Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 972
By the Committee on Finance and Tax; and Senator Flores
593-03125-15 2015972c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to value adjustment boards; amending
3 s. 192.0105, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes
4 made by the act; amending s. 193.122, F.S.;
5 establishing deadlines for value adjustment boards to
6 hear petitions and issue the second tax roll
7 certification; providing applicability; amending s.
8 194.011, F.S.; specifying procedures for filing
9 petitions to the value adjustment board; amending s.
10 194.014, F.S.; revising the interest rate upon which
11 unpaid and overpaid ad valorem taxes accrue; amending
12 s. 194.015, F.S.; authorizing the district school
13 board and county commission to audit certain expenses
14 of the value adjustment board; amending s. 194.032,
15 F.S.; requiring a property appraiser to notify a
16 petitioner when property record cards are available
17 online; requiring a petitioner to show good cause to
18 reschedule a hearing related to an assessment;
19 limiting a petitioner to rescheduling a hearing twice;
20 amending s. 194.034, F.S.; revising the entities that
21 may represent a taxpayer before the value adjustment
22 board; providing effective dates.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section
27 192.0105, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
28 192.0105 Taxpayer rights.—There is created a Florida
29 Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights for property taxes and assessments to
30 guarantee that the rights, privacy, and property of the
31 taxpayers of this state are adequately safeguarded and protected
32 during tax levy, assessment, collection, and enforcement
33 processes administered under the revenue laws of this state. The
34 Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights compiles, in one document, brief but
35 comprehensive statements that summarize the rights and
36 obligations of the property appraisers, tax collectors, clerks
37 of the court, local governing boards, the Department of Revenue,
38 and taxpayers. Additional rights afforded to payors of taxes and
39 assessments imposed under the revenue laws of this state are
40 provided in s. 213.015. The rights afforded taxpayers to assure
41 that their privacy and property are safeguarded and protected
42 during tax levy, assessment, and collection are available only
43 insofar as they are implemented in other parts of the Florida
44 Statutes or rules of the Department of Revenue. The rights so
45 guaranteed to state taxpayers in the Florida Statutes and the
46 departmental rules include:
47 (2) THE RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS.—
48 (f) The right, in value adjustment board proceedings, to
49 have all evidence presented and considered at a public hearing
50 at the scheduled time, to be represented by a person specified
51 in s. 194.034(1)(a) an attorney or agent, to have witnesses
52 sworn and cross-examined, and to examine property appraisers or
53 evaluators employed by the board who present testimony (see ss.
54 194.034(1)(a) and (c) and (4), and 194.035(2)).
55 Section 2. Effective July 1, 2017, subsection (3) of
56 section 193.122, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
57 193.122 Certificates of value adjustment board and property
58 appraiser; extensions on the assessment rolls.—
59 (3) When the tax rolls have been extended pursuant to s.
60 197.323, the second certification of the value adjustment board
61 shall reflect all changes made by the board together with any
62 adjustments or changes made by the property appraiser. The value
63 adjustment board must hear all petitions and issue its second
64 certification by June 1 following the year in which the taxes
65 were assessed. Upon the value adjustment board’s second such
66 certification, the property appraiser shall recertify the tax
67 rolls with all changes to the collector and shall provide public
68 notice of the date and fact of recertification pursuant to
69 subsection (2).
70 Section 3. The amendment to s. 193.122, Florida Statutes,
71 made by this act first applies to the 2017 tax roll.
72 Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 194.011, Florida
73 Statutes, is amended to read:
74 194.011 Assessment notice; objections to assessments.—
75 (3) A petition to the value adjustment board must be in
76 substantially the form prescribed by the department.
