By: Hinojosa, et al. S.B. No. 129
 
  (Guerra)
 
   
 
 
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 the United States
  Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
                     (C)  a Customs and Border Protection Officer or
  Border Patrol Agent of the United States Customs and Border
  Protection; or
                     (D)  an immigration enforcement agent or
  deportation officer of the 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.  Section 11.134, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies only to a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2020.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.