AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING PROCEDURES REGARDING COUNTY TAX APPEAL BOARDS; PROVIDING THAT COUNTY TAX APPEAL BOARDS ARE IN SESSION FROM JULY 1 TO DECEMBER 31 OF THE CURRENT TAX YEAR; CHANGING THE DATE FOR NOTICE OF THE TIME THE COUNTY TAX APPEAL BOARD WILL MEET; PROVIDING FOR THE SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS FOR REDUCTION OF PROPERTY TAXES WITH THE COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 15-7-102, 15-15-101, 15-15-102, AND 15-15-103, MCA.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 15-7-102, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-7-102. Notice of classification and appraisal to owners -- appeals. (1) (a) The department shall mail to each owner or purchaser under contract for deed a notice of the classification of the land owned or being purchased and the appraisal of the improvements on the land only if one or more of the following changes pertaining to the land or improvements have been made since the last notice:

(i) change in ownership;

(ii) change in classification;

(iii) except as provided in subsection (1)(b), change in valuation; or

(iv) addition or subtraction of personal property affixed to the land.

(b) After the first year, the department is not required to mail the notice provided for in subsection (1)(a)(iii) if the change in valuation is the result of an incremental change in valuation caused by the phasing in of a reappraisal.

(c) The notice must include the following for the taxpayer's informational purposes:

(i) the total amount of mills levied against the property in the prior year; and

(ii) a statement that the notice is not a tax bill.

(d) Any misinformation provided in the information required by subsection (1)(c) does not affect the validity of the notice and may not be used as a basis for a challenge of the legality of the notice.

(2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(c), the department shall assign each assessment to the correct owner or purchaser under contract for deed and mail the notice of classification and appraisal on a standardized form, adopted by the department, containing sufficient information in a comprehensible manner designed to fully inform the taxpayer as to the classification and appraisal of the property and of changes over the prior tax year.

(b) The notice must advise the taxpayer that in order to be eligible for a refund of taxes from an appeal of the classification or appraisal, the taxpayer is required to pay the taxes under protest as provided in 15-1-402.

(c) The department is not required to mail the notice of classification and appraisal to a new owner or purchaser under contract for deed unless the department has received the transfer certificate from the clerk and recorder as provided in 15-7-304 and has processed the certificate before the notices required by subsection (2)(a) are mailed. The department shall notify the county tax appeal board of the date of the mailing .

(3) If the owner of any land and improvements is dissatisfied with the appraisal as it reflects the market value of the property as determined by the department or with the classification of the land or improvements, the owner may request an assessment review by submitting an objection in writing to the department, on forms provided by the department for that purpose, within 30 days after receiving the notice of classification and appraisal from the department. The review must be conducted informally and is not subject to the contested case procedures of the Montana Administrative Procedure Act. As a part of the review, the department may consider the actual selling price of the property, independent appraisals of the property, and other relevant information presented by the taxpayer in support of the taxpayer's opinion as to the market value of the property. The department shall give reasonable notice to the taxpayer of the time and place of the review. After the review, the department shall determine the correct appraisal and classification of the land or improvements and notify the taxpayer of its determination. In the notification, the department shall state its reasons for revising the classification or appraisal. When the proper appraisal and classification have been determined, the land must be classified and the improvements appraised in the manner ordered by the department.

(4) Whether a review as provided in subsection (3) is held or not, the department may not adjust an appraisal or classification upon the taxpayer's objection unless:

(a) the taxpayer has submitted an objection in writing; and

(b) the department has stated its reason in writing for making the adjustment.

(5) A taxpayer's written objection to a classification or appraisal and the department's notification to the taxpayer of its determination and the reason for that determination are public records. The department shall make the records available for inspection during regular office hours.

(6) If any property owner feels aggrieved by the classification or appraisal made by the department after the review provided for in subsection (3), the property owner has the right to first appeal to the county tax appeal board and then to the state tax appeal board, whose findings are final subject to the right of review in the courts. The appeal to the county tax appeal board must be filed within 30 days after notice of the department's determination is mailed to the taxpayer. A county tax appeal board or the state tax appeal board may consider the actual selling price of the property, independent appraisals of the property, and other relevant information presented by the taxpayer as evidence of the market value of the property. If the county tax appeal board or the state tax appeal board determines that an adjustment should be made, the department shall adjust the base value of the property in accordance with the board's order."

