Sec. 41.66. HEARING PROCEDURES. (a) The appraisal review board shall establish by rule the procedures for hearings it conducts as provided by Subchapters A and C of this chapter. On request made by a property owner in the owner's notice of protest or in a separate writing delivered to the appraisal review board on or before the date the notice of protest is filed, the property owner is entitled to a copy of the hearing procedures. The copy of the hearing procedures shall be delivered to the property owner not later than the 10th day before the date the hearing on the protest begins and may be delivered with the notice of the protest hearing required under Section 41.46(a). The notice of protest form prescribed by the comptroller under Section 41.44(d) or any other notice of protest form made available to a property owner by the appraisal review board or the appraisal office shall provide the property owner an opportunity to make or decline to make a request under this subsection. The appraisal review board shall post a copy of the hearing procedures in a prominent place in the room in which the hearing is held.

(b) Hearing procedures to the greatest extent practicable shall be informal. Each party to a hearing is entitled to offer evidence, examine or cross-examine witnesses or other parties, and present argument on the matters subject to the hearing. A property owner who is a party to a protest is entitled to elect to present the owner's case at a hearing on the protest either before or after the appraisal district presents the district's case.

(c) A property owner who is entitled as provided by this chapter to appear at a hearing may appear by himself or by his agent. A taxing unit may appear by a designated agent.

(d) Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), hearings conducted as provided by this chapter are open to the public.

(d-1) Notwithstanding Chapter 551, Government Code, the appraisal review board shall conduct a hearing that is closed to the public if the property owner or the chief appraiser intends to disclose proprietary or confidential information at the hearing that will assist the review board in determining the protest. The review board may hold a closed hearing under this subsection only on a joint motion by the property owner and the chief appraiser.

(d-2) Information described by Subsection (d-1) is considered information obtained under Section 22.27.

(e) The appraisal review board may not consider any appraisal district information on a protest that was not presented to the appraisal review board during the protest hearing.

(f) A member of the appraisal review board may not communicate with another person concerning:

(1) the evidence, argument, facts, merits, or any other matters related to an owner's protest, except during the hearing on the protest; or

(2) a property that is the subject of the protest, except during a hearing on another protest or other proceeding before the board at which the property is compared to other property or used in a sample of properties.

(g) At the beginning of a hearing on a protest, each member of the appraisal review board hearing the protest must sign an affidavit stating that the board member has not communicated with another person in violation of Subsection (f). If a board member has communicated with another person in violation of Subsection (f), the member must be recused from the proceeding and may not hear, deliberate on, or vote on the determination of the protest. The board of directors of the appraisal district shall adopt and implement a policy concerning the temporary replacement of an appraisal review board member who has communicated with another person in violation of Subsection (f).

(h) The appraisal review board shall postpone a hearing on a protest if the property owner or the designated agent of the owner requests additional time to prepare for the hearing and establishes to the board that the chief appraiser failed to comply with Section 41.461. The board is not required to postpone a hearing more than one time under this subsection.

(i) A hearing on a protest filed by a property owner or the designated agent of the owner shall be set for a time and date certain. If the hearing is not commenced within two hours of the time set for the hearing, the appraisal review board shall postpone the hearing on the request of the property owner or the designated agent of the owner.

(j) On the request of a property owner or the designated agent of the owner, an appraisal review board shall schedule hearings on protests concerning up to 20 designated properties to be held consecutively on the same day. The designated properties must be identified in the same notice of protest, and the notice must contain in boldfaced type the statement "request for same-day protest hearings." A property owner or the designated agent of the owner may file more than one request under this subsection with the appraisal review board in the same tax year. The appraisal review board may schedule hearings on protests concerning more than 20 properties filed by the same property owner or the designated agent of the owner and may use different panels to conduct the hearings based on the board's customary scheduling. The appraisal review board may follow the practices customarily used by the board in the scheduling of hearings under this subsection.

(j-1) An appraisal review board may schedule the hearings on all protests filed by a property owner or the designated agent of the owner to be held consecutively. The notice of the hearings must state the date and time that the first hearing will begin, state the date the last hearing will end, and list the order in which the hearings will be held. The order of the hearings listed in the notice may not be changed without the agreement of the property owner or the designated agent of the owner, the chief appraiser, and the appraisal review board. The board may not reschedule a hearing for which notice is given under this subsection to a date earlier than the seventh day after the date the last hearing was scheduled to end unless agreed to by the property owner or the designated agent of the owner, the chief appraiser, and the appraisal review board. Unless agreed to by the parties, the board must provide written notice of the date and time of the rescheduled hearing to the property owner or the designated agent of the owner not later than the seventh day before the date of the hearing.

