than the 30th day after the date the property owner was required to file the notice with the appraisal district and would require the property owner to pay a deposit, payable to the comptroller, of $450-$550, depending on the valuation of the property in question.
The comptroller would be required to prescribe the form to be used for submitting a request for limited binding arbitration.
Arbitrators would have to be licensed attorneys and agree to conduct arbitration for a fee between $400-$500.
CSHB 988 creates a class A misdemeanor for a member of the governing body, officer, or employee of a taxing unit if the person directly or indirectly communicates with the chief appraiser or another employee for the purpose of influencing the value at which property in the district is appraised unless the person owns or leases the property.
Texas Action is neutral on HB 988.
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