Allison Mansfield of the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division told the committee that property tax appraisal in Texas is a locally administered process and outlined how the state evaluates local work through the school district property value study and other oversight tools.

Mansfield said appraisal districts — political subdivisions whose boundaries align with counties — appraise property at market value as of Jan. 1 each year; appraisal review boards (ARBs) hear protests and must approve appraisal records by July 20. She explained that businesses must file a rendition to report tangible personal property values and that appraisal districts typically use mass appraisal methods subject to USPAP standards.

On the school district property value study, Mansfield provided summary counts from the 2024 preliminary results: the comptroller studied 694 split school districts (districts spanning more than one county); 581 of those splits received a valid finding, 22 had local values greater than state values, 27 received an invalid finding that put them in a grace period, and 64 received state findings. She said a total of 113 split districts were invalid in the preliminary results.

Mansfield described the Targeted Appraisal Review Program (TARP), which triggers when a school district within an appraisal district receives three consecutive invalid findings; TARP conducts an in‑depth review of appraisal district operations and issues recommendations. She reported that after the program began the first round of TARP reports was released this February: 32 appraisal districts received TARP review for 2022, 29 in 2023, and an estimated 20 for 2024 preliminary results. Common recommendations included improved staff training, updated maps and cost schedules, conducting local ratio studies, and hiring additional staff.

Mansfield also explained how preliminary findings are handled: the comptroller releases preliminary results, school districts have a period (this year’s preliminary‑result protest deadline was March 12) to file protests, the comptroller considers objections through an informal process and may refer disputes to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. She noted the study works in arrears — the state evaluates valuations after local appraisals are complete — and that the comptroller’s goal for the study is a 5% margin of error for its confidence interval, with higher margins sometimes used for statistical reasons.

Members pressed Mansfield on why the state conducts the study after local appraisals and how the results affect school funding. Mansfield said the study does not change local certified values; instead, the comptroller certifies its findings to the Texas Education Agency for use in the school funding formulas. If a district qualifies for a two‑year grace period, the comptroller will certify local values to TEA for school finance during that grace period; districts whose values are certified as state values are treated differently in the school funding calculation.

Ending: Mansfield left committee staff copies of the PTAD biennial report and offered to provide additional data on ARB adjustments, litigation, and TARP reports upon request.