SB54 HFA Phillips 3-9

Delegate Phillips moves to amend SB54, on page one, by striking out the enacting section, and inserting in lieu thereof, the following:

“That §11-1C-4 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; to further amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-2-23; and to further amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-15-9c, all to read as follows:

Article 1C. FAIR AND EQUITABLE PROPERTY VALUATION.

§11-1C-4. Commission powers and duties; rulemaking.

(a) On or before October 1, 1990, and thereafter as necessary the property valuation training and procedures commission shall perform the following duties:

(1) Devise training and certification criteria for county assessors and their employees and members of county commissions, which shall include a definition of "appropriate staff member" as the term is used in section six of this article relating to required training, which definition shall include deputy assessors as provided for in section three, article two of this chapter;

 (2) Establish uniform, statewide procedures and methodologies for the mapping, visitation, identification and collection of information on the different species of property, which procedures and methodologies shall include reasonable requirements for visitation of property, including a requirement that a good faith effort be made to contact any owner of owner-occupied residential property: Provided, That the commission is not authorized to establish the methods to value real and personal property, but shall have the authority to approve such methods;

(3) Develop an outline of items to be included in the county property valuation plan required in section seven of this article, which shall include information to assist the property valuation training and procedures commission in its determination of the distribution of state funds provided pursuant to section eight of this article.

(b) On or before July 1, 1991, the commission shall establish objective criteria for the evaluation of the performance of the duties of county assessors and the Tax Commissioner.

(c) In the event the Tax Commissioner and a county assessor cannot agree on the content of the plan required under section seven of this article, the commission shall examine the plan and the objections of the Tax Commissioner and shall resolve the dispute on or before the first day of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the plan was submitted to the commission for resolution.

(d) The commission shall have the power to make such rules as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, which rules shall include procedures for the maintenance, use, sale and reproduction of microfilm, photography and tax maps. Any rules adopted by the commission prior to October 1, 1990, under subsection (a) of this section are exempt from the provisions of article three of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code: Provided, That the commission shall file a copy of any rule so exempted from the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code with the legislative rule-making review committee created pursuant to section eleven, article three of said chapter prior to November 30, 1990.

(e) The commission shall have the authority to make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this article.

(f) In order to fund the costs of the requirements of this article, the valuation commission shall have the authority, on a one-time basis, to borrow $5 million and to distribute such funds according to need and the valuation plan submitted by the counties. Upon request of the valuation commission, the state Board of Investments shall loan, under commercially reasonable terms to be determined by the parties, up to $5 million to the valuation commission, on a one-time basis, from one of the various funds administered by the state Board of Investments.

(g) The commission shall be required, in the event that the Tax Commissioner has failed to do so, to appoint one or more special assessors if it is the determination of the commission that an assessor has substantially failed to perform the duties required by sections seven and eight of this article. A writ of mandamus shall be the proper remedy if the commission fails to perform any of its duties required by law.

(h) Upon receipt of a report instigated by petition pursuant to section twenty-three, article two of this chapter to any a county commission directing a review of property value to determine if a reduction of ten percent or greater than current valuation as established for that county has occurred, the commission shall undertake a timely review the petition and assessors report and make one of the following findings to the assessor:

(1) If the Commission determines that the assessor’s report is incomplete, inaccurate or fails to provide enough information to allow the commission to make a fair and adequate judgement on whether the value or real property has uniformly reduced ten percent or more by property species since the last valuation, the commission shall direct the assessor to provide further information deemed necessary for the commission to make a finding as provided for in subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection;

(2) Upon review of the assessor’s report, if the commission determines that the property value has not uniformly, by property species has declined by ten percent or more, then the Commission shall inform the assessor that the petition is denied and no further action shall be taken by the assessor; or

(3) If the Commission makes a finding that the property values, by species, have been reduced by ten percent or more since the last assessment, that the county assessor is directed by finding of the commission, to reduce the tax assessments for real property of the county.

(i) The Tax Commissioner may promulgate rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to provide necessary procedures and guidance to county assessors and the commission to comply with administering a petition as authorized pursuant to subsection (h) of this section.

ARTICLE 1. ASSESSORS.

§11-2-23. Petition for reduction in property taxes; review and implementation.

(a) Registered voters of a county seeking to direct the county assessor to undertake a review of current assessed property values of the various species of real property to determine if the value as established for each  type of property at the most recent property assessment has since decreased ten percent or more below the value at the time of the last assessment, shall submit a petition, signed by ten percent or more of the registered voters in the county from the last primary or general election most recently held, to the county commission, that directs the assessor to conduct a review and submit a report as required by this section.

 (b) Upon receipt of the petition, the county commission shall verify that the signatures on the petition are: (1) legally registered voters of the county; and (2) equal to or exceed ten percent of the registered voters of the county.  Upon that finding the county commission shall forward the petition to the county assessor, who shall then undertake the following:

(1) Collect sufficient available information, including recent property sales, economic indicators and other relevant factors impacting the county and region, as the assessor may deem relevant, to make a finding whether the current market value of real property has depreciated since the last valuation and if so if the average reduction of value, per species of real property examined, is ten percent or greater since the last assessment; and

(2)  Prepare a report, including his or her findings, to be immediately submitted to the property valuation training and procedures committee, as established pursuant to section three, article one-c of this chapter.

(c)  The county commission, upon receiving notice from the property valuation training and procedures committee has found that property values by species have been reduced by ten percent in the county or more since the last assessment, shall recalculate the next fiscal year tax rates due the county to reduce the amount of property taxes no more than 5% in any fiscal year, up to 10% over a two fiscal year period, effectuating a reduction in property tax assessments to reflect this reduction.  If the reduction coincides with a reassessment otherwise required by law, this assessment shall be incorporated into the otherwise mandated reassessment.”