Appraisal Review Boards

Tax Code Section 6.41(d) requires the local administrative district judge in the county in which the appraisal district is established to appoint ARB members. In counties with a consolidated ARB, the local administrative district judges in the counties jointly appoint the ARB members.

Tax Code Section 6.41(b-2) requires appraisal district boards of directors in counties with a population of 1 million or more to increase the number of ARB members to allow certain complex property protests to be referred to special ARB panels. Special panel ARB members must meet the following qualifications to be appointed to special ARB panels:

• hold a law degree;
• hold a master of business administration degree;
• be licensed as a certified public accountant;
• be accredited by the American Society of Appraisers;
• possess a MAI designation;
• possess a certified assessment evaluator designation;
• have at least ten years of experience in property tax appraisal or consulting; or
• be licensed as a real estate broker or sales agent.

If an ARB needs special panel members but does not have enough qualified applicants, a special panel ARB member may be appointed who holds a bachelor's degree in any field.

Tax Code Section 6.425(b)(1) and (2) requires a property to meet two criteria to be eligible for a protest hearing in front of a special panel.

1. The property is classified as:
• commercial real and personal property;
• real and personal property of utilities;
• industrial and manufacturing real and personal property; or
• multifamily residential real property.
2. The property's appraised value as determined by the appraisal district is greater than or equal to the minimum eligibility amount as determined by the Comptroller's office and published in the chart below. The chart below shows the minimum eligibility amount adjusted each year to reflect inflation.

Tax Code Section 5.103(a) requires the Comptroller's office to prepare model ARB hearing procedures. Tax Code Sections 5.103(d) and 41.01(c) require the ARB to adopt hearing procedures that incorporate the Comptroller's model hearing procedures.

The model hearing procedures address specific matters required by Tax Code Section 5.103. An ARB may include supplemental procedures in its local hearing procedures regarding legal and administrative matters that are not addressed by the model procedures. The local procedures, however, may not contradict, negate or otherwise substantively change the model procedures. ARBs should seek advice from legal counsel in establishing local hearing procedures.

Not later than May 15, the ARB must hold a public meeting to discuss its proposed hearing procedures prior to adoption. The ARB must send a copy of the adopted procedures to the appraisal district board of directors, the taxpayer liaison officer and the Comptroller's office (ptad.arb@cpa.texas.gov) within 15 days of adoption and post the adopted procedures in each hearing room and on the appraisal district website.

In compliance with Tax Code Section 5.104, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts provides a survey as a reasonable opportunity for the following persons who attended appraisal review board (ARB) hearings to offer comments and suggestions concerning the ARB:

• property owners who have property the subject of the protest;
• property owner designated agents; or
• appraisal district designated representatives.

The survey is intended to capture information concerning the performance of ARB panels and full ARBs, but not the results of protest hearings. One survey should be completed per hearing conducted by a single ARB panel or the full ARB in a single day, whether concerning one account or several accounts and whether the accounts are related to the same property or not. Persons participating in protest hearings before the same ARB panel or full ARB on several days may complete one survey on each day. Persons participating in multiple protest hearings before different ARB panels are allowed to complete one survey for each panel in a single day.

Survey respondents may submit the surveys directly to the Comptroller's Property Tax Assistance Division (PTAD) and are no longer required to complete surveys at the appraisal district office.

• Electronic Responses: Survey respondents may elect to complete the Comptroller's survey electronically at the appraisal district office at a designated computer as those responses are collected directly by PTAD or through using the URL listed on the ARB survey form: surveymonkey.com/r/surveyarb,
• Paper Responses: Paper copies of the survey with responses may be delivered to PTAD in person at the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) State Office Building, 111 East 17th Street, 11th floor, Austin, TX 78701, dial 4-6586 using the phone at the front desk and wait for a PTAD staff to pick up or by mail at Attn: PTAD, P.O. Box 13528, Austin, Texas 78711-3528.
• Email Responses: Paper surveys with responses may be emailed to PTAD at ptad.communications@cpa.texas.gov.

Tax Code Section 6.052 requires appraisal districts in counties with populations of more than 120,000 to appoint taxpayer liaison officers.

The appraisal district board of directors appoints the taxpayer liaison officer, who serves at the pleasure of that board. Chief appraisers or other persons who perform appraisal or legal services for appraisal districts for compensation are not eligible to be taxpayer liaison officers.

The primary responsibilities for taxpayer liaison officers are to administer public access functions; resolve disputes; handle ARB complaints, comments and suggestions; provide public information; present reports to the board of directors; and assist the local administrative district law judge.

Taxpayer liaison officers may be called upon to assist ARBs in preparing local hearing procedures based on the Comptroller's model hearing procedures and Tax Code Section 6.052 requires taxpayer liaison officers to assist taxpayers, agents, and any member of the public with the Comptroller's ARB Survey.

Taxpayer liaison officers are responsible for receiving and compiling a list of comments, complaints and suggestions filed by chief appraisers, property owners or their agents concerning matters listed in the ARB's hearing procedures or any other matter related to the fairness and efficiency of the ARB. The taxpayer liaison officer must forward to the Comptroller's office all comments and suggestions received outside of the Comptroller's electronic ARB survey no later than December 31 of each year. The comments must be entered verbatim using the Comptroller's template.