85R4285 SMT-D
 
  By: Bohac, Shine H.B. No. 1591
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence
  homestead of a Purple Heart recipient or the surviving spouse of a
  Purple Heart recipient.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Tax Code, is amended by
  adding Section 11.134 to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.134.  RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT.
  (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Purple Heart recipient" means a person who has
  been awarded the federal or Texas Purple Heart Medal.
               (2)  "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 11.13.
               (3)  "Surviving spouse" means the individual who was
  married to a Purple Heart recipient at the time of the Purple Heart
  recipient's death.
         (b)  A Purple Heart recipient is entitled to an exemption
  from taxation of the total appraised value of the Purple Heart
  recipient's residence homestead.
         (c)  The surviving spouse of a Purple Heart recipient who
  qualified for an exemption under Subsection (b) when the Purple
  Heart recipient died is entitled to an exemption from taxation of
  the total appraised value of the same property to which the Purple
  Heart recipient's exemption applied if:
               (1)  the surviving spouse has not remarried since the
  death of the Purple Heart recipient; and
               (2)  the property:
                     (A)  was the residence homestead of the surviving
  spouse when the Purple Heart recipient died; and
                     (B)  remains the residence homestead of the
  surviving spouse.
         (d)  If a surviving spouse who qualifies for an exemption
  under Subsection (c) subsequently qualifies a different property as
  the surviving spouse's residence homestead, the surviving spouse is
  entitled to an exemption from taxation of the subsequently
  qualified homestead in an amount equal to the dollar amount of the
  exemption from taxation of the former homestead under Subsection
  (c) in the last year in which the surviving spouse received an
  exemption under that subsection for that homestead if the surviving
  spouse has not remarried since the death of the Purple Heart
  recipient.  The surviving spouse is entitled to receive from the
  chief appraiser of the appraisal district in which the former
  residence homestead was located a written certificate providing the
  information necessary to determine the amount of the exemption to
  which the surviving spouse is entitled on the subsequently
  qualified homestead.
         SECTION 2.  Section 11.42(e), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (e)  A person who qualifies for an exemption under Section
  11.131 or 11.134 after January 1 of a tax year may receive the
  exemption for the applicable portion of that tax year immediately
  on qualification for the exemption.
         SECTION 3.  Section 11.43(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  An exemption provided by Section 11.13, 11.131, 11.132,
  11.133, 11.134, 11.17, 11.18, 11.182, 11.1827, 11.183, 11.19,
  11.20, 11.21, 11.22, 11.23(a), (h), (j), (j-1), or (m), 11.231,
  11.254, 11.27, 11.271, 11.29, 11.30, 11.31, or 11.315, once
  allowed, need not be claimed in subsequent years, and except as
  otherwise provided by Subsection (e), the exemption applies to the
  property until it changes ownership or the person's qualification
  for the exemption changes.  However, the chief appraiser may
  require a person allowed one of the exemptions in a prior year to
  file a new application to confirm the person's current
  qualification for the exemption by delivering a written notice that
  a new application is required, accompanied by an appropriate
  application form, to the person previously allowed the exemption.
  If the person previously allowed the exemption is 65 years of age or
  older, the chief appraiser may not cancel the exemption due to the
  person's failure to file the new application unless the chief
  appraiser complies with the requirements of Subsection (q), if
  applicable.
         SECTION 4.  Section 11.431(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         (a)  The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny an
  application for a residence homestead exemption, including an
  exemption under Section 11.131 or 11.132 for the residence
  homestead of a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a
  disabled veteran, [or] an exemption under Section 11.133 for the
  residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed
  services of the United States who is killed in action, or an
  exemption under Section 11.134 for the residence homestead of a
  Purple Heart recipient or the surviving spouse of a Purple Heart
  recipient, after the deadline for filing it has passed if it is
  filed not later than one year after the delinquency date for the
  taxes on the homestead.
         SECTION 5.  Section 26.10(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  If the appraisal roll shows that a residence homestead
  exemption under Section 11.131 or 11.134 applicable to a property
  on January 1 of a year terminated during the year, the tax due
  against the residence homestead is calculated by multiplying the
  amount of the taxes that otherwise would be imposed on the residence
  homestead for the entire year had the individual not qualified for
  the residence homestead exemption [under Section 11.131] during the
  year 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.
