Does a Texas state agency's property appraiser have to register with the same board that licenses local appraisal-district appraisers?

Texas AG Opinion JM-1008: Must the State's Own Property Appraisers Register With the Licensing Board?

Plain-English summary

Texas licenses the people who value property for local property taxes. The Board of Tax Professional Examiners registers and certifies appraisers, assessors, and collectors who work for appraisal districts and taxing units, the idea being that the people who decide what your house is worth for tax purposes should be competent and accountable. The head of that licensing board had a question about a different set of appraisers: the field appraisers employed by the State Property Tax Board, the state agency that (at the time) oversaw and checked the work of the local appraisal districts. Those state appraisers ran annual studies comparing local appraisal values against sales data. Did they have to register too?

The Attorney General said no. The registration statute, article 7244b, is aimed at the people who actually do the appraising, assessing, or collecting for an appraisal district or a taxing unit. The state board's field appraisers were not doing that. Their job was to study and grade the local offices: run the value studies that tell the state how accurate a district's appraisals are, provide technical assistance on request, and conduct performance audits. That is oversight of the appraisal process, not participation in it, so it fell outside the registration requirement.

The opinion walked through each duty the State Property Tax Board carried by law to make the point. Under the Tax Code the board could provide technical assistance to appraisal districts (section 5.08), had to run annual ratio studies measuring how uniform and how accurate each district's appraisals were (section 5.10), and could conduct performance audits of districts when enough taxing units or property owners asked for one (section 5.12). Under the Education Code the board had to run an annual study of the total taxable value of property in each school district (section 11.86), a figure the Commissioner of Education then used to set each district's share of state school funding. In every case the board's employees were measuring or auditing the work of others, not appraising property for a district or taxing unit. The one exception the opinion flagged was chapter 24 of the Tax Code, under which some board employees do appraise the intangible value of certain transportation businesses and railroad rolling stock and certify those values; those employees did register, and correctly so. The field appraisers who only ran studies did not fit that mold.

The Attorney General also leaned on why the legislature passed article 7244b in the first place. The stated purpose was to assure the public that property assessment is entrusted only to registered, competent people and to make the assessing of property a regulated profession accountable to the public. The 1977 bill that created the board and the 1981 amendment that broadened the definitions were both aimed at the people doing local ad valorem taxation. On top of that, the Texas Constitution (article VIII, section 23) flatly prohibits statewide appraisal of real property, which reinforces that the state board's role is oversight, not appraisal. The opinion admitted there was something odd about requiring the local appraisers to register while exempting the state appraisers whose studies are used to judge them, but concluded that any such anomaly is the legislature's to fix, not the Attorney General's.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1989. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The Texas property-tax administration described here has changed substantially since 1989. The State Property Tax Board was later abolished and its functions moved to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, which now conducts the property-value study and related oversight of appraisal districts. The Board of Tax Professional Examiners was itself later abolished and its registration and certification functions transferred to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Article 7244b, V.T.C.S., and many of the Tax Code and Education Code sections cited here have since been amended, recodified, or renumbered (the school-finance provisions in particular have been overhauled several times). Anyone dealing with who must register as a property tax professional today should consult the current Occupations Code and Tax Code provisions and the current agency rules rather than the 1989 statutes here.

Who this opinion affected (as of 1989)

The State Property Tax Board and its field appraisers: The opinion confirmed that appraisers who conducted the annual value and ratio studies did not have to register with or be certified by the BTPE, even though board employees who appraise transportation and railroad property under chapter 24 did register.

The Board of Tax Professional Examiners: The opinion told the licensing board that its registration reach stopped at persons who appraise, assess, or collect for appraisal districts and taxing units, and did not extend to the state agency evaluating those local offices.

Appraisal districts, taxing units, and school districts: The opinion clarified that the state appraisers whose studies were used to grade local performance operated under a different legal footing than the local appraisers who were subject to registration.

Common questions

Did Texas require the state's own property appraisers to be licensed like local ones?
No. In this opinion the Attorney General concluded that the State Property Tax Board's field appraisers, who ran the annual value and ratio studies, were not required to register with the Board of Tax Professional Examiners.

Why were the local appraisers required to register but not the state ones?
The registration law targeted people who actually appraise, assess, or collect taxes for an appraisal district or taxing unit. The state appraisers studied and audited the local offices rather than appraising property for them, so they fell outside the statute.

