House File 2108 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 2108 BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 508) (As Amended and Passed by the House February 11, 2014 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to property tax assessment and taxation by 1 modifying requirements relating to property assessment 2 notices and equalization order notices, modifying provisions 3 relating to property assessment protests, and including 4 applicability provisions. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc

H.F. 2108 Section 1. Section 441.23, Code 2014, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 441.23 Notice of valuation. 3 If there has been an increase or decrease in the valuation 4 of the property, or upon the written request of the person 5 assessed, the assessor shall, at the time of making the 6 assessment, inform the person assessed, in writing, of the 7 valuation put upon the taxpayer’s property, and notify the 8 person, that if the person feels aggrieved, to contact the 9 assessor pursuant to section 441.30 or to appear before the 10 board of review and show why the assessment should be changed. 11 However, if the valuation of a class of property is uniformly 12 decreased, the assessor may , in lieu of individual written 13 notices, notify the affected property owners by publication 14 in the official newspapers of the county. The owners of real 15 property shall be notified not later than April 1 of any 16 adjustment of the real property assessment. 17 Sec. 2. Section 441.26, subsection 1, Code 2014, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 1. The director of revenue shall each year prescribe 20 the form of assessment roll to be used by all assessors in 21 assessing property, in this state, also the form of pages of 22 the assessor’s assessment book. The assessment rolls shall 23 be in a form that will permit entering, separately, the names 24 of all persons assessed, and shall also contain a notice in 25 substantially the following form: 26 If you are not satisfied that the foregoing assessment is 27 correct, you may contact the assessor on or after April 1 2 , 28 to and including May 4 April 25 , of the year of the assessment 29 to request an informal review of the assessment pursuant to 30 section 441.30 . 31 If you are not satisfied that the foregoing assessment is 32 correct, you may file a protest against such assessment with 33 the board of review on or after April 7 2 , to and including May 34 5 April 30 , of the year of the assessment, such protest to be 35 -1- HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc 1/ 7

H.F. 2108 confined to the grounds specified in section 441.37 . 1 Dated: .. day of ... (month), .. (year) 2 ........... 3 County/City Assessor. 4 Sec. 3. Section 441.26, subsection 2, Code 2014, is amended 5 to read as follows: 6 2. The notice in 1981 and each odd-numbered year thereafter 7 shall contain a statement that the assessments are subject 8 to equalization pursuant to an order issued by the director 9 of revenue, that the county auditor shall give notice on or 10 before October 15 8 by publication in an official newspaper of 11 general circulation to any class of property affected by the 12 equalization order, that the county auditor shall give notice 13 by mail postmarked on or before October 8 to each property 14 owner or taxpayer whose valuation has been increased by the 15 equalization order, and that the board of review shall be in 16 session from October 15 to November 15 30 to hear protests of 17 affected property owners or taxpayers whose valuations have 18 been adjusted by the equalization order. 19 Sec. 4. Section 441.28, Code 2014, is amended to read as 20 follows: 21 441.28 Assessment rolls —— change —— notice to taxpayer. 22 The assessment shall be completed not later than April 1 each 23 year. If the assessor makes any change in an assessment after 24 it has been entered on the assessor’s rolls, the assessor shall 25 note on the roll, together with the original assessment, the 26 new assessment and the reason for the change, together with the 27 assessor’s signature and the date of the change. Provided, 28 however, in the event the assessor increases any assessment the 29 assessor shall give notice of the increase in writing to the 30 taxpayer by mail postmarked no later than April 1. No changes 31 shall be made on the assessment rolls after April 1 except by 32 written agreement of the taxpayer and assessor under section 33 441.30, by order of the board of review or of the property 34 assessment appeal board, or by decree of court. 35 -2- HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc 2/ 7

