HB1577 - Relating to eligibility for the exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of certain first responders.

  89R2969 MLH-D     By: Plesa H.B. No. 1577       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to eligibility for the exemption from ad valorem taxation   of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of certain first   responders.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 11.134(a)(1), Tax Code, is amended to   read as follows:                (1)  "First responder" means :                       (A)   an individual listed under Section 615.003,   Government Code ;                         (B)     a special agent of United States Immigration   and Customs Enforcement;                       (C)     a customs and border protection officer or   border patrol agent of United States Customs and Border Protection;   or                       (D)     an immigration enforcement agent or   deportation officer of the United States Department of Homeland   Security .          SECTION 2.  Section 11.134(b), Tax Code, is amended to read   as follows:          (b)  The surviving spouse of a first responder who is killed   or fatally injured in the line of duty is entitled to an exemption   from taxation of the total appraised value of the surviving   spouse's residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not   remarried since the death of the first responder and :                (1)   in the case of the surviving spouse of a first   responder described by Subsection (a)(1)(A),  is an eligible   survivor for purposes of Chapter 615, Government Code, as   determined by the Employees Retirement System of Texas under that   chapter; or [ and ]                (2)   in the case of the surviving spouse of a first   responder described by Subsection (a)(1)(B), (C), or (D), was a   resident of this state at the time of the first responder's death     [ has not remarried since the death of the first responder ].          SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only   to a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2026.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.