77 Notwithstanding s. 195.022, a county officer may not refuse to
78 accept a form provided by the department for this purpose if the
79 taxpayer chooses to use it. A petition to the value adjustment
80 board must be signed by the taxpayer or accompanied by the
81 taxpayer’s written authorization for representation by a person
82 specified in s. 194.034(1)(a). A written authorization is valid
83 for 1 tax year, and a new written authorization by the taxpayer
84 shall be required for each subsequent tax year. A petition shall
85 also describe the property by parcel number and shall be filed
86 as follows:
87 (a) The property appraiser shall have available and shall
88 distribute forms prescribed by the Department of Revenue on
89 which the petition shall be made. Such petition shall be sworn
90 to by the petitioner.
91 (b) The completed petition shall be filed with the clerk of
92 the value adjustment board of the county, who shall acknowledge
93 receipt thereof and promptly furnish a copy thereof to the
94 property appraiser.
95 (c) The petition shall state the approximate time
96 anticipated by the taxpayer to present and argue his or her
97 petition before the board.
98 (d) The petition may be filed, as to valuation issues, at
99 any time during the taxable year on or before the 25th day
100 following the mailing of notice by the property appraiser as
101 provided in subsection (1). With respect to an issue involving
102 the denial of an exemption, an agricultural or high-water
103 recharge classification application, an application for
104 classification as historic property used for commercial or
105 certain nonprofit purposes, or a deferral, the petition must be
106 filed at any time during the taxable year on or before the 30th
107 day following the mailing of the notice by the property
108 appraiser under s. 193.461, s. 193.503, s. 193.625, s. 196.173,
109 or s. 196.193 or notice by the tax collector under s. 197.2425.
110 (e) A condominium association, cooperative association, or
111 any homeowners’ association as defined in s. 723.075, with
112 approval of its board of administration or directors, may file
113 with the value adjustment board a single joint petition on
114 behalf of any association members who own parcels of property
115 which the property appraiser determines are substantially
116 similar with respect to location, proximity to amenities, number
117 of rooms, living area, and condition. The condominium
118 association, cooperative association, or homeowners’ association
119 as defined in s. 723.075 shall provide the unit owners with
120 notice of its intent to petition the value adjustment board and
121 shall provide at least 20 days for a unit owner to elect, in
122 writing, that his or her unit not be included in the petition.
123 (f) An owner of contiguous, undeveloped parcels may file
124 with the value adjustment board a single joint petition if the
125 property appraiser determines such parcels are substantially
126 similar in nature.
127 (g) The individual, agent, or legal entity that signs the
128 petition becomes an agent of the taxpayer for the purpose of
129 serving process to obtain personal jurisdiction over the
130 taxpayer for the entire value adjustment board proceedings,
131 including any appeals of a board decision by the property
132 appraiser pursuant to s. 194.036.
133 Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 194.014, Florida
134 Statutes, is amended to read:
135 194.014 Partial payment of ad valorem taxes; proceedings
136 before value adjustment board.—
137 (2) If the value adjustment board determines that the
138 petitioner owes ad valorem taxes in excess of the amount paid,
139 the unpaid amount accrues interest at an annual percentage rate
140 equal to the interest rate determined by the executive director
141 of the Department of Revenue under s. 213.235 less 4 percentage
142 points, beginning on the rate of 12 percent per year from the
143 date the taxes became delinquent pursuant to s. 197.333 until
144 the unpaid amount is paid. If the value adjustment board
145 determines that a refund is due, the overpaid amount accrues
146 interest at an annual percentage rate equal to the interest rate
147 determined by the executive director of the Department of
148 Revenue under s. 213.235 less 4 percentage points, beginning on
149 the rate of 12 percent per year from the date the taxes became
150 delinquent pursuant to s. 197.333 until a refund is paid.
151 Interest does not accrue on amounts paid in excess of 100
152 percent of the current taxes due as provided on the tax notice
153 issued pursuant to s. 197.322.
