Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Finance and Tax

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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to value adjustment boards; amending s.

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194.011, F.S.; requiring that the Department of Revenue

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develop a uniform policies and procedures manual for

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use in proceedings before value adjustment boards;

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specifying availability requirements for such manual;

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amending s. 194.015, F.S.; revising the membership of

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value adjustment boards; providing for citizen members;

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revising criteria related to appointment to such

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boards; revising quorum requirements; deleting

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provisions authorizing county attorneys to act as

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counsel for value adjustment boards; amending s.

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194.035, F.S.; providing that a requirement that value

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adjustment boards appoint special magistrates for

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certain purposes applies to all counties; requiring

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value adjustment boards to verify the qualifications of

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special magistrates prior to appointment; providing

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selection criteria; requiring that the department

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provide training for special magistrates; providing

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training requirements; amending s. 194.037, F.S.;

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revising information required to be provided on the

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disclosure of tax impact form to include certain

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additional information; providing an effective date.

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 194.011, Florida

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Statutes, is amended to read:

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     194.011  Assessment notice; objections to assessments.--

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     (5)(a) The department shall by rule prescribe uniform

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procedures for hearings before the value adjustment board which

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include requiring:

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     1.(a) Procedures for the exchange of information and

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evidence by the property appraiser and the petitioner consistent

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with s. 194.032; and

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     2.(b) That the value adjustment board hold an

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organizational meeting for the purpose of making these procedures

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available to petitioners.

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     (b) The department shall develop a uniform policies and

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procedures manual that shall be used by value adjustment boards,

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special magistrates, and taxpayers in proceedings before value

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adjustment boards. The manual shall be made available, at a

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minimum, on the department's website and on the existing websites

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of the clerks of circuit courts.

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     Section 2.  Section 194.015, Florida Statutes, is amended to

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read:

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     194.015  Value adjustment board.--There is hereby created a

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value adjustment board for each county, which shall consist of

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two three members of the governing body of the county as elected

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from the membership of the board of said governing body, one of

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w

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the school board as elected from the membership of the school

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board, and two citizen members, one of whom shall be appointed by

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the governing body of the county and must own homestead property

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within the county and one of whom must be appointed by the school

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board and must own a business occupying commercial space located

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within the school district. A citizen member may not be a member

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or an employee of any taxing authority, and may not be a person

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who represents property owners in any administrative or judicial

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review of property taxes. The members of the board may be

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temporarily replaced by other members of the respective boards on

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appointment by their respective chairpersons. Any three members

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shall constitute a quorum of the board, except that each quorum

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must include at least one member of said governing board and at

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least one member of the school board and at least one citizen

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member, and no meeting of the board shall take place unless a

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quorum is present. Members of the board may receive such per diem

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compensation as is allowed by law for state employees if both

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bodies elect to allow such compensation. The clerk of the

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governing body of the county shall be the clerk of the value

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adjustment board. The office of the county attorney may be

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counsel to the board unless the county attorney represents the

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property appraiser, in which instance The board shall appoint

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private counsel who has practiced law for over 5 years and who

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shall receive such compensation as may be established by the

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board. The private counsel may not represent the property

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appraiser, the tax collector, any taxing authority, or any

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property owner in any administrative or judicial review of

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property taxes. No meeting of the board shall take place unless

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counsel to the board is present. However, counsel for the

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property appraiser shall not be required when the county attorney

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represents only the board at the board hearings, even though the

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county attorney may represent the property appraiser in other

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matters or at a different time. Two-fifths of the expenses of the

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board shall be borne by the district school board and three-

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fifths by the district county commission.

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     Section 3.  Section 194.035, Florida Statutes, is amended to

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read:

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     194.035  Special magistrates; property evaluators.--

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     (1) Each value adjustment In counties having a population

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of more than 75,000, the board shall appoint special magistrates

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for the purpose of taking testimony and making recommendations to

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the board, which recommendations the board may act upon without

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further hearing. These special magistrates may not be elected or

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appointed officials or employees of the county but shall be

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selected from a list of those qualified individuals who are

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willing to serve as special magistrates. Employees and elected or

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appointed officials of a taxing jurisdiction or of the state may

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not serve as special magistrates. The clerk of the board shall

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annually notify such individuals or their professional

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associations to make known to them that opportunities to serve as

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special magistrates exist. The Department of Revenue shall

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provide a list of qualified special magistrates to any county

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with a population of 75,000 or less. Subject to appropriation,

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the department shall reimburse counties with a population of

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75,000 or less for payments made to special magistrates appointed

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for the purpose of taking testimony and making recommendations to

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the value adjustment board pursuant to this section. The

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department shall establish a reasonable range for payments per

