To protest the county’s appraised value of your property, you have to show up in person before a county board of equalization and make your case to the board members in person.
Many people do this when their home’s value has been increased by the county’s appraiser, resulting in a higher tax bill. They often complain that the value assessed is not the true value, and that 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 that 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 this 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 or not their representatives or there.
This is 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 Vaughn, R-Collierville, and state Sen. Paul Rose, R- Tipton. It has passed through the House committee process and is scheduled for a vote before the full House on Thursday. The bill has been assigned to the Senate State & Local Government Committee but has not yet been put on its calendar.