154 Section 6. Section 194.015, Florida Statutes, is amended to
155 read:
156 194.015 Value adjustment board.—There is hereby created A
157 value adjustment board is created for each county, which shall
158 consist of two members of the governing body of the county as
159 elected from the membership of the board of said governing body,
160 one of whom shall be elected chairperson, and one member of the
161 school board as elected from the membership of the school board,
162 and two citizen members, one of whom shall be appointed by the
163 governing body of the county and must own homestead property
164 within the county and one of whom must be appointed by the
165 school board and must own a business occupying commercial space
166 located within the school district. A citizen member may not be
167 a member or an employee of any taxing authority, and may not be
168 a person who represents property owners in any administrative or
169 judicial review of property taxes. The members of the board may
170 be temporarily replaced by other members of the respective
171 boards on appointment by their respective chairpersons. Any
172 three members shall constitute a quorum of the board, except
173 that each quorum must include at least one member of said
174 governing board, at least one member of the school board, and at
175 least one citizen member and no meeting of the board shall take
176 place unless a quorum is present. Members of the board may
177 receive such per diem compensation as is allowed by law for
178 state employees if both bodies elect to allow such compensation.
179 The clerk of the governing body of the county shall be the clerk
180 of the value adjustment board. The board shall appoint private
181 counsel who has practiced law for over 5 years and who shall
182 receive such compensation as may be established by the board.
183 The private counsel may not represent the property appraiser,
184 the tax collector, any taxing authority, or any property owner
185 in any administrative or judicial review of property taxes. A No
186 meeting of the board may not shall take place unless counsel to
187 the board is present. Two-fifths of the expenses of the board
188 shall be borne by the district school board and three-fifths by
189 the district county commission. The district school board and
190 the county commission may audit the expenses related to the
191 value adjustment board process.
192 Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
193 194.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
194 194.032 Hearing purposes; timetable.—
195 (2)(a) The clerk of the governing body of the county shall
196 prepare a schedule of appearances before the board based on
197 petitions timely filed with him or her. The clerk shall notify
198 each petitioner of the scheduled time of his or her appearance
199 at least 25 calendar days before the day of the scheduled
200 appearance. The notice must indicate whether the petition has
201 been scheduled to be heard at a particular time or during a
202 block of time. If the petition has been scheduled to be heard
203 within a block of time, the beginning and ending of that block
204 of time must be indicated on the notice; however, as provided in
205 paragraph (b), a petitioner may not be required to wait for more
206 than a reasonable time, not to exceed 2 hours, after the
207 beginning of the block of time. If the petitioner checked the
208 appropriate box on the petition form to request a copy of the
209 property record card containing relevant information used in
210 computing the current assessment, the property appraiser must
211 provide the copy to the petitioner upon receipt of the petition
212 from the clerk regardless of whether the petitioner initiates
213 evidence exchange, unless the property record card is available
214 online from the property appraiser, in which case the property
215 appraiser must notify the petitioner that the property record
216 card is available online. Upon receipt of the notice, the
217 petitioner, for good cause, may reschedule the hearing no more
218 than twice a single time by submitting to the clerk a written
219 request to reschedule, at least 5 calendar days before the day
220 of the originally scheduled hearing.
221 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
222 194.034, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
223 194.034 Hearing procedures; rules.—
224 (1)(a) Petitioners before the board may be represented by a
225 corporate representative of the taxpayer, an attorney who is a
226 member of The Florida Bar, a real estate appraiser licensed
227 under chapter 475, a real estate broker licensed under chapter
228 475, or a certified public accountant licensed under chapter
229 473, retained by the taxpayer, or an individual with power of
230 attorney to act on behalf of the taxpayer who receives no
231 compensation, an attorney or agent and such person may present
232 testimony and other evidence. The property appraiser or his or
233 her authorized representatives may be represented by an attorney
234 in defending the property appraiser’s assessment or opposing an
235 exemption and may present testimony and other evidence. The
236 property appraiser, each petitioner, and all witnesses shall be
237 required, upon the request of either party, to testify under
238 oath as administered by the chairperson of the board. Hearings
239 shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by rules of the
240 department, which rules shall include the right of cross
241 examination of any witness.
242 Section 9. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
243 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2015.