HB382 - Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the total appraised value of the residence homesteads of certain elderly persons and their surviving spouses.

  89R1257 MLH/MM-D     By: Bell of Montgomery H.B. No. 382       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the total   appraised value of the residence homesteads of certain elderly   persons and their surviving spouses.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 11.13, Tax Code, is amended by amending   Subsection (i) and adding Subsections (s) and (t) to read as   follows:          (i)  The assessor and collector for a taxing unit may   disregard the exemptions authorized by Subsection (b), (c), (d),   [ or ] (n) , (s), or (t) [ of this section ] and assess and collect a tax   pledged for payment of debt without deducting the amount of the   exemption if:                (1)  prior to adoption of the exemption, the taxing     unit pledged the taxes for the payment of a debt; and                (2)  granting the exemption would impair the obligation   of the contract creating the debt.           (s)     In addition to any other exemptions provided by this   section, an individual is entitled to an exemption from taxation of   the total appraised value of the individual's residence homestead   if:                 (1)  the individual is 72 years of age or older; and                 (2)     the individual has received an exemption under   this section for the residence homestead for at least the preceding   10 years.           (t)     The surviving spouse of an individual who qualified for   an exemption under Subsection (s) is entitled to an exemption from   taxation of the total appraised value of the same property to which   the deceased spouse's exemption applied if:                 (1)     the deceased spouse died in a year in which the   deceased spouse qualified for the exemption;                 (2)     the surviving spouse was 55 years of age or older   when the deceased spouse died; and                 (3)     the property was the residence homestead of the   surviving spouse when the deceased spouse died and remains the   residence homestead of the surviving spouse.          SECTION 2.  Section 11.42(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as   follows:          (c)  An exemption authorized by Section 11.13(c) , [ or ] (d),   or (s), 11.132, 11.133, or 11.134 is effective as of January 1 of   the tax year in which the person qualifies for the exemption and   applies to the entire tax year.          SECTION 3.  Sections 11.43(k), (l), (m), (m-2), and (q), Tax   Code, are amended to read as follows:          (k)  A person who qualifies for an exemption authorized by   Section 11.13(c) , [ or ] (d) , or (s) or 11.132 must apply for the   exemption no later than the first anniversary of the date the person   qualified for the exemption.          (l)  The form for an application under Section 11.13 must   include a space for the applicant to state the applicant's date of   birth and, if applicable, the date of birth of the applicant's   spouse. Failure to provide the applicant's date of birth does not   affect the applicant's eligibility for an exemption under that   section, other than an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for   an individual 65 years of age or older or an exemption under Section   11.13(s) for an individual 72 years of age or older .  Failure to   provide the date of birth of the applicant's spouse does not affect   the applicant's eligibility for an exemption under Section 11.13 or   the applicant's spouse's eligibility for an exemption under that   section, other than an exemption under Section 11.13(q) for the   surviving spouse of an individual 65 years of age or older or an   exemption under Section 11.13(t) for the surviving spouse of an   individual 72 years of age or older .          (m)  Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (k), if a person who   receives an exemption under Section 11.13, other than an exemption   under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for an individual 65 years of age or   older or an exemption under Section 11.13(s) for an individual 72   years of age or older , in a tax year becomes 65 or 72 years of age in   the next tax year, as applicable, the person is entitled to receive   and the chief appraiser shall allow an exemption under Section   11.13(c) or (d) for an individual 65 years of age or older or an   exemption under Section 11.13(s) for an individual 72 years of age   or older, as applicable, in that next tax year on the same property   without requiring the person to apply for or otherwise request the   exemption if the person's age is shown by:                (1)  information in the records of the appraisal   district that was provided to the appraisal district by the   individual in an application for an exemption under Section 11.13   on the property or in correspondence relating to the property; or                (2)  the information provided by the Texas Department   of Public Safety to the appraisal district under Section 521.049,   Transportation Code.          (m-2)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if a person who   receives an exemption under Section 11.13(d) for an individual 65   years of age or older or an exemption under Section 11.13(s) for an   individual 72 years of age or older dies in a tax year, that   person's surviving spouse is entitled to receive an exemption under   Section 11.13(q) or (t), as applicable, in the next tax year on the   same property without applying for the exemption if:                (1)  the appraisal district learns of the person's   death from any source, including the death records maintained by   the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health   Services or a local registration official; and                (2)  the surviving spouse is otherwise eligible to   receive the exemption as shown by:                      (A)  information in the records of the appraisal   district that was provided to the appraisal district in an   application for an exemption under Section 11.13 on the property or   in correspondence relating to the property; or                      (B)  information provided by the Texas Department   of Public Safety to the appraisal district under Section 521.049,   Transportation Code.          (q)  A chief appraiser may not cancel an exemption under   Section 11.13 that is received by an individual who is 65 years of   age or older without first providing written notice of the   cancellation to the individual receiving the exemption. The notice   must include a form on which the individual may 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   shall consider the individual's response on the form in determining   whether to continue to allow the exemption. If the chief appraiser   does not receive a response on or before the 60th day after the date   the notice is mailed, the chief appraiser may 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 is qualified to receive the   exemption. For purposes of this subsection, sending an additional   notice of cancellation that includes, in bold font equal to or   greater in size than the surrounding text, the date on which the   chief appraiser is authorized to cancel the exemption to the   individual receiving the exemption immediately after the   expiration of the 60-day period by first class mail in an envelope   on which is written, in all capital letters, "RETURN SERVICE   REQUESTED," or another appropriate statement directing the United   States Postal Service to return the notice if it is not deliverable   as addressed, or providing the additional notice in another manner   that the chief appraiser determines is appropriate, constitutes a   reasonable effort on the part of the chief appraiser. This   subsection does not apply to an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or   (d) for an individual 65 years of age or older or an exemption under   Section 11.13(s) for an individual 72 years of age or older that is   canceled because the chief appraiser determines that the individual   receiving the exemption no longer owns the property subject to the   exemption.          SECTION 4.  Section 26.10(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as   follows:          (b)  If the appraisal roll shows that a residence homestead   exemption under Section 11.13(c) , [ or ] (d), or (s), 11.132, 11.133,   or 11.134 applicable to a property on January 1 of a year terminated   during the year and if the owner of the property qualifies a   different property for one of those residence homestead exemptions   during the same year, the tax due against the former residence   homestead is calculated by:                (1)  subtracting:                      (A)  the amount of the taxes that otherwise would   be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had   the owner qualified for the residence homestead exemption for the   entire year; from                      (B)  the amount of the taxes that otherwise would   be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had   the owner not qualified for the residence homestead exemption   during the year;                (2)  multiplying the remainder determined under   Subdivision (1) by a fraction, the denominator of which is 365 and   the numerator of which is the number of days that elapsed after the   date the exemption terminated; and                (3)  adding the product determined under Subdivision   (2) and the amount described by Subdivision (1)(A).          SECTION 5.  Section 26.112, Tax Code, is amended to read as   follows:          Sec. 26.112.  CALCULATION OF TAXES ON RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF   CERTAIN PERSONS. (a) Except as provided by Section 26.10(b), if at   any time during a tax year property is owned by an individual who   qualifies for an exemption under Section 11.13(c) , [ or ] (d), or   (s), 11.133, or 11.134, the amount of the tax due on the property   for the tax year is calculated as if the individual qualified for   the exemption on January 1 and continued to qualify for the   exemption for the remainder of the tax year.          (b)  If an individual qualifies for an exemption under   Section 11.13(c) , [ or ] (d), or (s), 11.133, or 11.134 with respect   to the property after the amount of the tax due on the property is   calculated and the effect of the qualification is to reduce the   amount of the tax due on the property, the assessor for each taxing   unit shall recalculate the amount of the tax due on the property and   correct the tax roll. If the tax bill has been mailed and the tax on   the property has not been paid, the assessor shall mail a corrected   tax bill to the person in whose name the property is listed on the   tax roll or to the person's authorized agent. If the tax on the   property has been paid, the tax collector for the taxing unit shall   refund to the person who was the owner of the property on the date   the tax was paid the amount by which the payment exceeded the tax   due.          SECTION 6.  Section 33.01(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as   follows:          (d)  In lieu of the penalty imposed under Subsection (a), a   delinquent tax incurs a penalty of 50 percent of the amount of the   tax without regard to the number of months the tax has been   delinquent if the tax is delinquent because the property owner   receiv [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]