         SECTION 6.  Section 26.1125, Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 26.1125.  CALCULATION OF TAXES ON RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD
  OF 100 PERCENT OR TOTALLY DISABLED VETERAN OR PURPLE HEART
  RECIPIENT. (a)  If a person qualifies for an exemption under
  Section 11.131 or 11.134 after the beginning of a tax year, the
  amount of the taxes on the residence homestead of the person for the
  tax year is calculated by multiplying the amount of the taxes that
  otherwise would be imposed on the residence homestead for the
  entire year had the person not qualified for the applicable
  exemption [under Section 11.131] by a fraction, the denominator of
  which is 365 and the numerator of which is the number of days that
  elapsed before the date the person qualified for the applicable
  exemption [under Section 11.131].
         (b)  If a person qualifies for an exemption under Section
  11.131 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 paid
  the tax the amount by which the payment exceeded the tax due.
         SECTION 7.  Section 403.302(d-1), Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d-1)  For purposes of Subsection (d), a residence homestead
  that receives an exemption under Section 11.131, [or] 11.133, or
  11.134, Tax Code, in the year that is the subject of the study is not
  considered to be taxable property.
         SECTION 8.  The heading to Section 140.011, Local Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 140.011.  LOCAL GOVERNMENTS DISPROPORTIONATELY
  AFFECTED BY PROPERTY TAX RELIEF FOR CERTAIN MILITARY SERVICE
  MEMBERS AND [DISABLED] VETERANS.
         SECTION 9.  Section 140.011(a)(3), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (3)  "Qualified local government" means a local
  government entitled to a military exemption [disabled veteran]
  assistance payment under this section.
         SECTION 10.  Sections 140.011(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and
  (g), Local Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  To serve the state purpose of ensuring that the cost of
  providing ad valorem tax relief to certain military service members
  and [disabled] veterans is shared equitably among the residents of
  this state, a local government is entitled to a military exemption
  [disabled veteran] assistance payment from the state for each
  fiscal year that the local government is a qualified local
  government.  A local government is a qualified local government for
  a fiscal year if the amount of lost ad valorem tax revenue
  calculated under Subsection (c) for that fiscal year is equal to or
  greater than two percent of the local government's general fund
  revenue for that fiscal year.
         (c)  For the purposes of this section, the amount of a local
  government's lost ad valorem tax revenue for a fiscal year is
  calculated by multiplying the ad valorem tax rate adopted by the
  local government under Section 26.05, Tax Code, for the tax year in
  which the fiscal year begins by the total appraised value of all
  property located in the local government that is granted an
  exemption from taxation under Section 11.131 or 11.134, Tax Code,
  for that tax year.
         (d)  A military exemption [disabled veteran] assistance
  payment made to a qualified local government for a fiscal year is
  calculated by subtracting from the local government's lost ad
  valorem tax revenue calculated under Subsection (c) for that fiscal
  year an amount equal to one percent of the local government's
  general fund revenue for that fiscal year.
         (e)  Not later than April 1 of the first year following the
  end of a fiscal year for which a qualified local government is
  entitled to a military exemption [disabled veteran] assistance
  payment, a qualified local government may submit an application to
  the comptroller to receive a military exemption [disabled veteran]
  assistance payment for that fiscal year.  The application must be
  made on a form prescribed by the comptroller.  The comptroller may
  require the qualified local government to submit an independent
  audit otherwise required by law to be prepared for the local
  government for the fiscal year for which a qualified local
  government is entitled to the payment.
         (f)  A qualified local government that does not submit an
  application to the comptroller by the date prescribed by Subsection
  (e) is not entitled to a military exemption [disabled veteran]
  assistance payment for the fiscal year for which that deadline
  applies.
         (g)  The comptroller shall review each application by a local
  government to determine whether the local government is entitled to
  a military exemption [disabled veteran] assistance payment.  If
  the comptroller determines that the local government is entitled to
  the payment, the comptroller shall remit the payment from available
  funds to the qualified local government not later than the 30th day
  after the date the application for the payment is made.
         SECTION 11.  Section 11.134, Tax Code, as added by this Act,
  applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year beginning on
  or after January 1, 2018.
         SECTION 12.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2018, but only
  if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 85th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 2017, authorizing the legislature to provide for
  an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market
  value of the residence homestead of a Purple Heart recipient or the
  surviving spouse of a Purple Heart recipient is approved by the
  voters. If that constitutional amendment is not approved by the
  voters, this Act has no effect.