bill making appraisal board seats elected by single-member districts

The text as introduced · 970 words

89R16229 MLH-D

By: Plesa
H.B. No. 4013

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the composition of the board of directors of certain

appraisal districts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 6.0301, Tax Code, is amended by amending

Subsections (c), (d), and (g) and adding Subsections (b-1), (c-1),

(c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows:

(b-1) The board of directors of the appraisal district shall

divide the district into four numbered, single-member districts for

electing directors.

(c) The appraisal district is governed by a board of nine

directors. Four [ Five ] directors are appointed by the taxing units

that participate in the district in the manner prescribed by

Section 6.03. One director is elected from each single-member

district. To be elected to a position on the board of directors of

the district, a candidate must receive more votes than any other

candidate for that position. The district shall hold an election to

elect the appropriate number of directors on the uniform election

date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, in November of

each even-numbered year. [ Three directors are elected by majority

vote at the general election for state and county officers by the

voters of the county in which the district is established. ] The

county assessor-collector serves as an ex officio director.

(c-1) The board of directors may revise the single-member

districts as necessary or appropriate.

(c-2) The board of directors shall revise each

single-member district after each federal decennial census to

reflect population changes.

(c-3) When the boundaries of the single-member districts

are changed, a director in office on the effective date of the

change, or elected or appointed before the effective date of the

change to a term of office beginning on or after the effective date

of the change, is entitled to serve the term or the remainder of the

term in the single-member district to which elected or appointed

even though the change in boundaries places the director's

residence outside the single-member district from which the

director was elected or appointed.

(d) To be eligible to serve in an appointive position on the

board of directors, an individual [ other than the county

assessor-collector ] must be a resident of the district and must

have resided in the district for at least two years immediately

preceding the date the individual takes office. To be eligible to

serve in an elective position on the board of directors, an

individual must be a resident of the single-member district from

which the individual is elected and have resided in the

single-member district for at least two years immediately preceding

the date the individual takes office. An individual who is

otherwise eligible to serve on the board is not ineligible because

of membership on the governing body of a taxing unit. An employee

of a taxing unit that participates in the district is not eligible

to serve on the board unless the individual is also a member of the

governing body or an elected official of a taxing unit that

participates in the district.

(g) If a vacancy occurs in an elective position on the board

of directors, the board of directors shall appoint by majority vote

of its members a person to fill the vacancy. A person appointed to

fill a vacancy in an elective position must have the qualifications

required of a director elected at a general election for the

position on the board to which the person is appointed .

SECTION 2. Section 6.032, Tax Code, is amended by adding

Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) A person shall indicate on the application for a place

on the ballot the single-member district that the person seeks to

represent.

SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2026, the board of

directors of each appraisal district established in a county with a

population of 75,000 or more shall divide the district into

single-member districts as required by Section 6.0301(b-1), Tax

Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. Sections 5.13(b), (c), and (d), Chapter 1 (S.B.

2), Acts of the 88th Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 2023, are

repealed.

SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply

only to an election of members of the board of directors of an

appraisal district that is held on or after January 1, 2026.

(b) At the first meeting of the board of directors of an

appraisal district described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as

amended by this Act, that is held on or after January 1, 2027, the

four directors elected on the uniform election date prescribed by

Section 41.001, Election Code, in November 2026 shall draw lots to

determine which two directors shall serve a term of two years and

which two directors shall serve a term of four years. Thereafter,

all elected directors serve four-year terms.

(c) The term of an appointed appraisal district director

serving on December 31, 2026, on the board of directors of an

appraisal district described by Section 6.0301, Tax Code, as

amended by this Act, expires on January 1, 2027. Not later than

December 31, 2026, the taxing units participating in the appraisal

district that are entitled to appoint directors shall appoint four

directors to serve terms that begin on January 1, 2027. Two

directors shall be appointed to serve a term of one year, and the

other two directors shall be appointed to serve a term of three

years. Thereafter, all appointed directors serve four-year terms.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.