(j-2) An appraisal review board must schedule a hearing on a protest filed by a property owner who is 65 years of age or older, disabled, a military service member, a military veteran, or the spouse of a military service member or military veteran before scheduling a hearing on a protest filed by a designated agent of a property owner.

Text of subsection effective until September 01, 2020

(k) If an appraisal review board sits in panels to conduct protest hearings, protests shall be randomly assigned to panels, except that the board may consider the type of property subject to the protest or the ground of the protest for the purpose of using the expertise of a particular panel in hearing protests regarding particular types of property or based on particular grounds. If a protest is scheduled to be heard by a particular panel, the protest may not be reassigned to another panel without the consent of the property owner or designated agent. If the appraisal review board has cause to reassign a protest to another panel, a property owner or designated agent may agree to reassignment of the protest or may request that the hearing on the protest be postponed. The board shall postpone the hearing on that request. A change of members of a panel because of a conflict of interest, illness, or inability to continue participating in hearings for the remainder of the day does not constitute reassignment of a protest to another panel.

Text of subsection effective on September 01, 2020

(k) This subsection does not apply to a special panel established under Section 6.425. If an appraisal review board sits in panels to conduct protest hearings, protests shall be randomly assigned to panels, except that the board may consider the type of property subject to the protest or the ground of the protest for the purpose of using the expertise of a particular panel in hearing protests regarding particular types of property or based on particular grounds. If a protest is scheduled to be heard by a particular panel, the protest may not be reassigned to another panel without the consent of the property owner or the designated agent of the owner. If the appraisal review board has cause to reassign a protest to another panel, a property owner or the designated agent of the owner may agree to reassignment of the protest or may request that the hearing on the protest be postponed. The board shall postpone the hearing on that request. A change of members of a panel because of a conflict of interest, illness, or inability to continue participating in hearings for the remainder of the day does not constitute reassignment of a protest to another panel.

Text of subsection effective on September 01, 2020

(k-1) On the request of a property owner or the designated agent of the owner, an appraisal review board to which Section 6.425 applies shall assign a protest relating to property described by Section 6.425(b) to a special panel. In addition, the chairman of the appraisal review board may assign a protest relating to property not described by Section 6.425(b) to a special panel as authorized by Section 6.425(f), but only if the assignment is requested or consented to by the property owner or the designated agent of the owner. Protests assigned to special panels shall be randomly assigned to those panels. If a protest is scheduled to be heard by a particular special panel, the protest may not be reassigned to another special panel without the consent of the property owner or the designated agent of the owner. If the board has cause to reassign a protest to another special panel, a property owner or the designated agent of the owner may agree to reassignment of the protest or may request that the hearing on the protest be postponed. The board shall postpone the hearing on that request. A change of members of a special panel because of a conflict of interest, illness, or inability to continue participating in hearings for the remainder of the day does not constitute reassignment of a protest to another special panel.

(l) A property owner, attorney, or agent offering evidence or argument in support of a protest brought under Section 41.41(a)(1) or (2) of this code is not subject to Chapter 1103, Occupations Code, unless the person offering the evidence or argument states that the person is offering evidence or argument as a person holding a license or certificate under Chapter 1103, Occupations Code. A person holding a license or certificate under Chapter 1103, Occupations Code, shall state the capacity in which the person is appearing before the appraisal review board.

(m) An appraisal district or appraisal review board may not make decisions with regard to membership on a panel or chairmanship of a panel based on a member's voting record in previous protests.

(n) A request for postponement of a hearing must contain the mailing address and e-mail address of the person requesting the postponement. An appraisal review board shall respond in writing or by e-mail to a request for postponement of a hearing not later than the seventh day after the date of receipt of the request.

(o) The chairman of an appraisal review board or a member designated by the chairman may make decisions with regard to the scheduling or postponement of a hearing. The chief appraiser or a person designated by the chief appraiser may agree to a postponement of an appraisal review board hearing.

(p) At the end of a hearing on a protest, the appraisal review board shall provide the property owner or the designated agent of the owner one or more documents indicating that the members of the board hearing the protest signed the affidavit required by Subsection (g).

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2308, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 173, ch. 13, Sec. 145, eff. Jan. 1, 1982; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 796, Sec. 39, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 364, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 836, Sec. 3.2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 14, Sec. 8.01(23), eff. Nov. 12, 1991.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 728 (H.B. 2018), Sec. 19.001, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1035 (H.B. 2792), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2013.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1259 (H.B. 585), Sec. 22, eff. January 1, 2014.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 939 (S.B. 1767), Sec. 2, eff. January 1, 2018.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 2), Sec. 66, eff. January 1, 2020.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 2), Sec. 66, eff. September 1, 2020.