Property Tax Valuation Appeals

Sections 1 and 2 of the bill establish authority for the board of assessment appeals to refer a matter before it to a hearing officer for an expedited hearing, upon the request of a taxpayer in certain circumstances. There are deadlines for requesting and conducting the hearing and for the hearing officer to make his or her order. The procedure for the hearing is similar to those hearings conducted before the board. If unchanged by the board of assessment appeals, a hearing officer's order is appealable in the same manner as an order issued by the board. Section 3 creates the property tax valuation protest deadline task force. The task force consists of 7 members: The property tax administrator or the administrator's designee and 6 members appointed by the governor. The task force meets over one year and is required to consider and make recommendations to legislative committees to extend the taxpayer's deadline to protest a property tax valuation and to adjust other related deadlines. Under current law, an assessor may, with the permission of the board of county commissioners, include an estimate of property taxes owed in a notice of valuation. Section 4 requires an assessor to include this estimate and allows the assessor to include a range of values. If in the consideration of a protest an assessor finds that he or she made a systematic error and the valuations of other similar properties are incorrect, section 5 requires the assessor to correct the error for the other similar properties.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)