Florida Senate - 2008 CS for CS for SB 2080
By the Committees on General Government Appropriations; Finance and Tax; and Senator Haridopolos
601-08346-08 20082080c2
1
A bill to be entitled
2
An act relating to value adjustment boards; amending s.
3
194.011, F.S.; requiring that the Department of Revenue
4
develop a uniform policies and procedures manual for use
5
in proceedings before value adjustment boards; specifying
6
availability requirements for such manual; amending s.
7
194.015, F.S.; revising the membership of value adjustment
8
boards; providing for citizen members; revising criteria
9
related to appointment to such boards; revising quorum
10
requirements; deleting provisions authorizing county
11
attorneys to act as counsel for value adjustment boards;
12
amending s. 194.035, F.S.; providing that a requirement
13
that value adjustment boards appoint special magistrates
14
for certain purposes applies to all counties; requiring
15
value adjustment boards to verify the qualifications of
16
special magistrates prior to appointment; providing
17
selection criteria; requiring that the department provide
18
training for special magistrates; providing training
19
requirements; requiring that the department charge tuition
20
for such training; requiring that the department deposit
21
fees collected from such tuition into the Certification
22
Program Trust Fund; amending s. 194.037, F.S.; revising
23
information required to be provided on the disclosure of
24
tax impact form to include certain additional information;
25
amending s. 195.002, F.S.; conforming provisions to
26
changes made by the act; providing an effective date.
27
28
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30
Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 194.011, Florida
31
Statutes, is amended to read:
32
194.011 Assessment notice; objections to assessments.--
33
(5)(a) The department shall by rule prescribe uniform
34
procedures for hearings before the value adjustment board which
35
include requiring:
36
1.(a) Procedures for the exchange of information and
37
evidence by the property appraiser and the petitioner consistent
38
with s. 194.032; and
39
2.(b) That the value adjustment board hold an
40
organizational meeting for the purpose of making these procedures
41
available to petitioners.
42
(b) The department shall develop a uniform policies and
43
procedures manual that shall be used by value adjustment boards,
44
special magistrates, and taxpayers in proceedings before value
45
adjustment boards. The manual shall be made available, at a
46
minimum, on the department's website and on the existing websites
47
of the clerks of circuit courts.
48
Section 2. Section 194.015, Florida Statutes, is amended to
49
read:
50
194.015 Value adjustment board.--There is hereby created a
51
value adjustment board for each county, which shall consist of
52
two three members of the governing body of the county as elected
53
from the membership of the board of said governing body, one of
54
whom shall be elected chairperson, and one member two members of
55
the school board as elected from the membership of the school
56
board, and two citizen members, one of whom shall be appointed by
57
the governing body of the county and must own homestead property
58
within the county and one of whom must be appointed by the school
59
board and must own a business occupying commercial space located
60
within the school district. A citizen member may not be a member
61
or an employee of any taxing authority, and may not be a person
62
who represents property owners in any administrative or judicial
63
review of property taxes. The members of the board may be
64
temporarily replaced by other members of the respective boards on
65
appointment by their respective chairpersons. Any three members
66
shall constitute a quorum of the board, except that each quorum
67
must include at least one member of said governing board and at
68
least one member of the school board and at least one citizen
69
member, and no meeting of the board shall take place unless a
70
quorum is present. Members of the board may receive such per diem
71
compensation as is allowed by law for state employees if both
72
bodies elect to allow such compensation. The clerk of the
73
governing body of the county shall be the clerk of the value
74
adjustment board. The office of the county attorney may be
75
counsel to the board unless the county attorney represents the
76
property appraiser, in which instance The board shall appoint
77
private counsel who has practiced law for over 5 years and who
78
shall receive such compensation as may be established by the
79
board. The private counsel may not represent the property
80
appraiser, the tax collector, any taxing authority, or any
81
property owner in any administrative or judicial review of
82
property taxes. No meeting of the board shall take place unless
83
counsel to the board is present. However, counsel for the
84
property appraiser shall not be required when the county attorney
85
represents only the board at the board hearings, even though the
86
county attorney may represent the property appraiser in other
87
matters or at a different time. Two-fifths of the expenses of the
88
board shall be borne by the district school board and three-
89
fifths by the district county commission.
90
Section 3. Section 194.035, Florida Statutes, is amended to
91
read:
92
194.035 Special magistrates; property evaluators.--
93
(1) Each value adjustment In counties having a population
94
of more than 75,000, the board shall appoint special magistrates
95
for the purpose of taking testimony and making recommendations to
96
the board, which recommendations the board may act upon without
97
further hearing. These special magistrates may not be elected or
98
appointed officials or employees of the county but shall be
99
selected from a list of those qualified individuals who are
100
willing to serve as special magistrates. Employees and elected or
101
appointed officials of a taxing jurisdiction or of the state may
102
not serve as special magistrates. The clerk of the board shall
103
annually notify such individuals or their professional
104
associations to make known to them that opportunities to serve as
105
special magistrates exist. The Department of Revenue shall
106
provide a list of qualified special magistrates to any county
107
with a population of 75,000 or less. Subject to appropriation,
108
the department shall reimburse counties with a population of
109
75,000 or less for payments made to special magistrates appointed
110
for the purpose of taking testimony and making recommendations to
111
the value adjustment board pursuant to this section. The
112
department shall establish a reasonable range for payments per
113
case to special magistrates based on such payments in other
114
counties. Requests for reimbursement of payments outside this
115
range shall be justified by the county. If the total of all
116
requests for reimbursement in any year exceeds the amount
117
available pursuant to this section, payments to all counties
118
shall be prorated accordingly. A special magistrate appointed to
119
hear issues of exemptions and classifications shall be a member
120
of The Florida Bar with no less than 5 years' experience in the
121
area of ad valorem taxation. A special magistrate appointed to
122
hear issues regarding the valuation of real estate shall be a
123
state certified real estate appraiser with not less than 5 years'
124
experience in real property valuation. A special magistrate
125
appointed to hear issues regarding the valuation of tangible
126
personal property shall be a designated member of a nationally
127
recognized appraiser's organization with not less than 5 years'
128
experience in tangible personal property valuation. A special
129
magistrate need not be a resident of the county in which he or
130
she serves. A special magistrate may not represent a person
131
before the board in any tax year during which he or she has
132
served that board as a special magistrate. Before appointing a
133
special magistrate, a value adjustment board shall verify the
134
special magistrate's qualifications. The value adjustment board
135
shall ensure that the selection of special magistrates is based
136
solely upon the experience and qualifications of the special
137
magistrate and is not influenced by the property appraiser. It is
138
the duty of the special magistrate to accurately and completely
139
preserve all testimony and, in making recommendations to the
140
value adjustment board, the special magistrate shall include
141
proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and reasons for
142
upholding or overturning the determination of the property
143
appraiser. The board shall appoint special magistrates from the
144
list so compiled prior to convening of the board. The expense of
145
hearings before magistrates and any compensation of special
146
magistrates shall be borne three-fifths by the board of county
147
commissioners and two-fifths by the school board.
