H. B. 2513
(By Delegates Seacrist, Hunt, Walters,
Capito, Laird and Farris)
[Introduced March 12, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article three, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to expanding the
exemptions from property taxation to include certain
subdivision streets.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article three, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY.
§11-3-9. Property exempt from taxation.
All property, real and personal, described in this section,
and to the extent herein limited, shall be is exempt from
taxation, that is to say: Property belonging to the United
States, other than property permitted by the United States to be taxed under state law; property belonging exclusively to the
state; property belonging exclusively to any county, district,
city, village or town in this state, and used for public
purposes; property located in this state, belonging to any city,
town, village, county or any other political subdivision of
another state, and used for public purposes; property used
exclusively for divine worship; parsonages, and the household
goods and furniture pertaining thereto; mortgages, bonds and
other evidence of indebtedness in the hands of bona fide owners
and holders hereafter issued and sold by churches and religious
societies for the purposes of securing money to be used in the
erection of church buildings used exclusively for divine worship,
or for the purpose of paying indebtedness thereon; cemeteries;
property belonging to, or held in trust for, colleges,
seminaries, academies and free schools, if used for educational,
literary or scientific purposes, including books, apparatus,
annuities and furniture; property belonging to, or held in trust
for, colleges or universities located in West Virginia, or any
public or private nonprofit foundation or corporation which
receives contributions exclusively for such college or
university, if the property or dividends, interest, rents or
royalties derived therefrom are used or devoted to educational
purposes of such college or university; public and family libraries; property used for charitable purposes, and not held or
leased out for profit; property used for the public purposes of
distributing water or natural gas, or providing sewer service by
a duly chartered nonprofit corporation when such the property is
not held, leased out or used for profit; property used for area
economic development purposes by nonprofit corporations when such
the property is not leased out for profit; all real estate not
exceeding one-half acre in extent, and the buildings thereon, and
used exclusively by any college or university society as a
literary hall, or as a dormitory or clubroom, if not leased or
otherwise used with a view to profit; all property belonging to
benevolent associations, not conducted for private profit;
property belonging to any public institution for the education of
the deaf, dumb or blind, or any hospital not held or leased out
for profit; house of refuge, lunatic or orphan asylum; homes for
children or for the aged, friendless or infirm, not conducted for
private profit; fire engines and implements for extinguishing
fires, and property used exclusively for the safekeeping thereof,
and for the meeting of fire companies; all property on hand to be
used in the subsistence of livestock on hand at the commencement
of the assessment year; household goods to the value of two
hundred dollars, whether or not held or used for profit; bank
deposits and money; household goods (which term is deemed for purposes of this section to mean only personal property and
household goods commonly found within the house and items used to
care for the house and its surrounding property) when not held or
used for profit, and personal effects (which term is deemed for
purposes of this section to mean only articles and items of
personal property commonly worn on or about the human body, or
carried by a person and normally thought to be associated with
the person) when not held or used for profit; dead victuals laid
away for family use; streets or rights of way used for ingress
and egress in a subdivision when the streets or rights of way
have been conveyed to a duly incorporated homeowner's association
and have been dedicated for public use in an instrument of record
in the land books of the office of the clerk of the county
commission of the county in which the subdivision is located;
and any other property or security exempted by any other
provision of law; but no property shall be is exempt from
taxation which shall have has been purchased or procured for the
purpose of evading taxation, whether temporarily holding the same
over the first day of the assessment year or otherwise:
Provided, That real property which is exempt from taxation by
this section shall be entered upon the assessor's books, together
with the true and actual value thereof, but no taxes shall may be
levied upon the same or extended upon the assessor's books.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section,
however, no language herein shall may be construed to exempt from
taxation any property owned by, or held in trust for,
educational, literary, scientific, religious or other charitable
corporations or organizations, including any public or private
nonprofit foundation or corporation existing for the support of
any college or university located in West Virginia, unless such
the property, or the dividends, interest, rents or royalties
derived therefrom, is used primarily and immediately for the
purposes of such the corporations or organizations.
The tax commissioner shall, by issuance of regulations
proposal of rules for legislative approval in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
provide each assessor with guidelines to ensure uniform
assessment practices statewide to effect the intent of this
section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt streets in a
subdivision that are owned and maintained by an incorporated
homeowners association and have been dedicated for public use.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.