Monitoring the Session

HB 5229

Bumgarner Appraisal District Bill Makes Chief Appraisers Personally Answerable

Died in committee

Verdict: Smells

SmellsInitial review
Rep. Benjamin BumgarnerRHouse 63
Why it's charged
Caption mismatch

THE TEXT

“Section 1151.204(c)(1), Occupations Code is”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The caption speaks only of comptroller enforcement against an appraisal district, but the body also repeals part of the Occupations Code. It also aims penalties at the individual chief appraiser through the licensing department, which the caption does not mention.

Caption mismatch

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the administration and enforcement by the Office of the Comptroller for Public Accounts against an appraisal district for a failure by a district to undertake corrective actions ordered by the Comptroller after review of the district's methods, appraisal standards and procedures.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Caption: enforcement against the district. Bill: penalties for its chief appraiser and an Occupations Code repeal.

The bill makes the state comptroller, not the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the office that steps in when an appraisal district ignores the comptroller's review recommendations for a year, and then checks whether the fixes were made. If the district still has not substantially complied, the comptroller must refer the case to the licensing department, which can impose administrative penalties or sanctions on the district's chief appraiser, with the comptroller supplying support. It also repeals a subsection of the Occupations Code on chief appraisers, takes effect September 1, 2025, and makes the head of a noncompliant district personally answerable for ignored recommendations.

Labels

Labels: NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Mar 14, 2025 and referred to the House Ways & Means committee. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB5229 · 2025-03-14

SOLD BY

Rep. Benjamin BumgarnerRHouse 63

ITEM

relating to the administration and enforcement by the Office of the Comptroller for Public Accounts against an appraisal district for a failure by a district to undertake corrective actions ordered by the Comptroller after review of the district's methods, appraisal standards and procedures.

WHAT IT DOES

Caption: enforcement against the district. Bill: penalties for its chief appraiser and an Occupations Code repeal.

The bill makes the state comptroller, not the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the office that steps in when an appraisal district ignores the comptroller's review recommendations for a year, and then checks whether the fixes were made. If the district still has not substantially complied, the comptroller must refer the case to the licensing department, which can impose administrative penalties or sanctions on the district's chief appraiser, with the comptroller supplying support. It also repeals a subsection of the Occupations Code on chief appraisers, takes effect September 1, 2025, and makes the head of a noncompliant district personally answerable for ignored recommendations.

CHARGES

[x] CAPTION MISMATCHanalysis confidence 40%

THE TEXT

“Section 1151.204(c)(1), Occupations Code is”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The caption speaks only of comptroller enforcement against an appraisal district, but the body also repeals part of the Occupations Code. It also aims penalties at the individual chief appraiser through the licensing department, which the caption does not mention.

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Ways & Means
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Benjamin Bumgarner

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$685KTexas Conservative Majority PAC$444KTexas REALTORS Political Action Committee$124K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 29, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$684,547.30

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$684,547.30

Cash
$45,000.00
Paid by others
$639,547.30
Total
$684,547.30
advertising $362,314.98grassroots $175,000.00mail $73,471.97polling $28,760.35

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 4, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100977031, 101011438, 101032753, 101060419, 101068130, 101070151.

Texas Conservative Majority PAC$443,776.00

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$443,776.00

Cash
$125,000.00
Paid by others
$318,776.00
Total
$443,776.00
canvassing $294,526.00polling $24,250.00

Also funds 42 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jan 23, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Aug 12, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101068130, 101070151.

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$124,437.26

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$124,437.26

Cash
$30,000.00
Paid by others
$94,437.26
Total
$124,437.26
mail $85,600.30text $8,736.96event $100.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 29, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100977031, 101032753, 101068130, 101070151.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$684,547.30

Cash
$45,000.00
Paid by others
$639,547.30
Total
$684,547.30
advertising $362,314.98grassroots $175,000.00mail $73,471.97polling $28,760.35

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 4, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100977031, 101011438, 101032753, 101060419, 101068130, 101070151.

×

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$443,776.00

Cash
$125,000.00
Paid by others
$318,776.00
Total
$443,776.00
canvassing $294,526.00polling $24,250.00

Also funds 42 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jan 23, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Aug 12, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101068130, 101070151.

×

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$124,437.26

Cash
$30,000.00
Paid by others
$94,437.26
Total
$124,437.26
mail $85,600.30text $8,736.96event $100.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 29, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100977031, 101032753, 101068130, 101070151.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Fiscal

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Mar 14, 2025

04/07/2025 H Referred to Ways & Means: Apr 7 2025 5:28PM

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Ways & Means · Final status: Died in committee

Subjects

Taxation--Property-Appraisals & Appraisal Districts

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

LICENSING & REGULATION, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF

Text

The text as introduced · 385 words

By: Bumgarner
H.B. No. 5229

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the administration and enforcement by the Office of the

Comptroller for Public Accounts against an appraisal district for a

failure by a district to undertake corrective actions ordered by

the Comptroller after review of the district's methods, appraisal

standards and procedures.

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

SECTION 1. Section 5.102, Tax Code, is amended by amending

Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as

follows:

(d) If the appraisal district fails to comply with the

recommendations in the report and the comptroller finds that the

board of directors of the appraisal district failed to take

remedial action reasonably designed to ensure substantial

compliance with each recommendation in the report before the first

anniversary of the date the report was issued, the comptroller

[ shall notify the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, or

a successor to the department, which ] shall take action necessary

to ensure that the recommendations in the report are implemented as

soon as practicable.

(e) Before February 1 of the year following the year in

which the comptroller [ Texas Department of Licensing and

Regulation, or its successor, ] takes action under Subsection (d),

the comptroller [ and with the assistance of the comptroller, the

department ] shall determine whether the recommendations in the most

recent report have been substantially implemented. The comptroller

[ executive director of the department ] shall notify the chief

appraiser and the board of directors of the appraisal district in

writing of the comptroller's [ department's ] determination.

(f) If the comptroller determines the appraisal district

has failed to substantially implement the recommendations of the

report as indicated in subsection (d), the comptroller shall notify

and refer the case to the Texas Department of Licensing and

Regulation to take all reasonable and necessary remedial action,

including the imposition of administrative penalties and/or

sanctions under Occupations Code, Chapters 51 and 1151, against the

chief appraiser for the noncompliant appraisal district. The

comptroller shall provide all necessary support and resources to

support any enforcement action taken by the Texas Department of

Licensing and Regulation under this section.

SECTION 2. Section 1151.204(c)(1), Occupations Code is

repealed.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on September 1, 2025.