Lawmakers respond to KXAN investigation, promise to explore solving veterans’ benefits gap

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The combat veteran Keith Romel has been battling for about a year is finally getting the attention he was hoping for.

“It’s raised awareness of the issue,” the East Austin resident said, citing a recent KXAN investigation into his fight for the property tax exemption he’s entitled to as a 100 percent disabled person.

When Romel sold his East Austin home last year and bought another, he was disappointed to discover that he couldn’t immediately take advantage of his 100 percent property tax exemption for disabled veterans.

The Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) ruled that the exemption could not be applied to his new condominium for the period he owned it in 2023, from mid-May to December.

“You know, coming up with $6,500 that I didn’t expect to have when I bought the house was a little difficult,” Romel told KXAN investigator Mike Rush in early May.

As a TCAD spokesperson explained to KXAN, property value is estimated based on the condition of a property on January 1 of each year. As for Romel’s new condo, in January 2023, a developer owned the property and was in the process of dividing it into two condos, one of which belonged to Romel.

Because Romel’s condominium and new address did not exist at the beginning of the year, the TCAD ruled that he could not use his exemption for his new home for the remainder of the year, even though the exemption is effective in 2024.

“I don’t think that’s right,” Romel said.

The same goes for Texas State Representative Lulu Flores, who represents Romel’s district.

“The exemption should apply to him and any property he enters,” said the Austin Democrat.

Romel believes KXAN’s investigation helped take the conversations he had been having with Flores’ office for several months to a higher level.

Flores tells KXAN that she is determined to find a solution.

“This shouldn’t be rocket science,” the MP said. “Perhaps we need to make it clear in the legislation that the exemption is linked to the individual.” She added: “That the exemption that they have and that they are entitled to applies to that property, whether it is on the lists or not.”

Another state representative is also concerned about Romel’s predicament.

In our original report, KXAN spoke with longtime Austin property tax attorney Lorri Michel, who disagreed with TCAD’s interpretation of tax law that denied Romel a 2023 tax exemption on his new property.

“I think he should have had it,” Michel said at the time.

After KXAN brought the issue to Michel’s attention, she contacted Senator Paul Bettencourt’s office to try to change the law.

“Honestly, if it weren’t for your investigative report, we wouldn’t have known about this,” Senator Bettencourt told Rush.

Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, owns a tax consulting firm, previously served as Harris County tax assessor for 10 years, and authored major statewide property tax reform legislation in 2019.

The senator said his office is reviewing Romel’s situation and the possibility of changing the law.

“Ultimately, we may need to clarify this, to make it perfectly clear,” Bettencourt said.

If lawmakers conclude that the law does indeed require clarification, they would introduce appropriate measures at the next session of Parliament next year.

Even though he won’t get back the money he spent on property taxes in 2023, Romel supports a change.

“It will help someone else avoid this situation in the future,” he said.

Exceptions can be interpreted differently

A spokesperson for the Texas Comptroller’s Office told KXAN that local assessment districts in Texas decide whether to approve or deny exemptions, and there may be varying interpretations regarding how those exemptions apply.

We reached out to neighboring assessment districts to see how they would handle this situation.

In a statement, Hays Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Laura Raven wrote:

“Hays CAD works diligently within the framework of the Property Tax Act to ensure that everyone who applies for an exemption and is eligible receives it. If someone applies for an exemption for a property that did not exist on January 1, there would be no account to which the exemption could be applied.”

Alvin Lankford, chief assessor for the Williamson Central District, told KXAN’s Mike Rush that a veteran in a similar situation also could not receive a 100% disabled veterans property tax exemption. The reason for this is not only because the property did not exist at the beginning of the year, but because the veteran moved during the year.