Bohac Launches AppraisalCap.com

AUSTIN - State Representative Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston) announced today that he will continue the fight for property tax appraisal reform and is launching AppraisalCap.com, a new website designed to increase public awareness of the issue. The site will focus initially on gathering thousands of online signatures from Texans across the state who believe skyrocketing appraisals are out of control.

Rep. Bohac filed HB 3223 during the 78th Legislative Session, an appraisal relief bill that would have placed a 5% cap on annual increases in property tax appraisals. After a long, hard-fought journey through the Texas House of Representatives that cumulated in a rare, unanimous record vote of 134-0, the bill came to a halt in the Senate.

“I will not relent until this bill is passed,” said Bohac. “I believe I have a common sense solution that will help restore truth in taxation. To this end, I am launching AppraisalCap.com to bring attention to the issue and provide a way for concerned taxpayers to take action. This issue will be addressed again by the legislature, and I will continue to work hard until property owners get the relief they deserve.”

AppraisalCap.com walks visitors through the details of the “Bohac Bill”, provides answers for common questions and even provides a way for property owners to share their appraisal horror stories. Most importantly, the site features an online petition that will be used to gather names from taxpayers across the state of Texas who support the proposal. This petition will be presented to the statewide leadership when the issue is brought up again before the legislature.

Bohac hopes the petition will become a powerful tool to help the bill in the future. “I believe there is nothing more powerful than the citizen lobby,” said Bohac.

Rep. Bohac is devoted to spending the interim working hard to build broad, statewide support for the issue. If property tax reform is brought up in a special session, he will work hard to see that this issue is addressed. Should the special session only address school taxes and not any of the other taxing entities found on your tax bill, Bohac will make it his top legislative priority to re-file the bill when the Legislature meets again in January of 2005.

“It is amazing what was accomplished in just three months with HB 3223,” concluded Bohac. “Imagine what we can accomplish together with an early start on the next legislative session. Together, we will make appraisal reform a reality and bring much-needed relief to the taxpayers of Texas.”

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