148
(2) The value adjustment board of each county may employ
149
qualified property appraisers or evaluators to appear before the
150
value adjustment board at that meeting of the board which is held
151
for the purpose of hearing complaints. Such property appraisers
152
or evaluators shall present testimony as to the just value of any
153
property the value of which is contested before the board and
154
shall submit to examination by the board, the taxpayer, and the
155
property appraiser.
156
(3) The department shall provide and conduct training for
157
special magistrates at least once each state fiscal year in at
158
least five locations throughout the state. Such training shall
159
emphasize the department's standard measures of value, including
160
the guidelines for real and tangible personal property.
161
Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person who has 3 years of
162
relevant experience and who has completed the training provided
163
by the department under this subsection may be appointed as a
164
special magistrate. The training shall be open to the public. The
165
department shall charge tuition fees to any person attending this
166
training in an amount sufficient to fund the department's costs
167
to conduct all aspects of the training. The department shall
168
deposit the fees collected into the Certification Program Trust
169
Fund pursuant to s. 195.002(2).
170
Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 194.037, Florida
171
Statutes, is amended to read:
172
194.037 Disclosure of tax impact.--
173
(1) After hearing all petitions, complaints, appeals, and
174
disputes, the clerk shall make public notice of the findings and
175
results of the board in at least a quarter-page size
176
advertisement of a standard size or tabloid size newspaper, and
177
the headline shall be in a type no smaller than 18 point. The
178
advertisement shall not be placed in that portion of the
179
newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements
180
appear. The advertisement shall be published in a newspaper of
181
general paid circulation in the county. The newspaper selected
182
shall be one of general interest and readership in the community,
183
and not one of limited subject matter, pursuant to chapter 50.
184
The headline shall read: TAX IMPACT OF VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD.
185
The public notice shall list the members of the value adjustment
186
board and the taxing authorities to which they are elected. The
187
form shall show, in columnar form, for each of the property
188
classes listed under subsection (2), the following information,
189
with appropriate column totals:
190
(a) In the first column, the number of parcels for which
191
the board granted exemptions that had been denied or that had not
192
been acted upon by the property appraiser.
193
(b) In the second column, the number of parcels for which
194
petitions were filed concerning a property tax exemption.
195
(c) In the third column, the number of parcels for which
196
the board considered the petition and reduced the assessment from
197
that made by the property appraiser on the initial assessment
198
roll.
199
(d) In the fourth column, the number of parcels for which
200
petitions were filed but which were not considered by the board
201
because such petitions were withdrawn or settled prior to the
202
board's consideration.
203
(e)(d) In the fifth fourth column, the number of parcels
204
for which petitions were filed requesting a change in assessed
205
value, including requested changes in assessment classification.
206
(f)(e) In the sixth fifth column, the net change in taxable
207
value from the assessor's initial roll which results from board
208
decisions.
209
(g)(f) In the seventh sixth column, the net shift in taxes
210
to parcels not granted relief by the board. The shift shall be
211
computed as the amount shown in column 5 multiplied by the
212
applicable millage rates adopted by the taxing authorities in
213
hearings held pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(d) or adopted by vote of
214
the electors pursuant to s. 9(b) or s. 12, Art. VII of the State
215
Constitution, but without adjustment as authorized pursuant to s.
216
200.065(6). If for any taxing authority the hearing has not been
217
completed at the time the notice required herein is prepared, the
218
millage rate used shall be that adopted in the hearing held
219
pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(c).
220
Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 195.002, Florida
221
Statutes, is amended to read:
222
195.002 Supervision by Department of Revenue.--
223
(2) In furtherance of its duty to conduct schools to
224
upgrade assessment skills and collection skills, the department
225
may establish by rule committees on admissions and certification.
226
Additionally, The department may also incur reasonable expenses
227
for hiring instructors, travel, office operations, certificates
228
of completion, badges or awards, and food service incidental to
229
conducting such schools and for administering any certification
231
department may charge a tuition fee and an examination fee to any
232
person who attends such a school and may charge a fee to certify
233
or recertify any person under such a program. The department
234
shall deposit such fees into the Certification Program Trust Fund
235
which is created in the State Treasury. There shall be separate
236
school accounts and program accounts in the trust fund for
237
property appraisers, and for tax collectors, and special
238
magistrates. The department shall use money in the fund to pay
239
such expenses.
240
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.