85S10170 CJC-D
 
  By: Keough H.B. No. 42
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the selection of the board of directors of an appraisal
  district; authorizing the imposition of a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 5.12(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  At the written request of the governing bodies of a
  majority of the taxing units participating in an appraisal district
  [or of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the
  appointment of appraisal district directors], the comptroller
  shall audit the performance of the appraisal district. The
  governing bodies may request a general audit of the performance of
  the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or more
  particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other
  appraisal district matters.
         SECTION 2.  Section 5.13(h), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (h)  At any time after the request for an audit is made, the
  comptroller may discontinue the audit in whole or in part if
  requested to do so by:
               (1)  the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing
  units participating in the district, if the audit was requested by a
  majority of those units; or
               (2)  the taxpayers who requested the audit, [the
  governing bodies of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote
  on the appointment of appraisal district directors, if the audit
  was requested by a majority of those units; or
               [(3)]  if the audit was requested under Section 5.12(c)
  [of this code, by the taxpayers who requested the audit].
         SECTION 3.  Section 6.03, Tax Code, is amended by amending
  Subsections (a) and (l) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (m) to read
  as follows:
         (a)  The appraisal district is governed by a board of
  directors. One director is elected from each of the four
  commissioners precincts in the county for which the appraisal
  district is established and one director is elected at large from
  the county. The [Five directors are appointed by the taxing units
  that participate in the district as provided by this section. If
  the county assessor-collector is not appointed to the board, the]
  county assessor-collector serves as a nonvoting director. The
  county assessor-collector is ineligible to serve if the board
  enters into a contract under Section 6.05(b) or if the
  commissioners court of the county enters into a contract under
  Section 6.24(b). The directors other than the county
  assessor-collector are elected at the general election for state
  and county officers and serve two-year terms beginning on January 1
  of odd-numbered years.
         (a-1)  To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, an
  individual other than the [a] county assessor-collector [serving as
  a nonvoting director] must:
               (1)  be a resident of:
                     (A)  the commissioners precinct from which the
  office is elected, in the case of a director elected from a
  commissioners precinct; or
                     (B)  the county for which the appraisal district
  is established, in the case of a director elected at large;
  [district] and
               (2)  [must] have resided in the appraisal district for
  at least two years immediately preceding the date the individual
  takes office. [An individual who is otherwise eligible to serve on
  the board is not ineligible because of membership on the governing
  body of a taxing unit. An employee of a taxing unit that
  participates in the district is not eligible to serve on the board
  unless the individual is also a member of the governing body or an
  elected official of a taxing unit that participates in the
  district.]
         (l)  A [If a] vacancy [occurs] on the board of directors
  other than a vacancy in the position held by the [a] county
  assessor-collector is filled for the remainder of the unexpired
  term by appointment by the commissioners court of the county for
  which the appraisal district is established.  A person appointed to
  fill a vacancy on the board of directors must meet the
  qualifications of the vacated position [serving as a nonvoting
  director, each taxing unit that is entitled to vote by this section
  may nominate by resolution adopted by its governing body a
  candidate to fill the vacancy. The unit shall submit the name of
  its nominee to the chief appraiser within 45 days after
  notification from the board of directors of the existence of the
  vacancy, and the chief appraiser shall prepare and deliver to the
  board of directors within the next five days a list of the nominees.
  The board of directors shall elect by majority vote of its members
  one of the nominees to fill the vacancy].
         (m)  If as a result of a change in the boundaries of a
  commissioners precinct an individual serving as a director no
  longer resides in the precinct from which the office is elected, the
  individual is not for that reason disqualified from office during
  the remainder of the term of office being served at the time the
  boundary change takes effect. If as a result of a change in the
  boundaries of a commissioners precinct an individual elected as a
  director before the boundary change to a term that begins after the
  boundary change no longer resides in the precinct from which
  elected, the individual is not for that reason disqualified from
  serving the term to which elected.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
  adding Section 6.032 to read as follows:
         Sec. 6.032.  BALLOT PROCEDURES FOR ELECTED DIRECTORS; FILING
  FEE.  (a)  Except as provided by this section, Chapter 144, Election
  Code, applies to a candidate for an elective position on an
  appraisal district board of directors.
         (b)  An application for a place on the ballot must be filed
  with the county judge of the county in which the appraisal district
  is established and be accompanied by a filing fee of $250.
         (c)  A candidate's name may appear on the ballot only as an
  independent candidate.
         (d)  A filing fee received under this section shall be
  deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the county general
  fund.
         SECTION 5.  Section 6.036(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (a)  An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for, to
  be appointed to, or to serve on the board of directors of an
  appraisal district if the individual or a business entity in which
  the individual has a substantial interest is a party to a contract
  with:
               (1)  the appraisal district; or
               (2)  a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal
  district, if the contract relates to the performance of an activity
  governed by this title.
