HBA-EDN H.B. 3367 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3367 By: Hamric Public Education 4/30/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current tax provisions provide benefits to homeowners occupying a home as their principal residence if the individual is over 65 years of age or is disabled. However, not all such benefits apply to both disabled individuals and individuals over 65 years of age. Disabled homeowners do not qualify for as many property tax benefits as do homeowners over 65 years of age even though their economic circumstances are often very similar. One such difference is that homeowners over 65 years of age are entitled to a limitation on the amount of school district ad valorem taxes that can be imposed on the residence homestead while disabled homeowners are not. Homeowners over 65 years of age and disabled individuals should be entitled to the same tax benefits since the primary purpose of limiting the property taxes of both groups is to allow these individuals to remain in their homes when they might not otherwise be able to do so. House Bill 3367 extends the residential homestead tax limitation on school district ad valorem taxes to disabled homeowners. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3367 amends the Tax and Government codes to prohibit a school district from increasing the total annual amount of ad valorem tax imposed on the residence homestead of an individual who is disabled above the amount of the tax imposed in the first tax year in which the individual qualified that residence homestead for a tax exemption due to the individual's disability. The bill applies provisions regarding a residential homestead tax limitation on school district ad valorem taxes for persons over 65 to disabled individuals and sets forth provisions regarding qualifying a residence homestead. EFFECTIVE DATE January 1, 2002. This Act takes effect only if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 77th Legislature prohibiting an increase in the total amount of school district ad valorem taxes that may be imposed on the residence homestead of a disabled person is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, the Act has no effect.