HB 917

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to property assessments; amending s.
3	192.042, F.S.; authorizing consideration of sales
4	transactions in developing the just value assessment of
5	real property; specifying criteria for sales transactions;
6	requiring property appraisers to use certain sales for
7	certain purposes; requiring the Department of Revenue to
8	base levels of assessment and property tax roll statistics
9	on certain sales transactions under certain circumstances;
10	amending s. 194.301, F.S.; providing legislative intent;
11	specifying a preponderance of evidence standard in
12	taxpayer challenges of ad valorem tax assessments of value
13	in judicial or administrative actions; deleting provisions
14	relating to a presumption of correctness of a property
15	appraiser's assessments; providing for sufficiency of
16	independent appraisals of property types by certain
17	appraisers; providing for a property appraiser's retention
18	of a rebuttable presumption to challenge certain
19	appraisals; providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1.  Section 192.042, Florida Statutes, is amended
24	to read:
25	192.042  Date of assessment.--All property shall be
26	assessed according to its just value as follows:
27	(1)  Real property, on January 1 of each year. Improvements
28	or portions not substantially completed on January 1 shall have
29	no value placed thereon. "Substantially completed" shall mean
30	that the improvement or some self-sufficient unit within it can
31	be used for the purpose for which it was constructed.
32	(a)1.  In developing the just value assessment of real
33	property for the January 1 date each year, sales transactions
34	may be considered from closed transactions up to June 1 of the
35	year in which the roll is submitted subject to the following
36	conditions:
37	a.  Post-date sales are probative of just value as of
38	January 1.
39	b.  Post-date sales may not be used as a substitute for
40	pre-date sales.
41	c.  Post-date sales may be considered only in conjunction
42	with pre-date sales.
43	d.  Consideration of post-date sales is otherwise
44	consistent with law.
45	2.  The property appraiser shall use post-date sales as
46	provided in this paragraph to ensure values are equitable in a
47	declining market. Under no circumstances may the use of post-
48	date sales create an overassessment of just value of any
49	property as of January 1.
50	(b)  If the property appraiser notifies the department upon
51	submission of the property tax roll that the provisions of
52	paragraph (a) have been used in the development of the property
53	tax roll, the department shall base the level of assessment and
54	property tax roll statistics on qualified sales transactions
55	dating from September 1 of the prior year until June 1 of the
56	subsequent year.
57	(2)  Tangible personal property, on January 1, except that
58	construction work in progress shall have no value placed thereon
59	until substantially completed as defined in s. 192.001(11)(d).
60	Section 2.  Section 194.301, Florida Statutes, is amended
61	to read:
62	194.301  Presumption of correctness.--
63	(1)  It is the intent of the Legislature that a taxpayer
64	never have the burden of proving that a property appraiser's
65	assessment is not supported by any reasonable hypothesis of a
66	legal assessment. It is the intent of the Legislature that any
67	court cases published since 1997 applying the every-reasonable-
68	hypothesis standard to uphold the property appraiser's
69	assessment are rejected based upon case interpretations of
70	legislative intent.
71	(2)  In any administrative or judicial action in which a
72	taxpayer challenges an ad valorem tax assessment of value, the
73	standard shall be based upon a preponderance of the evidence
74	property appraiser's assessment shall be presumed correct. This
75	presumption of correctness is lost if The taxpayer shall show
76	shows by a preponderance of the evidence that either the
77	property appraiser has failed to consider properly the criteria
78	in s. 193.011 or if the property appraiser's assessment is
79	arbitrarily based on appraisal practices which are different
80	from the appraisal practices generally applied by the property
81	appraiser to comparable property within the same class and
82	within the same county. With the property appraiser retaining a
83	rebuttable presumption to challenge an appraisal, an appraisal
84	prepared by an independent appraiser is sufficient, for all
85	property types when the appraiser is a state-certified general
86	appraiser in good standing and for residential property types
87	when the appraiser is a state-certified residential appraiser or
88	state-licensed appraiser in good standing, to prove If the
89	presumption of correctness is lost, the taxpayer shall have the
90	burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the
91	appraiser's assessment is in excess of just value. If the
92	presumption of correctness is retained, the taxpayer shall have
93	the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the
94	appraiser's assessment is in excess of just value. In no case
95	shall the taxpayer have the burden of proving that the property
96	appraiser's assessment is not supported by any reasonable
97	hypothesis of a legal assessment. If the property appraiser's
98	assessment is determined to be erroneous, the Value Adjustment
99	Board or the court can establish the assessment if there exists
100	competent, substantial evidence in the record, which
101	cumulatively meets the requirements of s. 193.011. If the record
102	lacks competent, substantial evidence meeting the just value
103	criteria of s. 193.011, the matter shall be remanded to the
104	property appraiser with appropriate directions from the Value
105	Adjustment Board or the court.
106	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.