HF 2164 (LSB 5097HV (1) 89)

HOUSE FILE 2164

BY  COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 500)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the classification of property enrolled in the federal conservation reserve program and including applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 441.21, subsection 6, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  a.  Beginning with valuations established as of January 1, 1978, the assessors shall report the aggregate taxable values and the number of dwellings located on agricultural land and the aggregate taxable value of all other structures on agricultural land. Beginning with valuations established as of January 1, 1981, the agricultural dwellings located on agricultural land shall be valued at their market value as defined in this section and agricultural dwellings shall be valued as rural residential property and shall be assessed at the same percentage of actual value as is all other residential property.
   b.  Land enrolled in the conservation reserve program under 7 C.F.R. pt. 1410, shall not be classified or valued as residential property.
    Sec. 2.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2023.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   The United States department of agriculture’s conservation reserve program (CRP) is a land conservation program administered by the federal farm service agency (FSA). In exchange for a yearly rental payment, property owners enrolled in the program enter into contracts with the FSA to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. This bill prohibits land from being classified or valued as residential property for property tax purposes under Iowa law while the property is enrolled in the CRP.
   The bill applies to property tax assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2023.