Were any State Property Tax Board employees required to register?
Yes. Board employees who appraised the intangible value of certain transportation businesses and railroad rolling stock under chapter 24 of the Tax Code, and certified those values, did register, because that work fit the statute's definition.

Did the Attorney General think the exemption made sense?
He acknowledged it might seem anomalous to exempt the state appraisers whose studies are used to judge local appraisal districts while requiring the local appraisers to register, but he said correcting any such anomaly was up to the legislature.

Background and statutory framework

Article 7244b, V.T.C.S., the Property Taxation Professional Certification Act, created the Board of Tax Professional Examiners (section 4) and charged it with insuring strict compliance with and enforcing the act (section 7). Section 11 lists the persons who must register: (1) chief appraisers, appraisal supervisors and assistants, property tax appraisers, appraisal engineers, and other persons with authority to render judgment on, recommend, or certify appraised values to the appraisal review board of an appraisal district; (2) the tax assessor-collector, tax collector, or other chief administrator of a taxing unit's assessment or collection functions, and certain other persons the chief administrator requires to register; and (3) all persons engaged in appraisals of real or personal property for ad valorem tax purposes for an appraisal district or a taxing unit. Section 15 requires an applicant to be actively engaged in appraisal, assessment, or collection for a taxing unit. Section 2(1) defines "appraisal" as the functions described in chapters 23 and 25 of the Tax Code that are performed by employees of political subdivisions or by persons acting on behalf of political subdivisions and that involve an estimate or opinion of the value of a property interest.

The Tax Code created the State Property Tax Board and gave it a range of duties. Section 5.08 authorized the board to provide professional and technical assistance to appraisal districts and appraisal review boards on request. Section 5.10 required the board to conduct an annual ratio study in each appraisal district to determine the uniformity and median level of appraisals, and to publish and distribute the findings. Section 5.12 authorized the board, on request of a majority of participating taxing units or of enough property owners, to conduct general or limited performance audits of appraisal districts, reporting on compliance with law, uniformity and level of appraisal, efficiency, and personnel qualifications. Chapters 41 and 42 of the Tax Code give aggrieved taxpayers and taxing units remedies through the appraisal review board and the courts (for example, section 41.03 lets a taxing unit challenge the level of appraisals, and section 41.41 lets a taxpayer protest unequal appraisal). Under chapter 24, the board itself appraises the intangible value of certain transportation businesses and railroad rolling stock and certifies apportioned values to county tax assessor-collectors; board employees who perform that work register under subsection 11(1). Under Education Code section 11.86, the board had to conduct an annual study of the total taxable value of property in each school district, with findings used by the Commissioner of Education to set each district's local fund assignment under the Foundation School Program (Education Code section 16.252).

The Attorney General concluded that, with the chapter 24 exception, the Tax Code does not require State Property Tax Board employees to perform the actual functions of appraising, assessing, or collecting; their studies and audits are means of evaluating the professional performance of appraisal districts and taxing units. They therefore fall outside subsections 11(1) and 11(3) of article 7244b. Even reading section 11 as ambiguous, the legislative intent was clear: section 1 states the purpose of assuring that property assessment is entrusted only to registered, competent persons and of regulating property assessment as a learned profession accountable to the public. The bill analysis for Senate Bill 67 (65th Legislature, 1977) described the act as regulating persons engaged in the assessment of property for ad valorem taxation, and House Bill 2189 (67th Legislature, 1981) amended the definitions to reach persons performing appraisal, assessment, and collection functions regardless of title. Article VIII, section 23 of the Texas Constitution provides that there shall be no statewide appraisal of real property for ad valorem tax purposes. The Attorney General recognized the apparent anomaly of exempting the state board's appraisers while requiring local ones to register, but held that any such anomaly is a matter for the legislature.

Citations

Statutory authority:

• Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. art. 7244b (Property Taxation Professional Certification Act), § 1 (purpose); § 2(1) (definition of "appraisal"); § 4 (creation of the board); § 7 (enforcement duty); § 11 (persons required to register); § 15 (applicant qualifications)
• Tax Code § 5.08 (technical assistance to appraisal districts); § 5.10 (annual ratio studies); § 5.12 (performance audits of appraisal districts); § 41.03 (taxing-unit challenges); § 41.41 (taxpayer protests); chapters 23, 24, 25, 41, 42
• Education Code § 11.86 (annual school-district value study); § 16.252 (local fund assignment)
• Tex. Const. art. VIII, § 23 (no statewide appraisal of real property)

Cases:

• None cited.