H.F. 2108 Sec. 5. Section 441.30, Code 2014, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 441.30 Informal assessment review period —— recommendation 3 written agreement . 4 1. Any property owner or aggrieved taxpayer who is 5 dissatisfied with the owner’s or taxpayer’s assessment may 6 contact the assessor by telephone or in writing by paper or 7 electronic medium on or after April 1 2 , to and including May 8 4 April 25 , of the year of the assessment to inquire about the 9 specifics and accuracy of the assessment. Such an inquiry may 10 also include a request for an informal review of the assessment 11 by the assessor under one or more of the grounds for protest 12 authorized under section 441.37 for the same assessment year. 13 2. In response to an inquiry under subsection 1 , if the 14 assessor, following an informal review, determines that the 15 assessment was incorrect under one or more of the grounds for 16 protest authorized under section 441.37 for the same assessment 17 year, the assessor may recommend that the property owner or 18 aggrieved taxpayer file a protest with the local board of 19 review and may file a recommendation with the local board of 20 review related to the informal review on or before April 25 21 enter into a signed written agreement with the property owner 22 or aggrieved taxpayer authorizing the assessor to correct 23 or modify the assessment according to the agreement of the 24 parties . 25 3. A recommendation filed with the local board of review 26 by the assessor pursuant to subsection 2 shall be utilized by 27 the local board of review in the evaluation of all evidence 28 properly before the local board of review. 29 4. 3. This section , including any action taken by the 30 assessor under this section , shall not be construed to limit a 31 property owner or taxpayer’s ability to file a protest with the 32 local board of review under section 441.37 . 33 Sec. 6. Section 441.35, subsection 2, Code 2014, is amended 34 to read as follows: 35 -3- HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc 3/ 7

H.F. 2108 2. In any year after the year in which an assessment has 1 been made of all of the real estate in any taxing district, the 2 board of review shall meet as provided in section 441.33 , and 3 where the board finds the same has changed in value, the board 4 shall revalue and reassess any part or all of the real estate 5 contained in such taxing district, and in such case, the board 6 shall determine the actual value as of January 1 of the year 7 of the revaluation and reassessment and compute the taxable 8 value thereof. If the assessment of any such property is 9 raised, or any property is added to the tax list by the board, 10 the clerk shall give notice in the manner provided in section 11 441.36 . However, if If the assessment of all property in any 12 taxing district is raised revalued and reassessed , the board 13 may shall, in addition to notices required to be provided in 14 the manner specified in section 441.36, instruct the clerk to 15 give immediate notice by one publication in one of the official 16 newspapers located in the taxing district , and such published 17 notice shall take the place of the mailed notice provided for 18 in section 441.36 , but all other provisions of that section 19 shall apply . The decision of the board as to the foregoing 20 matters shall be subject to appeal to the property assessment 21 appeal board within the same time and in the same manner as 22 provided in section 441.37A and to the district court within 23 the same time and in the same manner as provided in section 24 441.38 . 25 Sec. 7. Section 441.37, subsection 1, paragraph a, 26 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2014, is amended to read as 27 follows: 28 Any property owner or aggrieved taxpayer who is dissatisfied 29 with the owner’s or taxpayer’s assessment may file a protest 30 against such assessment with the board of review on or after 31 April 7 2 , to and including May 5 April 30 , of the year of the 32 assessment. In any county which has been declared to be a 33 disaster area by proper federal authorities after March 1 and 34 prior to May 20 of said year of assessment, the board of review 35 -4- HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc 4/ 7

H.F. 2108 shall be authorized to remain in session until June 15 and the 1 time for filing a protest shall be extended to and include the 2 period from May 25 to June 5 of such year. The protest shall 3 be in writing and, except as provided in subsection 3 , signed 4 by the one protesting or by the protester’s duly authorized 5 agent. The taxpayer may have an oral hearing on the protest if 6 the request for the oral hearing is made in writing at the time 7 of filing the protest. The protest must be confined to one or 8 more of the following grounds: 9 Sec. 8. Section 441.37, subsection 3, Code 2014, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 3. For assessment years beginning on or after January 12 1, 2014, the board of review may allow property owners or 13 aggrieved taxpayers who are dissatisfied with the owner’s or 14 taxpayer’s assessment to file a protest against such assessment 15 by electronic means. Electronic filing of assessment protests 16 may be authorized for the protest period that begins April 17 7 2 , the protest period that begins October 15 8 , or both. 18 Except for the requirement that a protest be signed, all other 19 requirements of this section for an assessment protest to the 20 board of review shall apply to a protest filed electronically. 21 If electronic filing is authorized by the local board of 22 review, the availability of electronic filing shall be clearly 23 indicated on the assessment roll notice provided to the 24 property owner or taxpayer and included in both the published 25 equalization order notice and the equalization order notice 26 mailed to the property owner or taxpayer . 27 Sec. 9. Section 441.49, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 28 2014, is amended to read as follows: 29 b. However, an assessing jurisdiction may request the 30 director to permit the use of an alternative method of 31 applying the equalization order to the property values in the 32 assessing jurisdiction, provided that the final valuation 33 shall be equivalent to the director’s equalization order. The 34 assessing jurisdiction shall notify the county auditor of 35 -5- HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc 5/ 7

