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Legislation would allow property owners to contest appraisals electronically




Kevin Vaughan

Kevin Vaughan

To protest the county’s appraised value of a property, a homeowner has to show up in person before a county board of equalization and make a case to the board members in person.

Many people do this when the county’s appraiser increases a home’s value, and it results in a higher tax bill. They often complain the value assessed is not the true value, and it should be lower.

The law allows, but does not require, boards of equalization to allow the taxpayer to make his or her complaint to the board by electronic means in the discretion of the board.

HB230 and SB436 seek to change that and require boards allow the taxpayer to make a personal appearance via electronic means if it’s technically feasible. The bill was amended to require that the taxpayer had to interact by both audio and video.

Notwithstanding the section to the contrary, in lieu of a requirement to appear personally, a participant in a hearing may participate virtually via the internet or by other electronic means at the discretion of the participant if the participant has access to technology allowing the participant to fully interact by audio and video with the board and other participants in the hearing.

Several pieces of legislation this year seek to give governing body members such as county commissioners more convenience to attend a meeting by phone, with little benefit to members of the public who still have to attend in person at a physical location, whether their representatives are there.

It’s the only legislation so far this year that seeks to use technology to help members of the public attend a meeting electronically.

The legislation is sponsored by state Rep. Kevin Vaughan, R-Collierville, and state Sen. Paul Rose, R- Tipton. It passed through the House committee process and was scheduled for a vote before the full House. The bill was assigned to the Senate State and Local Government Committee but wasn’t yet added to its calendar.

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