         SECTION 6.  Section 6.051(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The acquisition or conveyance of real property or the
  construction or renovation of a building or other improvement by an
  appraisal district must be approved by the governing bodies of
  three-fourths of the taxing units that participate in the district
  [entitled to vote on the appointment of board members]. The board
  of directors by resolution may propose a property transaction or
  other action for which this subsection requires approval of the
  taxing units. The chief appraiser shall notify the presiding
  officer of each governing body entitled to vote on the approval of
  the proposal by delivering a copy of the board's resolution,
  together with information showing the costs of other available
  alternatives to the proposal. On or before the 30th day after the
  date the presiding officer receives notice of the proposal, the
  governing body of a taxing unit by resolution may approve or
  disapprove the proposal. If a governing body fails to act on or
  before that 30th day or fails to file its resolution with the chief
  appraiser on or before the 10th day after that 30th day, the
  proposal is treated as if it were disapproved by the governing body.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 6.06(a), (b), and (i), Tax Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Each year the chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed
  budget for the operations of the district for the following tax year
  and shall submit copies to each taxing unit participating in the
  district and to the district board of directors before June 15. The
  chief appraiser [He] shall include in the budget a list showing each
  proposed position, the proposed salary for the position, all
  benefits proposed for the position, each proposed capital
  expenditure, and an estimate of the amount of the budget that will
  be allocated to each taxing unit. Each taxing unit that
  participates in the district [entitled to vote on the appointment
  of board members] shall maintain a copy of the proposed budget for
  public inspection at its principal administrative office.
         (b)  The board of directors shall hold a public hearing to
  consider the budget. The secretary of the board shall deliver to
  the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit
  participating in the district not later than the 10th day before the
  date of the hearing a written notice of the date, time, and place
  fixed for the hearing. The board shall complete its hearings, make
  any amendments to the proposed budget it desires, and finally
  approve a budget before September 15. If governing bodies of a
  majority of the taxing units participating in the district
  [entitled to vote on the appointment of board members] adopt
  resolutions disapproving a budget and file them with the secretary
  of the board within 30 days after its adoption, the budget does not
  take effect, and the board shall adopt a new budget within 30 days
  of the disapproval.
         (i)  The fiscal year of an appraisal district is the calendar
  year unless the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
  units participating in the district [entitled to vote on the
  appointment of board members] adopt resolutions proposing a
  different fiscal year and file them with the secretary of the board
  not more than 12 and not less than eight months before the first day
  of the fiscal year proposed by the resolutions. If the fiscal year
  of an appraisal district is changed under this subsection, the
  chief appraiser shall prepare a proposed budget for the fiscal year
  as provided by Subsection (a) [of this section] before the 15th day
  of the seventh month preceding the first day of the fiscal year
  established by the change, and the board of directors shall adopt a
  budget for the fiscal year as provided by Subsection (b) [of this
  section] before the 15th day of the fourth month preceding the first
  day of the fiscal year established by the change. Unless the
  appraisal district adopts a different method of allocation under
  Section 6.061 [of this code], the allocation of the budget to each
  taxing unit shall be calculated as provided by Subsection (d) [of
  this section] using the amount of property taxes imposed by each
  participating taxing unit in the most recent tax year preceding the
  fiscal year established by the change for which the necessary
  information is available. Each taxing unit shall pay its
  allocation as provided by Subsection (e) [of this section], except
  that the first payment shall be made before the first day of the
  fiscal year established by the change and subsequent payments shall
  be made quarterly. In the year in which a change in the fiscal year
  occurs, the budget that takes effect on January 1 of that year may
  be amended as necessary as provided by Subsection (c) [of this
  section] in order to accomplish the change in fiscal years.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 6.061(b) and (e), Tax Code, are amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The taxing units participating in an appraisal district
  may adopt a different method of allocating the costs of operating
  the district if the governing bodies of three-fourths of the taxing
  units that participate in the district [are entitled to vote on the
  appointment of board members] adopt resolutions providing for the
  other method. However, a change under this subsection is not valid
  if it requires any taxing unit to pay a greater proportion of the
  appraisal district's costs than the unit would pay under Section
  6.06 [of this code] without the consent of the governing body of
  that unit.
         (e)  A change in allocation of district costs made as
  provided by this section remains in effect until changed in a manner
  provided by this section or rescinded by resolution of a majority of
  the governing bodies of the taxing units that participate in the
  district [that are entitled to vote on appointment of board members
  under Section 6.03 of this code].
         SECTION 9.  Section 6.063(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The report of the audit is a public record. A copy of
  the report shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the
  governing body of each taxing unit that participates in the
  district [eligible to vote on the appointment of district
  directors], and a reasonable number of copies shall be available
  for inspection at the appraisal office.
         SECTION 10.  Section 6.15(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a routine
  communication between the chief appraiser and the county
  assessor-collector that relates to the administration of an
  appraisal roll, including a communication made in connection with
  the certification, correction, or collection of an account,
  regardless of whether the county assessor-collector serves on [was
  appointed to] the board of directors of the appraisal district [or
  serves as a nonvoting director].
         SECTION 11.   Section 52.092, Election Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
         (k)  The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures for
  listing the office of appraisal district director on the ballot.
         SECTION 12.  The following provisions of the Tax Code are
  repealed:
               (1)  Sections 6.03(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h),
  (i), (j), and (k);
               (2)  Section 6.031;
               (3)  Section 6.033;
               (4)  Section 6.034;
               (5)  Section 6.037; and
               (6)  Section 6.10.
         SECTION 13.  (a)  Appraisal district directors shall be
  elected as provided by Section 6.03, Tax Code, as amended by this
  Act, beginning with the general election for state and county
  officers conducted in 2018. Members then elected take office
  January 1, 2019.
         (b)  The change in the manner of selection of appraisal
  district directors made by this Act does not affect the selection of
  directors who serve on the board before January 1, 2019.
         (c)  The term of an appraisal district director serving on
  December 31, 2018, expires on January 1, 2019.
         SECTION 14.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided by this
  section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2019.
         (b)  This section and Sections 11 and 13 of this Act take
  effect January 1, 2018.