Florida Senate - 2009 SB 752
By Senator Richter
37-00501-09 2009752__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to notices of proposed property taxes;
3 amending s. 200.069, F.S.; revising the form of the
4 notice of proposed property taxes to include certain
5 millage rates; amending s. 200.065, F.S.; conforming a
6 cross-reference; providing an effective date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10 Section 1. Section 200.069, Florida Statutes, is amended to
11 read:
12 200.069 Notice of proposed property taxes and non-ad
13 valorem assessments.—Pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(b), the property
14 appraiser, in the name of the taxing authorities and local
15 governing boards levying non-ad valorem assessments within his
16 or her jurisdiction and at the expense of the county, shall
17 prepare and deliver by first-class mail to each taxpayer to be
18 listed on the current year's assessment roll a notice of
19 proposed property taxes. The, which notice shall contain the
20 elements and use the format provided in the following form.
21 Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 195.022, a no county
22 officer may not shall use a form other than that provided in
23 this section herein. The Department of Revenue may adjust the
24 spacing and placement on the form of the elements listed in this
25 section as it considers necessary based on changes in conditions
26 necessitated by various taxing authorities. If the elements are
27 in the order listed, the placement of the listed columns may be
28 varied at the discretion and expense of the property appraiser,
29 and the property appraiser may use printing technology and
30 devices to complete the form, the spacing, and the placement of
31 the information in the columns. A county officer may use a form
32 other than that provided by the department for purposes of this
33 part, but only if his or her office pays the related expenses
34 and he or she obtains prior written permission from the
35 executive director of the department; however, a county officer
36 may not use a form the substantive content of which is at
37 variance with the form prescribed by the department. The county
38 officer may continue to use such an approved form until the law
39 that specifies the form is amended or repealed or until the
40 officer receives written disapproval from the executive
41 director.
42 (1) The notice shall read:
43 NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROPERTY TAXES
44 DO NOT PAY—THIS IS NOT A BILL
45 The taxing authorities which levy property taxes against
46 your property will soon hold PUBLIC HEARINGS to adopt budgets
47 and tax rates for the next year.
48 The purpose of these PUBLIC HEARINGS is to receive opinions
49 from the general public and to answer questions on the proposed
50 tax change and budget PRIOR TO TAKING FINAL ACTION.
51 Each taxing authority may AMEND OR ALTER its proposals at
52 the hearing.
53 (2) The notice shall further contain information applicable
54 to the specific parcel in question. The information shall be in
55 columnar form. There shall be eight five column headings which
56 shall read: “Taxing Authority,” “Your Property Taxes Last Year,”
57 “Millage Rate Last Year,” “Your Taxes This Year IF PROPOSED
58 Budget Change is Made,” “Millage Rate This Year IF PROPOSED
59 Budget Change is Made,” “A Public Hearing on the Proposed Taxes
60 and Budget Will be Held:,”, and “Your Taxes This Year IF NO
61 Budget Change is Made,” and “Millage Rate IF NO Budget Change is
62 Made.”
63 (3) There shall be under each column heading an entry for
64 the county; the school district levy required pursuant to s.
65 1011.60(6); other operating school levies; the municipality or
66 municipal service taxing unit or units in which the parcel lies,
67 if any; the water management district levying pursuant to s.
68 373.503; the independent special districts in which the parcel
69 lies, if any; and for all voted levies for debt service
70 applicable to the parcel, if any.
71 (4) For each entry listed in subsection (3), there shall
72 appear on the notice the following:
73 (a) In the first column, a brief, commonly used name for
74 the taxing authority or its governing body. The entry in the
75 first column for the levy required pursuant to s. 1011.60(6)
76 shall be “By State Law.” The entry for other operating school
77 district levies shall be “By Local Board.” Both school levy
78 entries shall be indented and preceded by the notation “Public
79 Schools:”. For each voted levy for debt service, the entry shall
80 be “Voter Approved Debt Payments.”
