COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 408
(By Senators Snyder, Helmick, Ross and Unger)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 25, 2004.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §11-8-6f of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §18-9A-11 of said
code, all relating to the growth county school facilities act;
allowing a growth county to use the provisions of the growth
county school facilities act; requiring those counties to
place certain property tax revenues in a growth county school
facilities act fund; requiring those counties to use moneys in
the fund for the benefit of school facilities in the county;
allowing moneys in the fund to be carried over indefinitely;
and providing that certain property tax revenues not be
considered local share funds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-8-6f of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §18-9A-11 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. LEVIES.
§11-8-6f. Effect on regular school board levy rate when appraisal
results in tax increase; creation and implementation
of growth county school facilities act; creation of
growth county school facilities act fund.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where any
annual appraisal, triennial appraisal or general valuation of
property would produce a statewide aggregate assessment that would
cause an increase of one percent or more in the total property tax
revenues that would be realized were the then current regular levy
rates of the county boards of education to be imposed, the rate of
levy for county boards of education shall be reduced uniformly
statewide and proportionately for all classes of property for the
forthcoming tax year so as to cause
such the rate of levy to
produce no more than one hundred one percent of the previous year's
projected statewide aggregate property tax revenues from extending
the county board of education levy rate, unless subsection (b) of
this section is complied with. The reduced rates of levy shall be
calculated in the following manner: (1) The total assessed value
of each class of property as it is defined by section five, article
eight of this chapter for the assessment period just concluded
shall be reduced by deducting the total assessed value of newly
created properties not assessed in the previous year's tax book for
each class of property; (2) the resulting net assessed value of Class I property shall be multiplied by .01; the value of Class II
by .02; and the values of Class III and IV, each by .04; (3) total
the current year's property tax revenue resulting from regular
levies for the boards of education throughout this state and
multiply the resulting sum by one hundred one percent:
Provided,
That the one hundred one percent figure shall be increased by the
amount the boards of educations' increased levy provided for in
subsection (b), section eight, article one-c of this chapter; (4)
divide the total regular levy tax revenues, thus increased in
subdivision (3), above, by the total weighted net assessed value as
calculated in paragraph two of this subsection and multiply the
resulting product by one hundred; the resulting number is the Class
I regular levy rate, stated as cents-per-one hundred dollars of
assessed value; and (5) the Class II rate is two times the Class I
rate; Classes III and IV, four times the Class I rate as calculated
in the preceding subdivision.
Provided, however, That the rate of
levy for county boards of education for the fiscal year beginning
on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three
shall be equal to the rate of levy calculated for the fiscal year
beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-two, pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
An additional appraisal or valuation due to new construction
or improvements, including beginning recovery of natural resources,
to existing real property or newly acquired personal property shall
not be an annual appraisal or general valuation within the meaning
of this section, nor shall the assessed value of
such the improvements be included in calculating the new tax levy for
purposes of this section. Special levies shall not be included in
any calculations under this section.
(b) After conducting a public hearing, the Legislature may, by
act, increase the rate above the reduced rate required in
subsection (a) of this section if
any such an increase is
deemed
determined to be necessary.
(c) Growth county school facilities act.--
(1) For the purposes of this subsection, "growth county" means
any county that has experienced an increase in second month net
enrollment of fifty or more during any three of the last five
years, as determined by the department of education.
(2) The provisions of this subsection only shall apply to any
growth county, as defined in subdivision (1) of this subsection,
that, by resolution of its county board of education, chooses to
use the provisions of this subsection.
(3) For any growth county, as defined in subdivision (1) of
this subsection, that adopts a resolution choosing to use the
provisions of this subsection, pursuant to subdivision (2) of this
subsection, assessed values resulting from additional appraisal or
valuation due to new construction or improvements, including
beginning recovery of natural resources, to existing real property
or newly acquired personal property, shall be designated as new
property values and shall be so identified by the county assessor.
