Sec. 42.221. CONSOLIDATED APPEALS FOR MULTICOUNTY PROPERTY. (a) The owner of property of a telecommunications provider, as defined by Section 51.002, Utilities Code, or the owner of property regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas, the federal Surface Transportation Board, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that runs through or operates in more than one county and is appraised by more than one appraisal district may appeal an order of an appraisal review board relating to the property running through or operating in more than one county to the district court of any county in which a portion of the property is located or operated if the order relating to that portion of the property is appealed.

(b) A petition for review of each appraisal review board order under this section must be filed with the court as provided by Section 42.21.

(c) If only one appeal by the owner of property subject to this section is pending before the court in an appeal from the decision of an appraisal review board of a district other than the appraisal district for that county, any party to the suit may, not earlier than the 30th day before and not later than the 10th day before the date set for the hearing, make a motion to transfer the suit to a district court of the county in which the appraisal review board from which the appeal is taken is located. In the absence of a showing that further appeals under this section will be filed, the court shall transfer the suit.

(d) When the owner files the first petition for review under this section for a tax year, the owner shall include with the petition a list of each appraisal district in which the property is appraised for taxation in that tax year.

(e) The court shall consolidate all the appeals for a tax year relating to a single property subject to this section for which a petition for review is filed with the court and may consolidate other appeals relating to other property subject to this section of the same owner if the property is located in one or more of the counties on the list required by Subsection (d). Except as provided by this subsection, on the motion of the owner of a property subject to this section the court shall grant a continuance to provide the owner with an opportunity to include in the proceeding appeals of appraisal review board orders from additional appraisal districts. The court may not grant a continuance to include an appeal of an appraisal review board order that relates to a property subject to this section in that tax year after the time for filing a petition for review of that order has expired.

(f) This section does not affect the property owner's right to file a petition for review of an individual appraisal district's order relating to a property subject to this section in the district court in the county in which the appraisal review board is located.

(g) On a joint motion or the separate motions of at least 60 percent of the appraisal districts that are defendants in a consolidated suit filed before the 45th day after the date on which the property owner's petitions for review of the appraisal review board orders relating to a property subject to this section for that tax year must be filed, the court shall transfer the suit to a district court of the county named in the motion or motions if that county is one in which one of the appraisal review boards from which an appeal was taken is located.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 667, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993 and Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 1033, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1041, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1141 (S.B. 287), Sec. 3, eff. June 19, 2015.