The TAAD Legislative Committee is committed to working with our association members and the members of the Legislature for the betterment of the property tax appraisal process across the State of Texas. Below is a short list of the issues the committee has identified as being important to all CADs and to the appraisal process in general. These are the specific items on which TAAD will actively pursue legislative changes during the 88th session.
Senate Bill 63 90-Day Deadline Implementation – SB 63 of the 87th Legislature imposed strict deadlines relating to acting on exemption applications. Without additional resources CADs are struggling to meet these new mandatory deadlines, often forcing the district to deny an application for the sole purpose of taking action within the 90 days. The new deadlines were intended to provide additional taxpayer help in the process; however, the true effect has been the complete opposite. The Legislative Committee will work with the Legislature to develop a realistic and obtainable solution to providing timely responses to exemption applications.
TNT Website Postcard Notifications – The 86th Legislature in 2019 mandated a tax rate website for each county and required that the respective CADs send notification of it annually to each property owner in the county by August 7. Appraisal district analyses indicates that these postcards do not provide a good return on investment; most taxpayers simply overlook or disregard them. TAAD proposed a solution to this during the 87th Legislative session under HB 2723 and SB 1434: notifying property owners about the websites and abolishing the additional postcard notification. Because this is more cost effective and produces better results, TAAD will seek passage of this legislation.
Appraisal Reform – There has much discussion among members of the Legislature regarding the need for appraisal reform. TAAD will work with the Legislature to provide information regarding the roles and responsibilities of appraisal districts, the mass appraisal process, and appraisal methodology. The committee will provide data on how certain proposals will impact the appraisal process as it relates to market value and equal and uniform appraisals. It is TAAD’s belief that under the current market value standard, the only forms of appraisal reform that would be meaningful to property owners are assessment ratios or appraisal caps. TAAD will explore these concepts and outline them with members of the Legislature.
Financing Construction of CAD Facilities and the Approval Process – There has been a recent interpretation of Tax Code Section 6.051 that the code does not allow districts to finance the purchase of real property. TAAD will work on legislation that will clarify that districts may seek financing for the purchase of real property. The current cumbersome process for entity approval of acquisition of real property or the construction or renovation of a building makes securing entity approval difficult. TAAD will work on legislation to make the approval process more straightforward without removing any of the transparency of the process.
Appeals of MAP Review Findings – SB 916 of the 87th Legislature requires that results of the Comptroller’s Property Value Study and MAP Reviews be tied directly to the respective chief appraiser’s license through TDLR. While currently there exists an appeal process for the Property Value Study, no appeal mechanism exists for the MAP review. TAAD will work with the Comptroller’s Office to draft a bill that will allow for such an appeal.
Oppose Legislation that Politicizes the Appraisal Process – Many legislators have made it part of their campaign to introduce legislation to make chief appraisers, boards of directors, or appraisal review board members elected positions. TAAD will oppose any legislation that has the potential of interjecting politics into the appraisal process and will work to educate members of the Legislature on the negative effects this would cause.
Adopted May 2022