34 Tex. Admin. Code § 9.805 - Appraisal Review Board Evidence Exchange and Retention and Audiovisual Equipment Requirements

(a) Exchange of evidence. Before or immediately after an appraisal review board hearing begins, the appraisal district and the property owner or the owner's agent shall each provide the other party with a duplicated set of the evidentiary materials the person intends to offer or submit to the appraisal review board for consideration at the hearing. One set of these materials is to be exchanged with and retained by the other party, and another set of these materials is to be provided to and retained by the appraisal review board as evidence for its records as required under § 9.803 of this title (relating to Requirements for Appraisal Review Board Records). The duplicated material sets shall be produced in either paper or electronic form.

(b) Evidentiary materials on a portable electronic device. Evidentiary materials produced on a portable electronic device shall be saved in a file format type and downloaded to a small, portable, electronic device. The file format type and small, portable, electronic device must be considered generally accepted technology and must be suitable for retention by the recipient. For security purposes, the electronic files on devices produced pursuant to this section shall be capable of being scanned or reviewed for the presence of any malicious software or computer viruses before acceptance by or exposure to the recipient's computer system.

(c) Electronic file format types and devices. The appraisal review board shall determine the types of file formats and devices which meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this section and specify the types of file formats and devices in the appraisal review board hearing procedures. Examples of file format types that may be considered acceptable include but are not limited to the Adobe portable document format (PDF); Microsoft Word, typically used for text documents; Microsoft Excel, typically used for spreadsheets and tables; Microsoft PowerPoint, typically used for presentations or slideshows; and JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) for photographs. Examples of the general types of small, portable, electronic devices suitable for retention by the recipient that may be considered acceptable include but are not limited to USB flash drives (i.e., thumb or jump drives, USB or memory sticks), and compact discs (i.e., CDs, DVDs) with various characteristics. The appraisal district and the property owner or the owner's agent may agree to exchange evidence in a manner other than provided in appraisal review board hearing procedures so long as a copy of the evidence may be retained in the records of the appraisal review board and satisfies the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.

(d) Audiovisual equipment requirements. If the appraisal district uses audiovisual equipment at appraisal review board hearings, the appraisal district shall make available this same equipment or audiovisual equipment of the same general type, kind, and character for use at the hearing by the property owner or the owner's agent. The equipment made available shall be capable of reading and accepting the same types of file formats and devices the appraisal review board has determined are generally accepted under subsection (c) of this section. In the alternative, property owners and their agents may bring their own audiovisual equipment for their presentation of evidentiary materials at appraisal review board hearings. If the operation of audiovisual equipment at the hearing requires access to and connection with the Internet for the presentation, the parties must provide their own Internet connection and access through their own service provider. The property owner and the owner's agent may not access the appraisal district office's network or Internet connection nor any of the appraisal district office's technology or equipment other than that made available under this section and described in the appraisal review board hearing procedures. The appraisal district and the property owner or the owner's agent may use audiovisual equipment with specifications that are different from those in the hearing procedures if the parties agree to do so in writing or verbally agree as shown in the audio recording of the hearing.

(e) Appraisal Review Board hearing procedures. The following information regarding the exchange and presentation of evidence at appraisal review board hearings shall be provided in the appraisal review board hearing procedures:

(1) identification of the file format types considered acceptable under subsection (c) of this section;

(2) description of the types of small, portable, electronic devices suitable for retention by the recipient considered acceptable under subsection (c) of this section;

(3) notice that property owners and their agents may bring their own audiovisual equipment for their presentation at appraisal review board hearings but must provide their own Internet access, if needed, through their own service provider;

(4) whether the appraisal district uses audiovisual equipment at appraisal review board hearings;

(5) if the appraisal district uses audiovisual equipment at appraisal review board hearings, a description of the type, kind, and character of audiovisual equipment the appraisal district makes available for use by property owners or their agents and which meets the requirements of subsection (d) of this section; and

(6) notice that property owners and their agents may not access the appraisal district office's network or Internet connection nor any of the appraisal district office's technology or equipment other than that made available under this section and described in the hearing procedures.

Notes

34 Tex. Admin. Code § 9.805

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 43, Number 08, February 23, 2018, TexReg 1138, eff. 3/1/2018