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.

Contracts

• Tax Consultant MSAs: Review agreements with third-party property tax agents. Ensure you are not paying hourly rates for agents to respond to generic, non-compliant CAD audit letters.
• Lease/Occupancy Agreements: For properties held in trust or by Family Offices, ensure occupancy agreements explicitly align with homestead definitions to withstand specific scrutiny.

Hiring/Training

• Mail Triage Protocols: Train administrative staff to stop automatically processing "Application for Residence Homestead Exemption" forms. These must now be flagged for legal review to ensure the CAD provided the statutory "specific reason."
• Data Hygiene: Staff must verify that the principal’s Texas Driver’s License or ID card address matches the homestead address exactly, as CADs will likely use DPS database mismatches as their primary "specific reason" to trigger audits.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Notice Retention: You must retain the initial notice from the CAD. If an exemption is later revoked, this document is your primary evidence to challenge the revocation based on procedural non-compliance (i.e., failure to state a specific reason).

Fees & Costs

• Cost Impact: Positive/Neutral. This legislation should reduce administrative costs associated with routine compliance. There are no new statutory fees.