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(a)To ensure that property owners and appraisal district employees maintain the highest degree of confidence in the fairness of the arbitration process, the comptroller will grant a request for substitution of an arbitrator for good cause shown, if the request is made in good faith before the arbitration hearing begins. (b)To preserve and maintain the arbitrator's neutrality toward the requesting party, the comptroller may grant a substitution request without notifying the arbitrator of the request or providing an opportunity to respond. The comptroller may, but is not required to, contact the arbitrator for documents or other information related to a substitution request. (c)The comptroller shall grant a timely, written, and sworn substitution request if the party making the request documents that: (1)the arbitrator has a demonstrated conflict of interest as defined by Local Government Code, Chapter 171; (2)the arbitrator, at any time during the 18 months preceding the date of the substitution request, represented a party in a protest hearing or was a witness for a protest hearing that was held by the appraisal review board for the appraisal district that is a party to the arbitration; (3)the arbitrator was a member of an appraisal review board panel that heard a protest regarding the property that is the subject of the arbitration or was a member of an appraisal review board that approved a panel recommendation regarding a protest concerning the subject property; (4)during the 12 months preceding the date of the substitution request, the arbitrator admitted a party's evidence that, under this subchapter, was inadmissible and the arbitrator's determination was in favor of the party that offered the inadmissible evidence; (5)the arbitrator failed to grant a continuance on the timely, written request of a party to the arbitration that documented a conflicting and previously scheduled arbitration, judicial, or administrative hearing; (6)the arbitrator accepted the arbitration in violation of §9.4257(d) of this title (relating to Appointment of Arbitrator); (7)the arbitrator has not contacted the parties to the arbitration by telephone, and more than 10 days have passed since date on which the comptroller assigned the arbitration; or (8)the arbitrator has not set a time, date, and place of the arbitration hearing and fewer than 60 days remain in the 90 day period that follows the date on which the arbitrator received notice of the appointment. (d)The comptroller may grant a substitution request for good cause shown, if the request is made before the hearing. Good cause for a substitution includes a sworn statement that documents the following reasons: (1)the arbitrator's conduct creates the appearance of bias for or against a party; (2)the arbitrator's violation of this subchapter or Tax Code Chapter 41A during the 180 days preceding the date of the substitution request; or (3)a reason that, if the substitution is not granted, the comptroller determines could create doubt among property owners or appraisal districts about the fairness or efficacy of the arbitration program. (e)Good cause for substituting an arbitrator does not include the following reasons: (1)the arbitrator is a property tax consultant registered under Occupations Code, Chapter 1152, unless the arbitrator's conduct would be good cause for substitution under subsection (c)(2) of this section; (2)the arbitrator lives or does not live in the area in which the property subject to the arbitration is located; (3)a randomly chosen arbitrator should be substituted because the parties agreed to an arbitrator, if the comptroller either did not receive notice of the agreement or the notice of agreement was not returned to the comptroller in a timely manner; (4)the arbitrator does not have the amount of appraisal or other experience that the party maintains is required to accurately determine the appraised or market value of the owner's property; or (5)the arbitrator did not contact a party before scheduling the arbitration hearing, or scheduled the hearing without requesting or accepting dates on which a party is available to attend the hearing.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal
has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's
legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on December 17, 2009
TRD-200905922 Ashley Harden
General
Counsel
Comptroller of Public Accounts
Earliest possible date of adoption: January 31, 2010
For further information, please call: (512) 475-0387
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