Related opinions:

• None cited.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-1008
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1989/jm1008.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor OCR errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

January 16, 1989

Mr. Sam H. Smith
Executive Director
Board of Tax Professional Examiners
P.O. Box 15920
Austin, Texas 78761-5920

Opinion No. JM-1008

Re: Whether appraisers employed by the State Property Tax Board must register with the Board of Tax Professional Examiners (RQ-1495)

Dear Mr. Smith:

Article 7244b, V.T.C.S., the Property Taxation Professional Certification Act, creates the Board of Tax Professional Examiners [hereinafter the BTPE], V.T.C.S. art. 7244b, § 4, and reposes in the BTPE the duty, inter alia, to "insure strict compliance with and enforce all provisions of this Act." Id. § 7. The act requires certain persons to register with the BTPE and to proceed toward certification. You ask whether field appraisers employed by the State Property Tax Board for the purpose of conducting the annual property value studies for appraisal districts and school districts must register with your board. We answer your question in the negative.

Section 11 of article 7244b, V.T.C.S., lists those persons who are required to register with the board:

(1) all chief appraisers, appraisal supervisors and assistants, property tax appraisers, appraisal engineers, and other persons with authority to render judgment on, recommend, or certify appraised values to the appraisal review board of an appraisal district;

(2) the tax assessor-collector, tax collector, or other person designated by the governing body of a taxing unit as the chief administrator of the unit's assessment functions, collections functions, or both; and other persons who perform assessment or collections functions for the unit whom the chief administrator of the unit's tax office requires to register; and

(3) all persons engaged in appraisals of real or personal property for ad valorem tax purposes for an appraisal district or a taxing unit. (Emphasis added.)

You point out that the act was passed prior to the addition of field appraisers to the staff of the State Property Tax Board and accordingly does not address directly whether these persons should register. Though you do not indicate which subsection of section 11 requires, in your opinion, the registration of the State Property Tax Board's field appraisers, we assume that you base your request upon either the underscored language of subsection (1) or subsection (3). In other words, we understand you to assert that, by virtue of the valuation and ratio studies that the State Property Tax Board annually conducts, the field appraisers of the State Property Tax Board are either "persons with authority to render judgment on, recommend, or certify appraised values to the appraisal review board of an appraisal district" or "persons engaged in appraisals of real or personal property for ad valorem tax purposes for an appraisal district or a taxing unit."

[Footnote 1: In addition, section 15 of the act sets forth the qualifications of applicants and provides: An applicant must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of the State of Texas, a person of good moral character and actively engaged in appraisal, assessment, or collection for a taxing unit. (Emphasis added.)]

[Footnote 2: Subchapter A of chapter 24 of the Tax Code confers on the State Property Tax Board the responsibility of appraising the intangible value of the transportation operation in this state of certain listed transportation businesses. Additionally, subchapter B of chapter 24 of the Tax Code confers on the State Property Tax Board the responsibility of appraising railroad rolling stock. The State Property Tax Board annually certifies to each county tax assessor-collector the property values, apportioned to each county, of the businesses appraised pursuant to chapter 24 that operate in each county. We have been informed that those employees of the State Property Tax Board who conduct such appraisals register with the BTPE pursuant to subsection (1) of section 11 because they are "persons with authority to render judgment on, recommend, or certify appraised values to the appraisal review board of an appraisal district." No other provisions of the code confer authority on employees of the State Property Tax Board to appraise property directly for appraisal districts or taxing units.]

The Tax Code created the State Property Tax Board and conferred upon it a wide variety of duties, most of which do not even arguably fall within the ambit of section 11 of article 7244b, V.T.C.S. We will turn to each Tax Code provision that does arguably fall within section 11 to examine whether that section confers authority on the State Property Tax Board or its employees to perform duties that would require persons performing those duties to register with the BTPE.

First, section 5.08 of the Tax Code authorizes the State Property Tax Board to provide certain assistance to appraisal districts and appraisal review boards:

(a) The board may provide professional and technical assistance on request in appraising property, installing or updating tax maps, purchasing equipment, developing record-keeping systems, or performing other appraisal activities. The board may also provide professional and technical assistance on request to an appraisal review board. The board may require reimbursement for the costs of providing the assistance.

(b) The board may provide information to and consult with persons actively engaged in appraising property for tax purposes about any matter relating to property taxation without charge.

