Florida Senate - 2009                                    SB 1006
       
       
       
       By Senator Fasano
       
       
       
       
       11-00570A-09                                          20091006__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to ad valorem assessments; amending s.
    3         194.301, F.S.; revising the burden of proof in the
    4         challenge of an assessment; requiring property
    5         appraisers to prove compliance with certain laws and
    6         appraisal practices; deleting provisions relating to a
    7         presumption of correctness of an assessment by a
    8         property appraiser; requiring a taxpayer to prove
    9         entitlement to an ad valorem tax exemption or
   10         classification by a preponderance of the evidence;
   11         providing legislative intent; providing for
   12         retroactive application; providing an effective date.
   13         
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15         
   16         Section 1. Section 194.301, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   17  read:
   18         194.301 Presumption of correctness and burden of proof in
   19  challenges to ad valorem tax value assessment.—
   20         (1) In any administrative or judicial action in which a
   21  taxpayer challenges an ad valorem tax assessment of value, the
   22  property appraiser has the burden of going forward and proving
   23  that his or her assessment was arrived at by complying with s.
   24  193.011 and professionally accepted appraisal practices,
   25  including mass appraisal standards, if appropriate, in which
   26  case the assessment shall be presumed correct. The taxpayer has
   27  the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that
   28  the assessment of value exceeds just value or that the
   29  assessment is based upon appraisal practices that are different
   30  from the appraisal practices generally applied to comparable
   31  property within the same class. In any judicial action in which
   32  the property appraiser challenges the value adjustment board's
   33  determination of value, the property appraiser has the burden of
   34  proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the assessment
   35  established by the value adjustment board is less than just
   36  value appraiser's assessment shall be presumed correct. This
   37  presumption of correctness is lost if the taxpayer shows by a
   38  preponderance of the evidence that either the property appraiser
   39  has failed to consider properly the criteria in s. 193.011 or if
   40  the property appraiser's assessment is arbitrarily based on
   41  appraisal practices which are different from the appraisal
   42  practices generally applied by the property appraiser to
   43  comparable property within the same class and within the same
   44  county. If the presumption of correctness is lost, the taxpayer
   45  shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the
   46  evidence that the appraiser's assessment is in excess of just
   47  value. If the presumption of correctness is retained, the
   48  taxpayer shall have the burden of proving by clear and
   49  convincing evidence that the appraiser's assessment is in excess
   50  of just value. In no case shall the taxpayer have the burden of
   51  proving that the property appraiser's assessment is not
   52  supported by any reasonable hypothesis of a legal assessment. If
   53  the property appraiser's assessment is determined to be
   54  erroneous, the value adjustment board or the court can establish
   55  the assessment if there exists competent, substantial evidence
   56  exists in the record, which cumulatively meets the requirements
   57  of s. 193.011 and professionally accepted appraisal practices,
   58  including mass appraisal standards, if appropriate. If the
   59  record lacks competent, substantial evidence meeting the just
   60  value criteria of s. 193.011, the matter shall be remanded to
   61  the property appraiser with appropriate directions from the
   62  value adjustment board or the court. The burdens of proof
   63  provided in this section apply to the challenge of an assessment
   64  that is revised after the assessment is remanded to the property
   65  appraiser by a value adjustment board or court.
   66         (2) In any administrative or judicial action in which a
   67  denial of an exemption or assessment classification is
   68  challenged, the denial by the property appraiser does not have a
   69  presumption of correctness. In such actions, the taxpayer has
   70  the burden of proving entitlement to an exemption or assessment
   71  classification by a preponderance of the evidence.
   72         Section 2. It is the express intent of the Legislature that
   73  a taxpayer shall never have the burden of proving that the
   74  property appraiser's assessment is not supported by any
   75  reasonable hypothesis of a legal assessment. All cases
   76  establishing the every-reasonable-hypothesis standard were
   77  expressly rejected by the Legislature on the adoption of chapter
   78  97-85, Laws of Florida. It is the further intent of the
   79  Legislature that any cases published since 1997 citing the
   80  every-reasonable-hypothesis standard are expressly rejected to
   81  the extent that they are interpretative of legislative intent.
   82         Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 194.301, Florida
   83  Statutes, as created by this act, and section 2 of this act are
   84  intended to clarify existing law and apply retroactively.
   85         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law
   86  and first applies to assessments in 2009.