HB3093

HB3093 changes tax-rate calculations for taxing units located wholly or partly in a Gulf of Mexico county with fewer than 500,000 people. It excludes qualifying disputed taxable value from the “current total value” used in the calculations. It does not erase the property from the tax roll, decide an appraisal appeal, or automatically reduce anyone’s tax bill. Final law.

The exclusion concerns filed or intended court appeals by a property owner or associated businesses, including subsidiaries, over appraisal-review-board decisions on property value. At least one property involved must satisfy both tests: its prior-year taxable value was among the 20 highest in its appraisal district, and its current-year taxable value is more than 125% of its uncontested taxable value. The qualifying litigation can involve multiple parcels; the excluded amount is the contested portion of the aggregate value of property in the taxing unit included in that litigation, not every property the owner owns.

“Contested taxable value” is the difference between the current taxable value and the value the owner asserts in the appeal—or a good-faith estimate of the value the owner will assert if the appeal has not yet been filed. Current value comes from the review-board order, or, if no order has issued, the most recent appraisal notice. The balance is called uncontested value for this rate-calculation purpose.

Deadlines and submissions: By July 1, each affected taxing unit’s designated official must notify owners of properties meeting the prior-year top-20 test that the requirements may apply. An owner or associated business intending a qualifying appeal must provide each affected taxing unit with the total uncontested value of the covered property in that unit and a written statement of intent to pay tax on that amount. Submission is due by the earlier of August 7 or the 21st day after the first protest hearing for any property included in the litigation.

Public documentation: Tax-rate calculation forms must support an addendum containing evidence for the exclusion and the owners’ payment-intent statements. The addendum accompanies the forms sent to county assessor-collectors, posted on county websites and incorporated into appraisal-district property-tax databases. The chief appraiser must make the database information and forms, including applicable addenda, public by the third business day after incorporation. The reported “uncontested” value may be used only to calculate the rate; it is not an admission that the value is undisputed in the court appeal. Separate appeal and payment requirements still matter. Court-appeal payment statute.

The act became law without the governor’s signature on May 24, 2025, with immediate effect. Because it received the necessary votes, its changes apply beginning with the 2025 tax year, not the fallback 2026 date. Official history.