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Texas Register Preamble


The Comptroller of Public Accounts adopts amendments to §9.4252, concerning the request for arbitration, §9.4254, concerning appraisal district responsibility for request, and §9.4261 concerning provision of arbitration services, with changes to the proposed text as published in the August 16, 2019, issue of the Texas Register (44 TexReg 4297). The rules will be published.

The Comptroller of Public Accounts adopts amendments to §9.4253, concerning agent representation in arbitration, §9.4255, concerning comptroller processing of request, online arbitration system, and 45 calendar-day settlement period, §9.4264, concerning payment of arbitrator fee, refund of property owner deposit, and correction of appraisal roll, and §9.4266, concerning forms, without changes to the proposed text as published in the August 16, 2019, issue of the Texas Register (44 TexReg 4297). The rules will not be published.

The comptroller adopts these amendments to simplify the language, remove certain conditions, and clarify the ability to cure minor defects in requests. The amendments implement House Bill 1802, 86th Legislature, 2019, and should enhance the administration of the arbitration request process.

Comments were received from five appraisal districts, one arbitrator and two property owners.

One property owner, John Nolan, requested a change to the deposit amounts for properties valued under $500,000. This statutory issue would have to be changed by the legislature. Another property owner, Tiffanie Law, provided a comment relating to filing a request using multiple money orders and she asked for a language change to allow for multiple checks. It is determined that a change is not needed because there is not any current language prohibiting filers from sending in multiple checks.

In §9.4252, concerning the request for arbitration, the amendments to subsection (b) simplify the language and reference the statutory requirements in Tax Code, §41A.03 (Request for Arbitration). Comments were received from Williamson Central Appraisal District, Fort Bend Central Appraisal District and arbitrator Loretta Higgins relating to the filing deadline and the language used in subsection (b) directing individuals to the Tax Code for the deadline for filing a Request for Arbitration. All three parties requested that the deadline be stated within the rule. That amendment has been made. The Williamson Central Appraisal District questioned the reference to Tax Code, §1.085 and whether that section was applicable because of the requirement that a filer provide a check with the request. It is determined that a change is not needed because the appraisal district timeline prescribed by Tax Code, §41A.05 does not start until both the request and the deposit are received.

The amendments to subsections (d) and (f)(7) clarify the form requirements and remove the manual signature requirement for the Appointment of Agent(s) for Binding Arbitration (Form 50-791) and for the Request for Binding Arbitration (Form AP-219). Arbitrator Loretta Higgins commented "although society is technology-driven, allowing digital signature without setting forth protocols for that digital signatures will open the signing of forms to fraud." It is determined that a change is not needed. If there are suspicions of fraud by either the appraisal district or arbitrator, those parties may request additional information or clarification from the signer. Currently, if a Chief Appraiser and a property owner or the property owner's agent have a statutory agreement for electronic communications, the Chief Appraiser has authority to prescribe requirements, and the available safeguards are appropriate to the level of risk.

A comment was received by arbitrator Loretta Higgins relating to subsection (e)(4) about delinquent taxes on the property at issue. She states "this section does not address whether arbitrations should be dismissed if in prior years the arbitration is still pending or the case is still pending in district court and the undisputed amount of tax for those years has been paid." It is determined that a change is not needed. It is a statutory provision that the pendency of an appeal through binding arbitration does not affect the delinquency date, and the determination of delinquent tax is made by the tax assessor-collectors for the property.

The amendments to subsection (g) remove conditions for tracts of land to qualify as contiguous tracts of land.

The amendments to §9.4253, concerning agent representation in arbitration, remove the wet signature requirement in subsection (c). Arbitrator Loretta Higgins commented "although society is technology-driven, allowing digital signature without setting forth protocols for that digital signatures will open the signing of forms to fraud." The Harris County Appraisal District commented with a suggestion that the signature requirements follow those laid out in Tax Code, §1.111(k), which would allow an appraisal district to request an IP address if there is any question about the validity of a signature. It is determined that a change is not needed. If there are suspicions of fraud by either the appraisal district or arbitrator, those parties may request additional information or clarification from the signer. Currently, if a Chief Appraiser and a property owner or the property owner's agent have a statutory agreement for electronic communications, the Chief Appraiser has authority to prescribe requirements, and the available safeguards are appropriate to the level of risk. Subsection (d) is also amended and subsection (e) is removed to standardize the actions an agent may take on a property owner's behalf. The remaining subsections are re-lettered accordingly.

