Kenedy County Wide School District v. Kelly Hancock, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, in His Official and Individual Capacity

Summary

The Fifteenth Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment upholding the Texas Comptroller’s property-value-study appraisal for Kenedy County Wide School District. The majority held that Texas Government Code section 403.302(b)(4) applies to open-space land appraised based on productivity value and gives the Comptroller discretion to determine an appropriate adjustment for appraisal review board orders. Justice April Farris concurred in part and dissented from the judgment, arguing that the issue of the appropriate adjustment should first be remanded to the Comptroller.

Holdings

1. Section 403.302(b)(4) does not exclude open-space land or productivity-value appraisals from its requirement that appraisal differences resulting from ARB protests be appropriately adjusted in the Comptroller's Study.
2. Section 403.302(b)(4) does not require the Comptroller to reduce Study values dollar-for-dollar to match ARB orders; the Comptroller has discretion to determine the appropriate adjustment, subject to judicial review for abuse of that discretion under section 403.303(d).
3. The Comptroller's $105.20-per-acre valuation was reasonably supported by substantial evidence and was not shown to be arbitrary or made without regard to the facts.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Texas Government Code section 403.302(b)(4) requires the Comptroller to appropriately adjust productivity-value appraisals for differences resulting from local appraisal review board orders.
2. Whether the Comptroller's $105.20-per-acre valuation was reasonably supported by substantial evidence and was not arbitrary or made without regard to the facts.
3. Whether the reviewing court could determine the appropriate adjustment in the first instance or instead had to remand the issue to the Comptroller.

Disposition

affirmed