Section 2. 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 meets 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 July 1 of the current tax year until December 31 of the current tax year to hear protests concerning assessments made by the department until the business of hearing protests is disposed of and, as provided in 15-2-201, may meet after December 31

.

(3) In connection with an appeal, the county tax appeal board may change any assessment or fix the assessment at some other level. Upon notification by the county tax appeal board, the county clerk and recorder shall publish a notice to taxpayers, giving the time the county tax appeal board will be in session to hear scheduled protests concerning assessments and the latest date 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 by May 15 of the current tax year.

(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."

Section 3. Section 15-15-102, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-15-102. Application for reduction in valuation. The valuation of property may not be reduced by the county tax appeal board unless either the taxpayer or the taxpayer's agent makes and files a written application for reduction with the county tax appeal board. The application for reduction may be obtained at the local appraisal office or from the county tax appeal board. The completed application must be submitted to the county clerk and recorder. The date of receipt is the date stamped on the appeal form by the county clerk and recorder upon receipt of the form. The county tax appeal board is responsible for obtaining the applications from the county clerk and recorder. The application must be submitted on or before the first Monday in June or 30 days after receiving either a notice of classification and appraisal or determination after review under 15-7-102(3) from the department, whichever is later. If the department's determination after review is not made in time to allow the county tax appeal board to review the matter during the current tax year, the appeal must be reviewed during the next tax year, but the decision by the county tax appeal board is effective for the year in which the request for review was filed with the department. The application must state the post-office address of the applicant, specifically describe the property involved, and state the facts upon which it is claimed the reduction should be made."

Section 4. Section 15-15-103, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-15-103. Examination of applicant -- failure to hear application. (1) Before the county tax appeal board grants any application or makes any reduction applied for, it shall examine on oath the person or agent making the application, touching the value of the property of each person. A reduction may not be made unless the applicant makes an application, as provided in 15-15-102, and attends the county tax appeal board hearing. An appeal of the board's decision may not be made to the state tax appeal board unless the person or the person's agent has exhausted the remedies available through the county tax appeal board. In order to exhaust the remedies, the person or the person's agent shall attend the county tax appeal board hearing. On written request by the person or the person's agent and on the written concurrence of the department of revenue, the county tax appeal board may waive the requirement that the person or the person's agent attend the hearing. The testimony of all witnesses at the hearing must be electronically recorded and preserved for 1 year. If the decision of the county tax appeal board is appealed, the record of the proceedings, including the electronic recording of all testimony, must be forwarded, together with all exhibits, to the state tax appeal board. The date of the hearing, the proceedings before the board, and the decision must be entered upon the minutes of the board, and the board shall notify the applicant of its decision by mail within 3 days. A copy of the minutes of the county tax appeal board must be transmitted to the state tax appeal board no later than 3 days after the board holds its final hearing of the year.

(2) If a county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear a taxpayer's timely application for a reduction in valuation of property, the taxpayer's application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year. The department shall enter the appraisal or classification sought in the application in the property tax record. An application is not automatically granted for the following appeals:

(a) those listed in 15-2-302; and

(b) if a taxpayer's appeal from the department's determination of classification or appraisal made pursuant to 15-7-102 was not received in time, as provided for in 15-15-102, to be considered by the board during its current session."

- END -

I hereby certify that the within bill,

HB 0082, originated in the House.

Chief Clerk of the House

Speaker of the House

Signed this	day

of	, .

President of the Senate

Signed this	day

of	, .

HOUSE BILL NO. 82

INTRODUCED BY H. HARPER, C. HIBBARD

BY REQUEST OF THE STATE TAX APPEAL BOARD

AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING PROCEDURES REGARDING COUNTY TAX APPEAL BOARDS; PROVIDING THAT COUNTY TAX APPEAL BOARDS ARE IN SESSION FROM JULY 1 TO DECEMBER 31 OF THE CURRENT TAX YEAR; CHANGING THE DATE FOR NOTICE OF THE TIME THE COUNTY TAX APPEAL BOARD WILL MEET; PROVIDING FOR THE SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS FOR REDUCTION OF PROPERTY TAXES WITH THE COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 15-7-102, 15-15-101, 15-15-102, AND 15-15-103, MCA.