Next, section 11.86 of the Education Code requires the State Property Tax Board to conduct an annual study to determine the total taxable value of property in each school district in the state. Subsection (a) of section 11.86 provides in part:

(a) The board shall conduct an annual study using comparable sales and other generally accepted techniques to determine the total value of all taxable property in each school district. The study shall determine the taxable value of all property and of each class of property within the district and the productivity value of all land that qualifies for appraisal on the basis of its productive capacity and for which the owner has applied for and received productivity appraisal. In conducting the study the board shall use appropriate standard valuation, statistical compilation, and analysis techniques.

Section 11.86 requires the State Property Tax Board to publish its preliminary findings, listing values by school district, and to deliver the findings to each school district. The section further confers on each school district a right of administrative appeal of the findings, as well as a right of appeal to a state district court, of the results of the administrative appeal. The findings of the State Property Tax Board are utilized by the Commissioner of Education in determining the local fund assignment under the Foundation School Program. See Educ. Code, § 16.252.

Next, section 5.10 of the Tax Code imposes on the State Property Tax Board the duty to conduct annually what are termed "ratio studies":

(a) The board shall conduct an annual study in each appraisal district to determine the degree of uniformity of and the median level of appraisals by the appraisal district within each major kind of property. The board shall publish a report of the findings of the study, including in the report the median levels of appraisal for each major kind of property, the coefficient of dispersion around the median level of appraisal for each major kind of property, and any other standard statistical measures that the board considers appropriate. In conducting the study, the board shall use appropriate standard statistical analysis techniques.

(b) The published findings of a ratio study conducted by the State Property Tax Board shall be distributed to all members of the legislature and to all appraisal districts.

We note here that chapters 41 and 42 of the Tax Code afford various remedies to both aggrieved taxpayers and aggrieved taxing units. For example, section 41.03 of the code permits a taxing unit to appear before an appraisal review board and challenge, inter alia, the level of appraisals of any category of property in the district or in any territory within the district. Section 41.41 of the Tax Code permits a taxpayer to appear before the appraisal review board and protest, inter alia, unequal appraisal of his property in comparison to the median level of appraisals of other property in the appraisal district.

Finally, section 5.12 of the Tax Code authorizes the State Property Tax Board, under certain circumstances, to conduct performance audits of appraisal districts that may comprise either "a general audit of the performance of the appraisal district" or "an audit of only one or more particular duties, practices, functions, departments, or other appraisal district matters," i.e. a limited audit. Tax Code, §§ 5.12(a), (b). Subsection (a) authorizes either the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing units participating in an appraisal district or a majority of the taxing units entitled to vote on the appointment of appraisal district directors to request an audit. Subsection (b) authorizes property owners under certain circumstances to request an audit.

[Footnote 3: Section 5.12 of the Tax Code specifically was made effective on January 1 of the first state fiscal year for which state funds are appropriated for funding the administration of the section. Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 860, § 3, at 2928. The legislature appropriated funds for the implementation of this section in the appropriations act adopted in 1987. Acts 1987, 70th Leg., 2d C.S., ch. 78, art. I, at 504.]

Subsection (c) of section 5.12 governs limited audits and provides in part:

The board may not be required to audit the financial condition of an appraisal district or to audit a district's tax collections. If the request is for an audit limited to one or more particular matters, the board's audit must be limited to those matters.

Subsection (d) governs general audits and provides:

In conducting a general audit, the board shall consider and report on:

(1) The extent to which the district complies with applicable law or generally accepted standards of appraisal or other relevant practice;

(2) the uniformity and level of appraisal of major kinds of property and the cause of any significant deviations from ideal uniformity and equality of appraisal of major kinds of property;

(3) duplication of effort and efficiency of operation;

(4) the general efficiency, quality of service, and qualification of appraisal district personnel; and

(5) except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c) of this section, any other matter included in the request for the audit.

The issue is whether the statutory duties of the State Property Tax Board fall within the ambit of section 11 of article 7244b, V.T.C.S.

First, section 2(1) of article 7244b, V.T.C.S., defines "appraisal" in the following way:

"Appraisal" means those functions described in Chapters 23 and 25, Tax Code, that are performed by employees of political subdivisions or by persons acting on behalf of political subdivisions and that involve an estimate or opinion of value of a property interest. (Emphasis added.)

