H-1445

   Amend  the Senate amendment, H-1438, to House File 478, as amended, passed, and reprinted by the House, as follows:
   1.  By striking page 1, line 11, through page 2, line 1, and inserting: 
   <Sec. ___.  Section 428.4, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Property shall be assessed for taxation each year. Real estate shall be listed and assessed in 1981 and every two years thereafter. The assessment of real estate shall be the value of the real estate as of January 1 of the year of the assessment. The year 1981 and each odd-numbered year thereafter shall be a reassessment year. In any even-numbered year, after the year in which an assessment has been made of all the real estate in an assessing jurisdiction, the assessor shall value and assess or revalue and reassess, as the case may require, any individual real estate parcel that the assessor finds was incorrectly valued or assessed for more than the value authorized by law, or was not listed, valued, and assessed, in the assessment year immediately preceding, also any real estate the assessor finds has changed in value subsequent to January 1 of the preceding real estate assessment year in accordance with subsection 3. However, a percentage increase on a class of property shall not be made in a year not subject to an equalization order unless ordered by the department of revenue, and any such increase must apply to all property within the class.  A percentage increase for an even-numbered year shall be applied to all property within the class and shall not be applied only to a subset of the class unless approved by the department of revenue. The assessor shall determine the actual value and compute the taxable value thereof as of January 1 of the year of the revaluation and reassessment of all real estate. The assessment shall be completed as specified in section 441.28, but no reduction or increase in actual value shall be made for prior years. If an assessor makes a change in the valuation of the real estate as provided for, sections 441.23, 441.37, 441.37A, 441.37B, and 441.38, and 441.39 apply.>
   2.  By striking page 6, line 10, through page 7, line 4, and inserting: 
   <Sec. ___.  Section 441.21, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  (1)  The For assessment years beginning before January 1, 2018, the burden of proof shall be upon any complainant attacking such valuation as excessive, inadequate, inequitable, or capricious; however. However, in protest or appeal proceedings when the complainant offers competent evidence by at least two disinterested witnesses that the market value of the property is less than the market value determined by the assessor, the burden of proof thereafter shall be upon the officials or persons seeking to uphold such valuation to be assessed.
   (2)  For assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, when a valuation is attacked by a complainant, the burden of proof shall be upon the office of assessor to demonstrate that such valuation is not excessive, inadequate, inequitable, or capricious.>
   3.  Page 12, line 27, by striking <Each> and inserting <Each Except as provided in section 441.40A, each>
   4.  Page 16, after line 5 by inserting: 
   <Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  441.40A  Reimbursement of owner or taxpayer reasonable costs.
   1.  a.  If the amount of a property’s assessment following disposition of all protests or appeals for an assessment year is less than the amount of the assessment specified on the assessment roll provided to the owner or taxpayer under section 441.26, the office of assessor shall reimburse a percentage of the property owner’s or aggrieved taxpayer’s reasonable costs incurred in all such protests or appeals, excluding those costs apportioned to the board of review or a taxing body pursuant to section 441.40, if any, equal to the percentage by which the assessment is reduced.
   b.  The property owner or aggrieved taxpayer may request reimbursement from the office of assessor for such reasonable costs on a form prescribed by the department of revenue. Upon receipt of a reimbursement request under this section, such reimbursement amounts shall be paid from the assessment expense fund under section 441.16.
   2.  For purposes of this section, costs include but are not limited to legal fees, appraisal fees, and witness fees.
   3.  The requirement to reimburse a percentage of a property owner’s or aggrieved taxpayer’s reasonable costs shall not apply to costs incurred by the property owner or aggrieved taxpayer for the first assessment year beginning on or after January 1, 2018, for which the owner or taxpayer protests or appeals the assessment of the property and a reduction in the assessment occurs as provided in subsection 1.>
   5.  Page 16, by striking lines 6 through 20 and inserting: 
   <Sec. ___.  Section 441.41, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   441.41  Legal counsel.
   In the case of cities having an assessor, the city legal department shall represent the assessor and board of review in all litigation dealing with assessments. In the case of counties, the county attorney shall represent the assessor and board of review in all litigation dealing with assessments. Any taxing body district interested in the taxes received from such assessments may be represented by an attorney and shall be required to appear by attorney upon written request of the assessor to the presiding officer of any such taxing body district. The Subject to review and approval by the city legal department or the county attorney, as applicable, the conference board may employ special counsel to assist the city legal department or county attorney as the case may be, including employing special counsel if the city legal department or county attorney is disqualified because of a conflict of interest.>
   6.  By striking page 17, line 31, through page 18, line 1, and inserting: 
   <Sec. ___.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  The following provision of this Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment:
   1.  The section of this Act amending section 441.9.>
   7.  Page 18, by striking lines 15 through 19.
   8.  Page 18, by striking lines 20 through 23 and inserting: 
   <___.  Title page, by striking lines 1 through 6 and inserting <An Act relating to property tax assessments by modifying requirements for the determination of value, modifying provisions related to property assessment protests and appeals, modifying requirements for assessors and deputy assessors, striking the future repeal of provisions relating to the property assessment appeal board, and including effective date and applicability provisions.>>
   9.  By renumbering as necessary.

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NUNN of Polk