85R256 ADM-F     By: Canales H.B. No. 343       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to a sales and use tax exemption for certain disabled   veterans and surviving spouses of certain disabled veterans.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter H, Chapter 151, Tax Code, is amended   by adding Section 151.360 to read as follows:          Sec. 151.360.  PURCHASES BY CERTAIN DISABLED VETERANS OR   SURVIVING SPOUSES. (a) A taxable item sold, leased, or rented to,   or stored, used, or consumed by, any of the following persons is   exempted from the taxes imposed by this chapter:                (1)  a person who holds a registration number issued   under this section; or                (2)  a member of the household where a person described   by Subdivision (1) resides, if the purchase, lease, rental, or   other consumption is for the benefit of the person, and if the   household member is authorized to make purchases on the person's   behalf.          (b)  To claim an exemption under Subsection (a), the   purchaser must state a registration number issued by the   comptroller under this section on the exemption certificate   provided by the purchaser of the item.          (c)  A person is eligible to receive a registration number   if:                (1)  the person:                      (A)  is a resident of this state;                      (B)  enlisted in any branch of the armed forces of   the United States, including the Texas National Guard, and received   an honorable discharge; and                      (C)  has been certified by the United States   Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor to be in receipt of   disability compensation at the 100 percent rate as a result of a   permanent disability that:                            (i)  was sustained through military action   or accident; or                            (ii)  resulted from disease contracted while   in active service; or                (2)  the person is the surviving spouse of a person   described by Subdivision (1), the person described by Subdivision   (1) is deceased, and the surviving spouse is not remarried.          (d)  A person who is eligible for a registration number under   Subsection (c) may apply to the comptroller for the number.  The   application must:                (1)  be on a form prescribed by the comptroller; and                (2)  contain any other information required by the   comptroller.          (e)  The comptroller shall develop and implement a procedure   by which an applicant may submit an application described by   Subsection (d) electronically.          (f)  The comptroller by rule shall establish a uniform date   on which all registration numbers issued under this section must be   renewed, regardless of the date on which a registration number is   initially issued.  The rules must require registration numbers to   be renewed every four years.          (g)  The comptroller may not issue a registration number that   contains the applicant's social security number.          (h)  The comptroller, after written notice and a hearing, may   revoke the registration number issued to a person who fails to   comply with this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter, or   who is no longer eligible for a registration number.  A person whose   registration number the comptroller proposes to revoke under this   section is entitled to 20 days' written notice of the time and place   of the hearing on the revocation.  The notice must state the reason   the comptroller is seeking to revoke the person's registration   number.  At the hearing the person must show cause why the person's   registration number should not be revoked.          (i)  The comptroller shall give written notice of the   revocation of a registration number under Subsection (h) to the   person to whom the number was issued.  The notice may be personally   served on the person or sent by mail to the person's address as   shown in the comptroller's records.          (j)  If the comptroller revokes a person's registration   number under Subsection (h), the comptroller may not revive the   registration number unless the comptroller is satisfied that the   person will comply with this chapter and the rules adopted under   this chapter.  The comptroller may prescribe the terms under which a   revoked registration number may be revived.          (k)  Following the revocation of a registration number by the   comptroller, the person who held the registration number must, on   the next transaction with a seller to whom the person previously   provided an exemption certificate with a registration number,   notify that seller that the person's registration number is no   longer valid.  The failure of a person to notify a seller as   required by this subsection is considered a failure and refusal to   pay the taxes imposed by this chapter by the person required to make   the notification.          (l)  The comptroller shall develop and operate an online   system to enable a seller to search and verify the validity of the   registration number stated on an exemption certificate.  A seller   is not required to use the online system.          (m)  An exemption certificate that states a registration   number issued by the comptroller to claim an exemption to which this   section applies is sufficient documentation of the seller's receipt   of the certificate in good faith for purposes of Sections 151.054   and 151.104.          (n)  The comptroller by rule shall establish procedures by   which a seller may accept a blanket exemption certificate with a   registration number issued by the comptroller to claim exemptions   under this section.          (o)  A person eligible for a registration number who, at the   time of purchasing, leasing, renting, or otherwise consuming an   item for which the person may otherwise claim an exemption, has not   obtained a registration number from the comptroller must pay the   tax on the item to the seller at the time of the transaction.  The   person may then apply for a registration number and, on receipt of   the number, may apply to the comptroller for a refund of the tax   paid, subject to the statute of limitations.  The comptroller by   rule shall establish procedures for processing the refund requests.     Tax collected by a seller as described by this subsection is not tax   collected in error, and Section 111.104 does not apply to a refund   request submitted under this subsection.          (p)  The comptroller may adopt rules to implement this   section.          SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act does not   affect tax liability accruing before the effective date of this   Act. That liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been   enacted, and the former law is continued in effect for the   collection of taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of   the liability for those taxes.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.