See also id. § 2(2) (definition of "assessment"). Thus, subsection 11(3) applies to persons acting on behalf of political subdivisions who perform those functions described in chapters 23 and 25 of the Tax Code.

Section 5.08 of the Tax Code provides that employees of the State Property Tax Board, inter alia, may provide "technical assistance" to appraisal districts or appraisal review boards. Section 11.86 of the Education Code requires the State Property Tax Board to conduct annual ratio studies for purposes of allocating state and local funds for public school purposes. Section 5.10 of the Tax Code requires the State Property Tax Board to conduct ratio studies for each appraisal district, with the studies used by either aggrieved taxing units or aggrieved taxpayers seeking remedies for unlawful taxation. Section 5.12 of the Tax Code permits the State Property Tax Board to conduct "performance audits" of appraisal districts at the written request of either a majority of the taxing units participating in the appraisal district or a sufficient number of taxpayers in that district. In each instance, employees of the State Property Tax Board are required to perform certain services or conduct certain studies, the purpose of which is to provide a means for evaluating the professional performance of the appraisal districts' or the taxing units' employees. The Tax Code, with the aforementioned exception set forth in chapter 24, does not require the employees of the State Property Tax Board to perform the actual functions of appraising, assessing, or collecting required by law. See Tex. Const. art. VIII, § 23. Thus, they are not included within subsection 11(1) of article 7244b, V.T.C.S.

Second, even if the actual language of section 11 fairly could be said to be ambiguous on this question, the intent of the legislature in passing article 7244b, V.T.C.S., could not be more clear. Section 1 of article 7244b, V.T.C.S., sets forth the purpose of the act and provides in pertinent part:

The purpose of the legislature by this Act is to assure the people of Texas that the responsibility of assessing property for taxation is entrusted only to those persons duly registered and competent according to the regulations provided by this Act. The legislature further intends that the assessing of property for taxation be practiced and regulated as a learned profession and that the practitioners in this state be accountable to the public.

The bill analysis for Senate Bill No. 67, which enacted article 7244b, V.T.C.S., in 1977, declares in its "Background" section: "This bill would enact new legislation relating to the registration and certification of persons engaged in the assessment of property for ad valorem taxation." Bill Analysis, S.B. 67, 65th Leg. (1977). The stated purpose of the bill, in addition to creating the board, is "to regulate persons engaged in the assessment of property for taxation purposes." Id. Section 11 was amended in 1981 to change the definitions of persons required to register in order to conform to language in the Tax Code. House Bill No. 2189 amended definitional language in the act. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., ch. 848, at 3224. The amendment assures that persons performing certain functions regardless of the titles by which such persons are designated register with the board:

(1) Tax assessor means the person responsible for assessing property taxes as set forth by Chapter 26, Property Tax Code.

(2) Chief appraiser means the chief administrator of the appraisal district office.

(3) Property tax appraiser means a person duly registered to engage in all or part of the appraisal process required to estimate the appraised value of property.

(4) Practice of assessing means to engage in any or all phases of the assessing process including appraisal.

Bill Analysis, H.B. 2189, 67th Leg. (1981).

It is clear that the legislature intended with the original enactment of article 7244b, V.T.C.S., to require the registration and certification of tax assessor-collectors in Texas. With its subsequent amendment, it is clear that the legislature intended those persons to register, regardless of title, who are engaged in what is now termed "appraisal," as well as assessing and collecting, as defined in the code. The purpose of the act is to ensure a sufficient level of competence and professionalism among those who are involved with the ad valorem taxation system on a local level.

We recognize that it may seem anomalous to require appraisers and collectors who are actually employed by appraisal districts or taxing units to register with the BTPE and proceed toward certification, while not requiring to register the field appraisers of the State Property Tax Board, whose advice and technical assistance the districts and taxing units rely upon and whose various ratio studies are used as a standard in terms of which appraisal districts' and taxing units' performances can be evaluated. Any such anomaly properly is a concern for the legislature.

Accordingly, we conclude that the field appraisers employed by the State Property Tax Board to perform those duties imposed upon it by law are not required to register with and proceed toward certification by the Board of Tax Professional Examiners.

SUMMARY

The field appraisers employed by the State Property Tax Board are not required to register with and to proceed toward certification by the Board of Tax Professional Examiners.

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

MARY KELLER
First Assistant Attorney General

LOU MCCREARY
Executive Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Jim Moellinger
Assistant Attorney General