Texas Tax Code 5.12 – Performance Audit of Appraisal District
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(a) The comptroller shall audit the performance of an appraisal district if one or more of the following conditions exist according to each of two consecutive studies conducted by the comptroller under § 5.10, regardless of whether the prescribed condition or conditions that exist are the same for each of those studies:
(1) the overall median level of appraisal for all property in the district for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal is less than 0.75;
(2) the coefficient of dispersion around the overall median level of appraisal of the properties used to determine the overall median level of appraisal for all property in the district for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal exceeds 0.30; or
(3) the difference between the median levels of appraisal for any two classes of property in the district for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal is more than 0.45.
(b) At the written request of the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing units participating in an appraisal district or of a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the appointment of appraisal district directors, the comptroller shall audit the performance of the appraisal district. The governing bodies may request a general audit of the performance of the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or more particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other appraisal district matters.
Terms Used In Texas Tax Code 5.12
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Appraised value: means the value determined as provided by Chapter 23 of this code. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Comptroller: means the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Improvement: means :
(A) a building, structure, fixture, or fence erected on or affixed to land;
(B) a transportable structure that is designed to be occupied for residential or business purposes, whether or not it is affixed to land, if the owner of the structure owns the land on which it is located, unless the structure is unoccupied and held for sale or normally is located at a particular place only temporarily; or
(C) for purposes of an entity created under § 52, Article III, or § 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, the:
(i) subdivision of land by plat;
(ii) installation of water, sewer, or drainage lines; or
(iii) paving of undeveloped land. See Texas Tax Code 1.04 - Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Taxing unit: means a county, an incorporated city or town (including a home-rule city), a school district, a special district or authority (including a junior college district, a hospital district, a district created by or pursuant to the Water Code, a mosquito control district, a fire prevention district, or a noxious weed control district), or any other political unit of this state, whether created by or pursuant to the constitution or a local, special, or general law, that is authorized to impose and is imposing ad valorem taxes on property even if the governing body of another political unit determines the tax rate for the unit or otherwise governs its affairs. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) At the written request of the owners of not less than 10 percent of the number of accounts or parcels of property in an appraisal district belonging to a single class of property, if the class constitutes at least five percent of the appraised value of taxable property within the district in the preceding year, or at the written request of the owners of property representing not less than 10 percent of the appraised value of all property in the district belonging to a single class of property, if the class constitutes at least five percent of the appraised value of taxable property in the district in the preceding year, the comptroller shall audit the performance of the appraisal district. The property owners may request a general audit of the performance of the appraisal district or may request an audit of only one or more particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other appraisal district matters. A property owner may authorize an agent to sign a request for an audit under this subsection on the property owner’s behalf. The comptroller may require a person signing a request for an audit to provide proof that the person is entitled to sign the request as a property owner or as the agent of a property owner.
(d) A request for a performance audit of an appraisal district may not be made under Subsection (b) or (c) if according to each of the two most recently published studies conducted by the comptroller under § 5.10:
(1) the overall median level of appraisal for all property in the district for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal is more than 0.90 and less than 1.10;
(2) the coefficient of dispersion around the overall median level of appraisal of the properties used to determine the overall median level of appraisal for all property in the district for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal is less than 0.15; and
(3) the difference between the highest and lowest median levels of appraisal in the district for the classes of property for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal is less than 0.20.
(e) A request for a performance audit of an appraisal district may not be made under Subsection (b) or (c):
(1) during the two years immediately following the publication of the second of two consecutive studies according to which the comptroller is required to conduct an audit of the district under Subsection (a);
(2) during the year immediately following the date the results of an audit of the district conducted by the comptroller under Subsection (a) are reported to the chief appraiser of the district; or
(3) during a year in which the comptroller is conducting a review of the district under § 5.102.
(f) For purposes of this section, “class of property” means a major kind of property for which the comptroller determines a median level of appraisal under § 5.10 of this code.
(g) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 288, Sec. 11, eff. January 1, 2010.
(h) In addition to the performance audits required by Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and the review of appraisal standards required by § 5.102, the comptroller may audit an appraisal district to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of the policies, management, and operations of the appraisal district. The results of the audit shall be delivered in a report that details the comptroller’s findings and recommendations for improvement to the appraisal district’s chief appraiser and board of directors and the governing body of each taxing unit participating in the appraisal district. The comptroller may require reimbursement by the appraisal district for some or all of the costs of the audit, not to exceed the actual costs associated with conducting the audit.