Boards of review are those county bodies which
correct and equalize property tax assessments and hear tax appeals from
property owners. From 1839 to 1849, these responsibilities were
discharged by the county commissioners’ courts; and from 1849 to 1872
they were held, in non-township counties, by the county courts.1
In township-organized counties, from 1851-1872, taxes
were assessed by townships and appeals were heard by township boards of
review.2 County boards held responsibility
for completing omitted assessments and for equalizing taxation between
townships.3 From 1872 to 1898, township
boards of review were abolished, and county boards held assessment
review responsibility in township and non-township counties.4
In 1898, the duty of hearing appeals and equalizing
assessments were given by law to independent boards of review. Counties
were divided into three categories as a part of this process. In the
first, composed of non-township organized counties, county commissioners
continued to act as boards of review. In the second, made up of township
counties with populations under 125,000, boards of review consisted of
the chairman of the county board, the county clerk, and an appointee of
the county judge. In the third category, consisting of counties with
populations greater than 125,000, boards of review were made up of three
members elected to six-year terms.5 This
arrangement, with some changes in population requirements and
appointees, has continued to the present.
