2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · House bill

HB2730

HB2730 adds safeguards before a chief appraiser can require someone already receiving a Tax Code Section 11.13 residence-homestead exemption to reapply or confirm current eligibility.

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Official caption: Relating to the authority of the chief appraiser of an appraisal district to require a person allowed an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a residence homestead to file a new application or confirm the person's current qualification for the exemption.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists House author(s): Darby, Noble, Landgraf, Raymond, Metcalf. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

HB2730 adds safeguards before a chief appraiser can require someone already receiving a Tax Code Section 11.13 residence-homestead exemption to reapply or confirm current eligibility.
The appraiser must first do all three things: have reason to believe the person no longer qualifies; attempt to determine whether the person still qualifies; and deliver written notice with an appropriate application form explaining both the concern and its specific reason.
This is not a new dollar exemption or a rule that homeowners can ignore every eligibility notice.
The law retains the existing special protections referenced for older homeowners and certain permanently totally disabled veterans.

Read the full explanation ↓

What does it do?

HB2730 adds safeguards before a chief appraiser can require someone already receiving a Tax Code Section 11.13 residence-homestead exemption to reapply or confirm current eligibility. It took effect May 24, 2025. Final law

The appraiser must first do all three things: have reason to believe the person no longer qualifies; attempt to determine whether the person still qualifies; and deliver written notice with an appropriate application form explaining both the concern and its specific reason. The eligibility check may include searching the Department of Public Safety driver’s-license database; that particular search is permitted, not mandatory in every case.

This is not a new dollar exemption or a rule that homeowners can ignore every eligibility notice. Existing exemptions generally continue without annual applications until ownership or qualification changes. The law restricts demands for a fresh application or confirmation for Section 11.13 exemptions; it does not guarantee an exemption to someone who no longer qualifies, remove the owner’s duty to report the end of entitlement, or abolish appraisal-district reviews. The existing statute still requires a program reviewing homestead exemptions at least once every five tax years.

The law retains the existing special protections referenced for older homeowners and certain permanently totally disabled veterans. Those protections have their own scope and exceptions; HB2730 does not replace them with one universal cancellation rule.

What changed along the way?

The filed bill and House committee text required a reason to question eligibility and a specific written notice. Darby’s adopted House amendment added the intervening duty to attempt an eligibility determination, including the optional driver’s-license database search. It also replaced a fixed September 1 start with an immediate-effect clause if the vote threshold was met.

The history, text index, and amendment index show that sole amendment survived and no later substantive change occurred. The act also directs harmonization with the session’s nonsubstantive code-corrections legislation.

The House passed it 141–0, with one present but not voting; the Senate passed it 31–0. The governor signed it May 24. Because the immediate-effect threshold was met, September 1 was only the fallback date.

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

Homeowners can avoid unsupported reapplication demands and receive a specific explanation when eligibility is questioned. Appraisal districts must attempt to check eligibility before shifting that burden to the homeowner, while retaining responsibility for removing exemptions that no longer qualify.

The May 2 fiscal note, which includes the added checking step, anticipates no significant state or local fiscal effect. It does not estimate a household tax saving or promise that every homeowner’s exemption will continue.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.