Florida Senate - 2009                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1006
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 144816                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/15/2009           .                                
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       The Committee on Finance and Tax (Bennett) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3  
    4         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 1. Section 194.301, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    7  read:
    8         (Substantial rewording of section. See
    9         s. 194.301, F.S., for present text.)
   10         194.301 Challenge to ad valorem tax assessment.—
   11         (1) An ad valorem tax assessment is presumed correct
   12  whether established by the property appraiser or as revised by
   13  the value adjustment board. However, a taxpayer who challenges
   14  an assessment is entitled to a determination by the value
   15  adjustment board or court of the appropriateness of the
   16  appraisal methodology used in making the assessment. The value
   17  of property must be determined by an appraisal methodology that
   18  complies with the criteria of s. 193.011 and professionally
   19  accepted appraisal practices. The provisions of this subsection
   20  preempt any prior case law that is inconsistent with this
   21  subsection.
   22         (2) In an administrative or judicial action in which an ad
   23  valorem tax assessment is challenged, the burden of proof is on
   24  the party initiating the challenge.
   25         (a) If the challenge is to the assessed value of the
   26  property, the party initiating the challenge has the burden of
   27  proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the assessed
   28  value:
   29         1. Does not represent the just value of the property after
   30  taking into account any applicable limits on annual increases in
   31  the value of the property;
   32         2. Does not represent the classified use value or
   33  fractional value of the property if the property is required to
   34  be assessed based on its character or use; or
   35         3. Is arbitrarily based on appraisal practices that are
   36  different from the appraisal practices generally applied by the
   37  property appraiser to comparable property within the same
   38  county.
   39         (b) If the party challenging the assessment satisfies the
   40  requirements of paragraph (a), the presumption provided in
   41  subsection (1) is overcome and the value adjustment board or the
   42  court shall establish the assessment if there is competent,
   43  substantial evidence of value in the record which cumulatively
   44  meets the criteria of s. 193.011 and professionally accepted
   45  appraisal practices. If the record lacks such evidence, the
   46  matter must be remanded to the property appraiser with
   47  appropriate directions from the value adjustment board or the
   48  court, and the property appraiser must comply with those
   49  directions.
   50         (c) If the revised assessment following remand is
   51  challenged, the procedures described in this section apply.
   52         (d) A party is not required to exclude every reasonable
   53  hypothesis of a legal assessment.
   54         (e) If the challenge is to the classification or exemption
   55  status of the property, there is no presumption of correctness
   56  and the party initiating the challenge has the burden of proving
   57  by a preponderance of the evidence that the classification or
   58  exempt status assigned to the property is incorrect.
   59         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law,
   60  and applies to the 2009 tax roll, except that s. 194.301(2)(d)
   61  and (e), Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, are
   62  clarifying and remedial in nature and also applies to actions
   63  pending on or after the effective date of this act for which no
   64  final order has been issued.
   65  
   66  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   67         And the title is amended as follows:
   68         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   69  and insert:
   70                        A bill to be entitled                      
   71         A act relating to ad valorem assessments; amending s.
   72         194.301, F.S.; revising the bases for providing a
   73         presumption of correctness to an assessment of
   74         property value; providing that the taxpayer is
   75         entitled to an evaluation of the appraisal
   76         methodology; providing that the act preempts prior
   77         case law; revising the criteria for overcoming the
   78         presumption of correctness; providing for challenges
   79         to the classification or exemption status of property;
   80         providing for application; providing an effective
   81         date.