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case to special magistrates based on such payments in other

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counties. Requests for reimbursement of payments outside this

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range shall be justified by the county. If the total of all

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requests for reimbursement in any year exceeds the amount

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available pursuant to this section, payments to all counties

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shall be prorated accordingly. A special magistrate appointed to

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hear issues of exemptions and classifications shall be a member

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of The Florida Bar with no less than 5 years' experience in the

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area of ad valorem taxation. A special magistrate appointed to

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hear issues regarding the valuation of real estate shall be a

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state certified real estate appraiser with not less than 5 years'

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experience in real property valuation. A special magistrate

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appointed to hear issues regarding the valuation of tangible

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personal property shall be a designated member of a nationally

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recognized appraiser's organization with not less than 5 years'

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e

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magistrate need not be a resident of the county in which he or

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she serves. A special magistrate may not represent a person

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before the board in any tax year during which he or she has

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served that board as a special magistrate. Before appointing a

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special magistrate, a value adjustment board shall verify the

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special magistrate's qualifications. The value adjustment board

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shall ensure that the selection of special magistrates is based

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solely upon the experience and qualifications of the special

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magistrate and is not influenced by the property appraiser. It is

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the duty of the special magistrate to accurately and completely

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preserve all testimony and, in making recommendations to the

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value adjustment board, the special magistrate shall include

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proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and reasons for

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upholding or overturning the determination of the property

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appraiser. The board shall appoint special magistrates from the

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list so compiled prior to convening of the board. The expense of

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hearings before magistrates and any compensation of special

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magistrates shall be borne three-fifths by the board of county

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commissioners and two-fifths by the school board.

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     (2)  The value adjustment board of each county may employ

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qualified property appraisers or evaluators to appear before the

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value adjustment board at that meeting of the board which is held

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for the purpose of hearing complaints. Such property appraisers

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or evaluators shall present testimony as to the just value of any

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property the value of which is contested before the board and

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shall submit to examination by the board, the taxpayer, and the

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property appraiser.

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     (3) The department shall provide and conduct training for

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special magistrates at least once each year in at least five

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locations throughout the state. The training shall emphasize the

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department's standard measures of value, including the guidelines

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for real and tangible personal property. Notwithstanding the

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requirements in subsection (1), a person who has 3 years of

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relevant experience and who has completed the training provided

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by the department under this subsection may be appointed as a

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special magistrate. The training shall be open to the public.

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     Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 194.037, Florida

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Statutes, is amended to read:

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     194.037  Disclosure of tax impact.--

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     (1)  After hearing all petitions, complaints, appeals, and

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disputes, the clerk shall make public notice of the findings and

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results of the board in at least a quarter-page size

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advertisement of a standard size or tabloid size newspaper, and

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the headline shall be in a type no smaller than 18 point. The

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advertisement shall not be placed in that portion of the

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newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements

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appear. The advertisement shall be published in a newspaper of

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general paid circulation in the county. The newspaper selected

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shall be one of general interest and readership in the community,

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and not one of limited subject matter, pursuant to chapter 50.

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The headline shall read: TAX IMPACT OF VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD.

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The public notice shall list the members of the value adjustment

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board and the taxing authorities to which they are elected. The

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form shall show, in columnar form, for each of the property

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classes listed under subsection (2), the following information,

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with appropriate column totals:

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     (a)  In the first column, the number of parcels for which

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the board granted exemptions that had been denied or that had not

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been acted upon by the property appraiser.

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     (b)  In the second column, the number of parcels for which

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petitions were filed concerning a property tax exemption.

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     (c)  In the third column, the number of parcels for which

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the board considered the petition and reduced the assessment from

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that made by the property appraiser on the initial assessment

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roll.

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     (d) In the fourth column, the number of parcels for which

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petitions were filed but which were not considered by the board

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because such petitions were withdrawn or settled prior to the

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board's consideration.

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     (e)(d) In the fifth fourth column, the number of parcels

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for which petitions were filed requesting a change in assessed

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value, including requested changes in assessment classification.

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     (f)(e) In the sixth fifth column, the net change in taxable

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value from the assessor's initial roll which results from board

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decisions.

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     (g)(f) In the seventh sixth column, the net shift in taxes

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to parcels not granted relief by the board. The shift shall be

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computed as the amount shown in column 5 multiplied by the

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applicable millage rates adopted by the taxing authorities in

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hearings held pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(d) or adopted by vote of

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the electors pursuant to s. 9(b) or s. 12, Art. VII of the State

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Constitution, but without adjustment as authorized pursuant to s.

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200.065(6). If for any taxing authority the hearing has not been

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c

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millage rate used shall be that adopted in the hearing held

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pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(c).

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     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.