Bill fully exempting disabled first responders’ homes from property tax

The text as introduced · 1,932 words

89R3892 MLH-F

By: Patterson
H.B. No. 4090

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 disabled

first responders and their surviving spouses.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Tax Code, is amended by

adding Section 11.1315 to read as follows:

Sec. 11.1315. RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF TOTALLY DISABLED FIRST

RESPONDERS. (a) In this section:

(1) "First responder" means an individual listed under

Section 615.003, Government Code.

(2) "Qualifying disabled first responder" means a

first responder who:

(A) has a total and permanent disability as the

result of an injury occurring in the line of duty; and

(B) provides a chief appraiser with the

documentation prescribed by this section that demonstrates the

disability and that the disability resulted from the injury.

(3) "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned by

Section 11.13.

(4) "Surviving spouse" means the individual who was

married to a qualifying disabled first responder at the time of the

qualifying disabled first responder's death.

(5) "Total and permanent disability" means an

impairment to the mind or body that:

(A) renders a person unable to engage in a

substantial gainful occupation; and

(B) is reasonably certain to continue throughout

the person's life.

(b) Subject to Subsection (g), a qualifying disabled first

responder is entitled to an exemption from taxation of the total

appraised value of the qualifying disabled first responder's

residence homestead.

(c) The surviving spouse of a qualifying disabled first

responder who qualified for an exemption under Subsection (b) when

the qualifying disabled first responder died is entitled to an

exemption from taxation of the total appraised value of the same

property to which the qualifying disabled first responder's

exemption applied if:

(1) the surviving spouse has not remarried since the

death of the qualifying disabled first responder; and

(2) the property:

(A) was the residence homestead of the surviving

spouse when the qualifying disabled first responder 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 qualifying disabled

first responder. 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.

(e) A first responder who applies for an exemption from

taxation under this section must provide to the chief appraiser the

following:

(1) documentation from the United States Social

Security Administration stating that the applicant is totally and

permanently disabled;

(2) a signed statement from the organization that

employed the applicant as a first responder at the time of the

incident that caused the applicant's total and permanent disability

certifying:

(A) the name and address of the organization;

(B) the name and title of the individual who

signed the statement;

(C) the date and location of the incident;

(D) a description of the incident; and

(E) a statement that the incident:

(i) was the actual cause of the applicant's

total and permanent disability; and

(ii) occurred in the absence of the

applicant's wilful negligence;

(3) any documentation of the incident that caused the

applicant's total and permanent disability that is in the

possession of the organization that employed the applicant as a

first responder; and

(4) a statement from a physician licensed by the Texas

Medical Board certifying that:

(A) the applicant has a total and permanent

disability that renders the applicant unable to engage in a

substantial gainful occupation;

(B) the incident described by the organization

under Subdivision (2) was the sole cause of the applicant's total

and permanent disability; and

(C) the total and permanent disability is

reasonably certain to continue throughout the applicant's life.

(f) If an applicant is ineligible to receive a medical

status determination from the United States Social Security

Administration due to the applicant's ineligibility for Social

Security benefits or Medicare benefits, the applicant may, instead

of the documentation required by Subsection (e)(1), provide to the

chief appraiser:

(1) documentation from the United States Social

Security Administration stating that the applicant is ineligible to

receive a medical status determination; and

(2) a statement under Subsection (e)(4) from a second

physician licensed by the Texas Medical Board who is professionally

unrelated to the physician who provided the statement required by

that subdivision.

(g) A qualifying disabled first responder may not receive an

exemption under this section if the qualifying disabled first

responder's total and permanent disability is the result of a heart

attack, stroke, or vascular rupture unless:

(1) the heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture took

place not more than 24 hours after the qualifying disabled first

responder performed stressful or strenuous physical activity that

is not a routine duty of the qualifying disabled first responder;

and

(2) the qualifying disabled first responder's treating

cardiologist certifies within a reasonable degree of medical

certainty that:

(A) the stressful or strenuous physical activity

described in Subdivision (1) caused the heart attack, stroke, or

vascular rupture; and

(B) the heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture

was not caused by a preexisting vascular disease or condition.

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 , 11.1315, or 11.35 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,

11.1315, 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, 11.315,

11.35, or 11.36, 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, except

as provided by Subsection (r), 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. The heading to Section 11.439, Tax Code, is

amended to read as follows:

Sec. 11.439. LATE APPLICATIONS FOR DISABLED VETERANS AND

QUALIFYING DISABLED FIRST RESPONDERS EXEMPTIONS.

SECTION 5. Section 11.439, Tax Code, is amended by adding

Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny

an application for an exemption under Section 11.1315 for the

residence homestead of a qualifying disabled first responder but

not the surviving spouse of the qualifying disabled first responder

after the filing deadline provided by Section 11.43 if the

application is filed not later than five years after the

delinquency date for the taxes on the property.

SECTION 6. 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 11.1315 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 7. 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 QUALIFYING DISABLED

FIRST RESPONDER . (a) If a person qualifies for an exemption under

Section 11.131 or 11.1315 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 11.1315 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 8. 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, 11.1315, 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 9. Section 11.1315, Tax Code, as added by this Act,

applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year that begins

on or after January 1, 2026.

SECTION 10. It is the intent of the 89th Legislature,

Regular Session, 2025, that the amendments made by this Act to

Section 11.43(c), Government Code, be harmonized with another Act

of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, relating to

nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes.

SECTION 11. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026, but only

if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th Legislature,

Regular Session, 2025, authorizing the legislature to provide for

an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market

value of the residence homesteads of certain disabled first

responders and their surviving spouses is approved by the voters.

If that constitutional amendment is not approved by the voters,

this Act has no effect.