State Rep. Keith Bell | Contributed photo
State Rep. Keith Bell | Contributed photo
State Rep. Keith Bell (R-Forney) took it upon himself to get answers for his constituents in Henderson and Kaufman counties who were taken aback by the hike in statewide property tax appraisals.
The Athens Daily Review reported the lawmaker presented homeowners’ concerns to the Governor’s office and the Comptroller’s office. Bell personally visited Glenn Hegar, the Texas comptroller of public accounts.
“Appraised values by statute, are based on their market values on Jan. 1, 2020,” he told the Daily Review. "Therefore, any reduction of value due to the COVID-19 outbreak will not be reflected until 2021’s values. The comptroller was clear during our discussion he did not have the authority to suspend the statues but understood my concerns.”
Bell wrote Gov. Greg Abbott, joining the chorus of Texans clamoring for the suspension of certain requirements of county appraisal districts during the COVID-19 emergency.
“The written requests and my personal concern with COVID-19 exposure to taxpayers and (appraisal review board) members was discussed and duly noted,” he told the Daily Review.
Abbott has emphasized that he would neither enact a suspension of property value appraisals nor call a special legislative session to address the issue.
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