Select Committee On Property Tax Reform; Ways To Engage the Public

The committee also discussed social and digital media as a way to help local governments more effectively communicate property tax issues to the community…

By Aurora Flores

The Select Committee on Property Tax Reform, chaired by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), held its second meeting in September at the Capitol to hear interim charges. There were three major topics that the committee focused on during the hearing.

Voter participation in the tax rate setting process was the first item discussed. Invited testimony included councilmembers and municipal personnel from various cities along with other organizations that are currently utilizing social media for voter engagement.

The committee discussed possible ways in which a person could oppose a tax rate that a local entity sets online, with the result bringing about a way to have that opposition or support reflected in the record of the local government. 

The committee also discussed social and digital media as a way to help local governments more effectively communicate property tax issues to the community. One issue that Bettencourt mentioned repeatedly was placing all elections on the November election date instead of alternative dates as a way to increase voter participation. 
 
On the second charge, the select committee heard testimony from the State Comptroller of Public Accounts and several central appraisal districts on collection methods for property tax and appraisal district information and how to disseminate that information. The discussion involved aggregating all property tax information online in a format that is easy to access and read, and the role the comptroller plays in collecting and disseminating that property tax information. 

The Travis County Appraisal District’s website was mentioned for its real-time information and was referred to as a model for legislation going forward. Bettencourt also discussed the confusion caused by the current formats of the appraisal notice and the tax notice that property taxpayers receive. 

Regarding the last charge on appraisal review board (ARB) reform, the committee seeks separation between the ARB and the appraisal district employees. The panel of witnesses and the committee discussed members of the ARB being elected with the pros and cons of that system including conflicts of interests and the number of people that may be included on a ballot.

The Select Committee on Property Tax Reform should hold at least one more hearing prior to the beginning of the 86th legislative session in January 2019.

This article originally published by Texas Association of Counties.