81 (b) In the second column, the gross amount of ad valorem
82 taxes levied against the parcel in the previous year. If the
83 parcel did not exist in the previous year, the second column
84 shall be blank.
85 (c) In the third column, the millage rate for ad valorem
86 taxes levied against the parcel in the previous year. If the
87 parcel did not exist in the previous year, the third column
88 shall be blank.
89 (d)(c) In the fourth third column, the gross amount of ad
90 valorem taxes proposed to be levied in the current year, which
91 amount shall be based on the proposed millage rates provided to
92 the property appraiser pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(b) or, in the
93 case of voted levies for debt service, the millage rate
94 previously authorized by referendum, and the taxable value of
95 the parcel as shown on the current year's assessment roll.
96 (e) In the fifth column, the proposed millage rate for ad
97 valorem taxes to be levied against the parcel in the current
98 year as provided in paragraph (d).
99 (f)(d) In the sixth fourth column, the date, the time, and
100 a brief description of the location of the public hearing
101 required pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(c).
102 (g)(e) In the seventh fifth column, the gross amount of ad
103 valorem taxes which would apply to the parcel in the current
104 year if each taxing authority were to levy the rolled-back rate
105 computed pursuant to s. 200.065(1) or, in the case of voted
106 levies for debt service, the amount previously authorized by
107 referendum.
108 (h) In the eighth column, the millage rate for ad valorem
109 taxes to be levied against the parcel if no budget change is
110 made.
111 (i)(f) For special assessments collected using utilizing
112 the ad valorem method pursuant to s. 197.363, the previous
113 year's assessment amount shall be added to the ad valorem taxes
114 shown in the second and seventh fifth columns, and the amount
115 proposed to be imposed for the current year shall be added to
116 the ad valorem taxes shown in the fourth third column.
117 (5) The amounts shown on each line preceding each entry for
118 voted levies for debt service shall include the sum of all ad
119 valorem levies of the applicable unit of local government for
120 operating purposes, including those of dependent special
121 districts (except for municipal service taxing units, which
122 shall be listed on the line for municipalities), and all
123 nonvoted or nondebt service special assessments imposed by the
124 applicable unit of local government to be collected utilizing
125 the ad valorem method.
126 (6) Following the entries for each taxing authority, a
127 final entry shall show: in the first column, the words “Total
128 Property Taxes:” and in the second, fourth third, and seventh
129 fifth columns, the sum of the entries for each of the individual
130 taxing authorities. The second, fourth third, and seventh fifth
131 columns shall, immediately below said entries, be labeled Column
132 1, Column 2, and Column 3, respectively. Below these labels
133 shall appear, in boldfaced type, the statement: SEE REVERSE SIDE
134 FOR EXPLANATION.
135 (7) The notice shall further show a brief legal description
136 of the property and the name and mailing address of the owner of
137 record.
138 (8) The notice shall further read:
139 MarketValue AssessedValue Exemp-tions TaxableValue
140 Your PropertyValue LastYear $.......... $........... $........... $...........
141 Your PropertyValue ThisYear $.......... $........... $........... $...........
142 If you feel that the market value of your property is
143 inaccurate or does not reflect fair market value, or if you are
144 entitled to an exemption that is not reflected above, contact
145 your county property appraiser at ...(phone number)... or
146 ...(location)....
147 If the property appraiser's office is unable to resolve the
148 matter as to market value or an exemption, you may file a
149 petition for adjustment with the Value Adjustment Board.
150 Petition forms are available from the county property appraiser
151 and must be filed ON OR BEFORE ...(date)....
152 (9) The reverse side of the form shall read:
153 EXPLANATION
154 *COLUMN 1—“YOUR PROPERTY TAXES LAST YEAR”
155 This column shows the taxes that applied last year to your
156 property. These amounts were based on budgets adopted last year
157 and your property's previous taxable value.
158 *COLUMN 2—“YOUR TAXES IF PROPOSED BUDGET CHANGE IS MADE”
159 This column shows what your taxes will be this year under the
160 BUDGET ACTUALLY PROPOSED by each local taxing authority. The
161 proposal is NOT final and may be amended at the public hearings
162 shown on the front side of this notice.