H.F. 2108 the request for the use of an alternative method of applying 1 the equalization order and the director’s disposition of the 2 request. The request to use an alternative method of applying 3 the equalization order, including procedures for notifying 4 affected property owners and appealing valuation adjustments, 5 shall be made within ten days from the date the county auditor 6 receives the equalization order and the valuation adjustments, 7 and appeal procedures shall be completed by November 30 8 December 15 of the year of the equalization order. Compliance 9 with the provisions of section 441.21 is sufficient grounds 10 for the director to permit the use of an alternative method of 11 applying the equalization order. 12 Sec. 10. Section 441.49, subsections 2 and 4, Code 2014, are 13 amended to read as follows: 14 2. a. On or before October 15 8 the county auditor shall 15 cause to be published in official newspapers of general 16 circulation the final equalization order. The county auditor 17 shall also notify each property owner or taxpayer whose 18 valuation has been increased by the final equalization order by 19 mail postmarked on or before October 8. The publication and 20 the individual notice mailed to each affected property owner or 21 taxpayer shall include, in type larger than the remainder of 22 the publication or notice , the following statement statements : 23 Assessed values are equalized by the department of revenue 24 every two years. Local taxing authorities determine the final 25 tax levies and may reduce property tax rates to compensate 26 for any increase in valuation due to equalization. If you 27 are not satisfied that your assessment as adjusted by the 28 equalization order is correct, you may file a protest against 29 such assessment with the board of review on or after October 30 9, to and including October 31. 31 b. Failure to publish the equalization order or to notify 32 property owners or taxpayers of the equalization order has no 33 effect upon the validity of the orders. 34 4. The local board of review shall reconvene in special 35 -6- HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc 6/ 7

H.F. 2108 session from October 15 to November 15 30 for the purpose of 1 hearing the protests of affected property owners or taxpayers 2 within the jurisdiction of the board whose valuation of 3 property if adjusted pursuant to the equalization order issued 4 by the director of revenue will result in a greater value than 5 permitted under section 441.21 . The board of review shall 6 accept protests only during the first ten days following the 7 date the local board of review reconvenes period of time from 8 October 9 to and including October 31 . The board of review 9 shall limit its review to only the timely filed protests. The 10 board of review may adjust all or a part of the percentage 11 increase ordered by the director of revenue by adjusting the 12 actual value of the property under protest to one hundred 13 percent of actual value. Any adjustment so determined by 14 the board of review shall not exceed the percentage increase 15 provided for in the director’s equalization order. The 16 determination of the board of review on filed protests is 17 final, subject to appeal to the property assessment appeal 18 board. A final decision by the local board of review, or the 19 property assessment appeal board, if the local board’s decision 20 is appealed, is subject to review by the director of revenue 21 for the purpose of determining whether the board’s actions 22 substantially altered the equalization order. In making the 23 review, the director has all the powers provided in chapter 24 421 , and in exercising the powers the director is not subject 25 to chapter 17A . Not later than fifteen days following the 26 adjournment of the board, the board of review shall submit to 27 the director of revenue, on forms prescribed by the director, a 28 report of all actions taken by the board of review during this 29 session. 30 Sec. 11. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. Section 25B.2, subsection 31 3, shall not apply to this Act. 32 Sec. 12. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to assessment 33 years beginning on or after January 1, 2015. 34 -7- HF 2108 (2) 85 md/sc 7/ 7