_________ Bill No. _______

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act requiring the county tax appeal board, rather than the county clerk and recorder, to publish notice to taxpayers, giving the time that the county tax appeal board will meet to hear protests concerning assessments; amending section 15-15-101, MCA; and providing an effective date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

Section 1.  Section 15-15-101, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-15-101.   County tax appeal board -- meetings and compensation. (1) The board of county commissioners of each county shall appoint a three-member county tax appeal board, with the members to serve staggered terms of 3 years each. The members of each county tax appeal board must be residents of the county in which they serve. The members receive compensation of $45 a day and travel expenses, as provided for in 2-18-501 through 2-18-503, only when the county tax appeal board is in session to hear taxpayers' appeals from property tax assessments or when they are attending meetings called by the state tax appeal board. Travel expenses and compensation must be paid from the appropriation to the state tax appeal board. Office space and equipment for the county tax appeal boards must be furnished by the county. All other incidental expenses must be paid from the appropriation of the state tax appeal board.

(2)  The county tax appeal board shall hold an organizational meeting each year on the date of its first scheduled hearing, immediately before conducting the business for which the hearing was otherwise scheduled. It shall continue in session from time to time to hear protests concerning assessments made by the department until the business of hearing protests is disposed of, but, except as provided in 15-2-201, not later than 60 days after the department:

(a)  has mailed notice of classification and appraisal to all property owners and purchasers under contracts for deed as required in 15-7-102; and

(b)  has notified the county tax appeal board that classification and appraisal notices have been mailed to all property owners and purchasers under contracts for deed.

(3)  In connection with an appeal, the county tax appeal board may change any assessment or fix the assessment at some other level. The county clerk and recorder county tax appeal board shall publish a notice to taxpayers, giving the time that the county tax appeal board will meet to hear protests concerning assessments and the latest date that the county tax appeal board may take applications for the hearings. The notice must be published in a newspaper if any is printed in the county or, if none, then in the manner that the county tax appeal board directs. The notice must be published at least 7 days prior to the first meeting of the county tax appeal board.

(4)  Challenges to a department rule governing the assessment of property or to an assessment procedure apply only to the taxpayer bringing the challenge and may not apply to all similarly situated taxpayers unless an action is brought in the district court as provided in 15-1-406."

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997.

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