The amendments to re-lettered subsection (e) allow an alternate agent with the same organization as the primary agent to act without providing evidence the first agent is unavailable. Arbitrator Loretta Higgins commented "the fact of whether an agent has the same employer as another agent should not be a matter of concern for the PTAD. Either allow the appointment of an alternative agent with the same form or make any person who has become the acting agent complete a new form. The Comptroller should not care about what agent is employed by whom as agents frequently move from one property tax firm to another." It is determined that a change is not needed as this change was made to allow alternative agents to act as the property owner's agent for arbitration in most instances without having to follow a formal notification process.

The amendments to re-lettered subsection (f) describe the requirements for completing Form 50-791 when the property owner is not an individual, including the requirement that an authorized individual may be asked to show their authority to sign on behalf of the legal entity that owns the property.

In §9.4254, concerning appraisal district responsibility for request, the comptroller amends subsections (a)(1), (3), (4) and (b) to clarify that a sufficient deposit amount is acceptable, to prevent rejections when a property owner pays more than the required deposit. Comments were received by the Williamson Central Appraisal District, the Harris County Appraisal District and the Atascosa Central Appraisal district relating to the appraisal district's rejection of requests for insufficient deposits. Specifically, Michelle Cardenas, chief appraiser of the Atascosa Central Appraisal District stated "I would like to recommend that the appraisal district submit the request to the comptroller's office with a affidavit stating that insufficient funds were submitted and have the letter rejecting the request come from the comptroller's office." The Harris County Appraisal District requested clarification of the rejection process for insufficient deposits. The Williamson Central Appraisal District suggested language change from the word "sufficient" to something more clear to property owners. In responses to the comments received, §9.4254 has been amended to remove subsections (a)(1) and (b) as these requirements are prescribed by statute. The amendments to renumbered subsection (a)(3) require the appraisal district to submit supporting documentation to the comptroller with the arbitration request, if applicable.

In §9.4255, concerning comptroller processing of request, online arbitration system, and 45 calendar-day settlement period, the amendments to subsection (a) require notification to an owner or agent and appraisal district of a defect in a request prior to rejecting a request.

The amendments to subsection (b) clarify the requirements to complete Form AP-219 and provides for a fifteen (15) day period to cure a defect, after delivery of the notification added in subsection (a).

The amendments to subsection (c) clarify the series of events during the 45 calendar-day settlement period.

The removal of subsection (e) removes the wet ink signature requirement for all documents.

The amendments to §9.4261, concerning provision of arbitration services, amend subsection (m)(4) to reference the statutory requirements in Tax Code, §41A.03 (Request for Arbitration). Arbitrator Loretta Higgins commented requesting that a copy of Form 50-791 be provided to the arbitrator. It is determined that a change is not needed. It is cost prohibitive for the comptroller's office to provide a copy of the form to the arbitrator while the current system is in place. The form will be available to the arbitrator in the future online system. The arbitrator is not prohibited from requesting a copy of the form from the property owner or agent as needed.

The amendments to §9.4264, concerning payment of arbitrator fee, refund of property owner deposit, and correction of appraisal roll, make conforming changes to subsection (e), and clarify the series of events during the 45 calendar-day settlement period as they relate to the treatment of the deposit in subsection (g).

In §9.4266, concerning forms, the comptroller adopts by reference amended versions of the Request for Binding Arbitration (Form AP-219) and the Appointment of Agent(s) for Binding Arbitration (Form 50-791) to make updates and clarifications related to the rule amendments. The rule text is not being updated, so the rule will not be published in this issue of the Texas Register.

A comment was made by the Williamson Central Appraisal District requesting that a printed name be required on Form AP-219 in addition to the signature. This change has been made to the form. Comments were made by the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, the Williamson Central Appraisal District, the Hunt County Appraisal District and arbitrator Loretta Higgins, requesting the filing deadline be listed on Form AP-219 instead of just a reference to the Tax Code. This change has been made to the form. The Williamson Central Appraisal District requested a language change relating to the deposit amount for the checklist on form AP-219. This change has been made. Arbitrator Loretta Higgins suggested that information relating to the cure period be added to Form AP-219. She also made some suggestions relating to the layout of information in the instructions of Form AP-219. It is determined that these changes are not needed because the statute and rule address the cure period and the form contains sufficient information.

These amendments are adopted under Tax Code, §41A.13 (Rules), which authorizes the comptroller to adopt rules necessary to implement and administer Tax Code, Chapter 41A, governing the appeal of appraisal review board orders through binding arbitration.

These rules implement Tax Code, §§41A.03 (Request for Arbitration), 41A.04 (Contents of Request Form), 41A.05 (Processing of Registration Request), 41A.07 (Appointment of Arbitrator), and 41A.09 (Award; Payment of Arbitrator's Fee).



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