(a) Exchange of evidence. Before or immediately after
an appraisal review board hearing begins, the appraisal district and
the property owner or the owner's agent shall each provide the other
party with a duplicated set of the evidentiary materials the person
intends to offer or submit to the appraisal review board for consideration
at the hearing. One set of these materials is to be exchanged with
and retained by the other party, and another set of these materials
is to be provided to and retained by the appraisal review board as
evidence for its records as required under §9.803 of this title
(relating to Requirements for Appraisal Review Board Records). The
duplicated material sets shall be produced in either paper or electronic
form.
(b) Evidentiary materials on a portable electronic
device. Evidentiary materials produced on a portable electronic device
shall be saved in a file format type and downloaded to a small, portable,
electronic device. The file format type and small, portable, electronic
device must be considered generally accepted technology and must be
suitable for retention by the recipient. For security purposes, the
electronic files on devices produced pursuant to this section shall
be capable of being scanned or reviewed for the presence of any malicious
software or computer viruses before acceptance by or exposure to the
recipient's computer system.
(c) Electronic file format types and devices. The appraisal
review board shall determine the types of file formats and devices
which meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this section and
specify the types of file formats and devices in the appraisal review
board hearing procedures. Examples of file format types that may be
considered acceptable include but are not limited to the Adobe portable
document format (PDF); Microsoft Word, typically used for text documents;
Microsoft Excel, typically used for spreadsheets and tables; Microsoft
PowerPoint, typically used for presentations or slideshows; and JPEG
(.jpg or .jpeg) for photographs. Examples of the general types of
small, portable, electronic devices suitable for retention by the
recipient that may be considered acceptable include but are not limited
to USB flash drives (i.e., thumb or jump drives, USB or memory sticks),
and compact discs (i.e., CDs, DVDs) with various characteristics.
The appraisal district and the property owner or the owner's agent
may agree to exchange evidence in a manner other than provided in
appraisal review board hearing procedures so long as a copy of the
evidence may be retained in the records of the appraisal review board
and satisfies the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Audiovisual equipment requirements. If the appraisal
district uses audiovisual equipment at appraisal review board hearings,
the appraisal district shall make available this same equipment or
audiovisual equipment of the same general type, kind, and character
for use at the hearing by the property owner or the owner's agent.
The equipment made available shall be capable of reading and accepting
the same types of file formats and devices the appraisal review board
has determined are generally accepted under subsection (c) of this
section. In the alternative, property owners and their agents may
bring their own audiovisual equipment for their presentation of evidentiary
materials at appraisal review board hearings. If the operation of
audiovisual equipment at the hearing requires access to and connection
with the Internet for the presentation, the parties must provide their
own Internet connection and access through their own service provider.
The property owner and the owner's agent may not access the appraisal
district office's network or Internet connection nor any of the appraisal
district office's technology or equipment other than that made available
under this section and described in the appraisal review board hearing
procedures. The appraisal district and the property owner or the owner's
agent may use audiovisual equipment with specifications that are different
from those in the hearing procedures if the parties agree to do so
in writing or verbally agree as shown in the audio recording of the
hearing.
(e) Appraisal Review Board hearing procedures. The
following information regarding the exchange and presentation of evidence
at appraisal review board hearings shall be provided in the appraisal
review board hearing procedures:
(1) identification of the file format types considered
acceptable under subsection (c) of this section;
(2) description of the types of small, portable, electronic
devices suitable for retention by the recipient considered acceptable
under subsection (c) of this section;
(3) notice that property owners and their agents may
bring their own audiovisual equipment for their presentation at appraisal
review board hearings but must provide their own Internet access,
if needed, through their own service provider;
(4) whether the appraisal district uses audiovisual
equipment at appraisal review board hearings;
(5) if the appraisal district uses audiovisual equipment
at appraisal review board hearings, a description of the type, kind,
and character of audiovisual equipment the appraisal district makes
available for use by property owners or their agents and which meets
the requirements of subsection (d) of this section; and
(6) notice that property owners and their agents may
not access the appraisal district office's network or Internet connection
nor any of the appraisal district office's technology or equipment
other than that made available under this section and described in
the hearing procedures.
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