163 *COLUMN 3—“YOUR TAXES IF NO BUDGET CHANGE IS MADE”
164 This column shows what your taxes will be this year IF EACH
165 TAXING AUTHORITY DOES NOT INCREASE ITS PROPERTY TAX LEVY. These
166 amounts are based on last year's budgets and your current
167 assessment. The difference between columns 2 and 3 is the tax
168 change proposed by each local taxing authority and is NOT the
169 result of higher assessments.
170 ASSESSED VALUE means:
171 For homestead property: value as limited by the State
172 Constitution;
173 For agricultural and similarly assessed property:
174 classified use value;
175 For all other property: market value.
176 *Note: Amounts shown on this form do NOT reflect early payment
177 discounts you may have received or may be eligible to receive.
178 (Discounts are a maximum of 4 percent of the amounts shown on
179 this form.)
180 (10) The bottom portion of the notice shall further read in
181 bold, conspicuous print:
182 “Your final tax bill may contain non-ad valorem
183 assessments which may not be reflected on this notice
184 such as assessments for roads, fire, garbage,
185 lighting, drainage, water, sewer, or other
186 governmental services and facilities which may be
187 levied by your county, city, or any special district.”
188 (11)(a) If requested by the local governing board levying
189 non-ad valorem assessments and agreed to by the property
190 appraiser, the notice specified in this section may contain a
191 notice of proposed or adopted non-ad valorem assessments. If so
192 agreed, the notice shall be titled:
193 NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROPERTY TAXES
194 AND PROPOSED OR ADOPTED
195 NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENTS
196 DO NOT PAY—THIS IS NOT A BILL
197 There must be a clear partition between the notice of proposed
198 property taxes and the notice of proposed or adopted non-ad
199 valorem assessments. The partition must be a bold, horizontal
200 line approximately 1/8-inch thick. By rule, the department shall
201 provide a format for the form of the notice of proposed or
202 adopted non-ad valorem assessments which meets the following
203 minimum requirements:
204 1. There must be subheading for columns listing the levying
205 local governing board, with corresponding assessment rates
206 expressed in dollars and cents per unit of assessment, and the
207 associated assessment amount.
208 2. The purpose of each assessment must also be listed in
209 the column listing the levying local governing board if the
210 purpose is not clearly indicated by the name of the board.
211 3. Each non-ad valorem assessment for each levying local
212 governing board must be listed separately.
213 4. If a county has too many municipal service benefit units
214 or assessments to be listed separately, it shall combine them by
215 function.
216 5. A brief statement outlining the responsibility of the
217 tax collector and each levying local governing board as to any
218 non-ad valorem assessment must be provided on the form,
219 accompanied by directions as to which office to contact for
220 particular questions or problems.
221 (b) If the notice includes all adopted non-ad valorem
222 assessments, the provisions contained in subsection (10) shall
223 not be placed on the notice.
224 Section 2. Subsection (11) of section 200.065, Florida
225 Statutes, is amended to read:
226 200.065 Method of fixing millage.—
227 (11) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2)(b) and
228 s. 200.069(4)(d) s. 200.069(4)(c) to the contrary, the proposed
229 millage rates provided to the property appraiser by the taxing
230 authority, except for millage rates adopted by referendum, for
231 rates authorized by s. 1011.71, and for rates required by law to
232 be in a specified millage amount, shall be adjusted in the event
233 that a review notice is issued pursuant to s. 193.1142(4) and
234 the taxable value on the approved roll is at variance with the
235 taxable value certified pursuant to subsection (1). The
236 adjustment shall be made by the property appraiser, who shall
237 notify the taxing authorities affected by the adjustment within
238 5 days of the date the roll is approved pursuant to s.
239 193.1142(4). The adjustment shall be such as to provide for no
240 change in the dollar amount of taxes levied from that initially
241 proposed by the taxing authority.
242 Section 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.