The statewide regular school board levy rate as established by the
Legislature, shall be applied to the assessed value designated as new property values and the resulting property tax revenues
collected from application of the regular school board levy rate
shall be placed in a separate account, designated as the growth
counties school facilities act fund. Revenues deposited in the
growth counties school facilities act fund shall be appropriated by
the county board of education for construction, maintenance or
repair of school facilities. Revenues in the fund may be carried
over for an indefinite length of time and may be used as matching
funds for the purpose of obtaining funds from the school building
authority or for the payment of bonded indebtedness incurred for
school facilities. Estimated school board revenues generated from
application of the regular school board levy rate to new property
values
are not to be considered as local funds for purposes of the
computation of local share under the provisions of section eleven,
article nine-a, chapter eighteen of this code.
(c) (d) This section, as amended, shall be effective as to any
regular levy rate imposed for the county boards of education for
taxes due and payable on or after the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-one two thousand four. If any
provision of this section is held invalid, such the invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section
which can be given effect without the invalid provision or its
application and to this end the provisions of this section are
declared to be severable.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-11. Computation of local share; appraisal and assessment of property.
(a) For the fiscal year beginning on the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, and thereafter, on On the
basis of each county's certificates of valuation as to all classes
of property as determined and published by the assessors pursuant
to section six, article three, chapter eleven of this code for the
next ensuing fiscal year in reliance upon the assessed values
annually developed by each county assessor pursuant to the
provisions of articles one-c and three, chapter eleven of this
code, the state board shall for each county compute by application
of the levies for general current expense purposes, as defined in
section two of this article, the amount of revenue which such the
levies would produce if levied upon one hundred percent of the
assessed value of each of the several classes of property contained
in the report or revised report of such the value, made to it by
the tax commissioner as follows:
(1) The state board shall first take ninety-five percent of
the amount ascertained by applying these rates to the total
assessed public utility valuation in each classification of
property in the county.
(2) The state board shall then apply these rates to the
assessed taxable value of other property in each classification in
the county as determined by the tax commissioner and shall deduct
therefrom five percent as an allowance for the usual losses in
collections due to discounts, exonerations, delinquencies and the
like. All of the amount so determined shall be added to the ninety-five percent of public utility taxes computed as provided
above, and this total shall be further reduced by the amount due
each county assessor's office pursuant to the provisions of section
eight, article one-c, chapter eleven of this code, and this amount
shall be the local share of the particular county.
As to any estimations or preliminary computations of local
share that may be required prior to the report to the Legislature
by the tax commissioner, the state board of education shall use the
most recent projections or estimations that may be available from
the tax department for such that purpose.
(b) Whenever in any year a county assessor or a county
commission shall fail or refuse to comply with the provisions of
this section in setting the valuations of property for assessment
purposes in any class or classes of property in the county, the
state tax commissioner shall review the valuations for assessment
purposes made by the county assessor and the county commission and
shall direct the county assessor and the county commission to make
such corrections in the valuations as may be necessary so that they
shall comply with the requirements of chapter eleven of this code
and this section, and the tax commissioner shall enter the county
and fix the assessments at the required ratios. Refusal of the
assessor or the county commission to make such the corrections
shall constitute ground for removal from office.
(c) For the purposes of any computation made in accordance
with the provisions of this section, in any taxing unit in which
tax increment financing is in effect pursuant to the provisions of article eleven-b, chapter seven of this code, the assessed value of
a related private project shall be the base assessed value as
defined in section two of said article.
(d) For purposes of any computation made in accordance with
the provisions of this section, in any county where the county
board of education has adopted a resolution choosing to use the
provisions of the growth county school facilities act set forth in
section six-f, article eight, chapter eleven of this code,
estimated school board revenues generated from application of the
regular school board levy rate to new property values, as that term
is designated in section six-f, article eight, chapter eleven of
this code, may not be considered local share funds.
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