By: Bettencourt  S.B. No. 1848          (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2017; March 23, 2017, read   first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 26, 2017,   reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 12, Nays 1;   April 26, 2017, sent to printer.)Click here to see the committee vote    A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT     relating to the award of attorney's fees in a judicial appeal of   certain ad valorem tax determinations.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 42.29, Tax Code, is amended to read as   follows:          Sec. 42.29.  ATTORNEY'S FEES. [(a)]  A property owner who   prevails in an appeal to the court under Section 42.25 or 42.26, in   an appeal to the court of a determination of an appraisal review   board on a motion filed under Section 25.25, or in an appeal to the   court of a determination of an appraisal review board of a protest   of the denial in whole or in part of an exemption under Section   11.17, 11.22, 11.23, 11.231, or 11.24 may be awarded reasonable   attorney's fees.  The amount of the award may not exceed the greater   of:                (1)  $27,000 or, if applicable, the adjusted amount   determined under Section 42.291 [$15,000]; or                (2)  an amount equal to 20 percent of the total amount   by which the property owner's tax liability is reduced as a result   of the appeal, but[.          [(b)     Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the amount of an award   of attorney's fees may] not to exceed $153,000 or, if applicable,   the adjusted amount determined under Section 42.291 [the lesser of:                [(1)  $100,000; or                [(2)     the total amount by which the property owner's tax   liability is reduced as a result of the appeal].          SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 42, Tax Code, is amended by   adding Section 42.291 to read as follows:          Sec. 42.291.  COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT OF ATTORNEY'S FEES   LIMITS. (a)  In this section, "consumer price index" means the   Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City   Average, published monthly by the United States Bureau of Labor   Statistics, or its successor in function.          (b)  On January 1 of each odd-numbered year the dollar   amounts specified by Sections 42.29(1) and (2) are increased or   decreased by an amount equal to the amount specified by those   sections multiplied by the percentage increase or decrease in the   consumer price index for the period beginning September 1, 2017,   and ending on the September 1 preceding the date of the   determination, rounded to the nearest $1,000.          (c)  The amounts determined under Subsection (b) apply to an   award of attorney's fees in an appeal under this chapter that is   filed on or after the date the determination is made until the next   January 1 on which a determination is made under Subsection (b).          (d)  The comptroller shall make the determination required   by this section and publish the amounts determined in the Texas   Register.  The comptroller may adopt rules related to making that   determination.          (e)  A determination by the comptroller under this section is   final and may not be appealed.          SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only   to an appeal under Chapter 42, Tax Code, that is filed on or after   the effective date of this Act.  An appeal under Chapter 42, Tax   Code, that is filed before the effective date of this Act is   governed by the law in effect on the date the appeal is filed, and   the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.     * * * * *