ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2627 By: Lowe (Dick) and McDugle of the House
and
Montgomery
of the Senate
An Act relating to revenue and taxation; requiring county
assessors to notify certain entities of protests; amending 68 O.S. 2021,
Section 2876, as amended by Section 1 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 1667 of
the 2nd Session of the 58th Oklahoma Legislature, which relates to ad valorem protests; requiring taxpayer to
file certain form; requiring county assessor to provide schedule to taxpayers
filing protests; amending 68 O.S. 2021, Section 2826, which relates to
appraisers; limiting appraiser involvement; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date.
SUBJECT:
Revenue and taxation
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.
NEW LAW A new section of law
to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2899.2 of Title 68, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.
On or before the first day of June each year, the county assessor of
each county shall prepare and mail to each school district and recipient tax jurisdiction
a report listing protests filed by taxpayers pursuant to subsection F of
Section 2876 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes which concern a fair cash
value of personal property as determined by the county assessor that exceeds
Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00). The
report shall be sent, in writing, to the treasurer or chief financial officer
of each school district and each recipient tax jurisdiction of ad valorem tax
revenue. At the county assessor's discretion,
in lieu of regular mail, the county assessor may instead send the report to a
school district or recipient tax jurisdiction by electronic mail provided the
treasurer or chief financial officer of the school district or recipient tax
jurisdiction has submitted a written request to receive such reports by
electronic mail instead of by regular mail.
B.
The report required in subsection A of this section shall include the
following information:
1. A list of the protests filed with the county assessor
at the time of the report;
2. The value under protest for each of the
protests filed with the county assessor at the time of the report; and
3. The estimated amount under protest that would
otherwise be apportioned to the taxing jurisdiction.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 68 O.S. 2021, Section 2876, as amended by Section 1 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 1667 of the 2nd Session of the 58th Oklahoma Legislature, is amended to read as follows:
Section 2876. A. If the county assessor increases the
valuation of any personal property above that returned by the taxpayer, or in
the case of real property increases the fair cash value or the taxable fair
cash value from the preceding year, or pursuant to the requirements of law if
the assessor has added property not listed by the taxpayer, the county assessor
shall notify the taxpayer in writing of the amount of such valuation as
increased or valuation of property so added.
Provided, if the county assessor determines that a mailing to property
owners exempt from payment of ad valorem tax pursuant to Sections 8E and 8F of
Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution would create an undue burden, then the
county assessor may suspend notifications to those property owners.
B.
For cases in which the taxable fair cash value or fair cash value of
real property has increased, the notice shall include the fair cash value of
the property for the current year, the taxable fair cash value for the
preceding and current year, the assessed value for the preceding and current
year and the assessment percentage for the preceding and current year.
C.
For cases in which the county assessor increases the valuation of any
personal property above that returned by the taxpayer, the notice shall
describe the property with sufficient accuracy to notify the taxpayer as to the
property included, the fair cash value for the current year, the assessment
percentage for the current year, any penalty for the current year pursuant to
subsection C of Section 2836 of this title and the assessed value for the
current year.
D.
The notice shall be mailed to the taxpayer at the taxpayer's last-known
address and shall clearly be marked with the mailing date. The assessor shall have the capability to duplicate
the notice, showing the date of mailing.
Such record shall be prima facie evidence as to the fact of notice
having been given as required by this section.
E.
The taxpayer shall have thirty (30) calendar days from the date the
notice was mailed in which to file a written protest with the county assessor
specifying objections to the increase in fair cash value or taxable fair cash
value by the county assessor; provided, in the case of a scrivener's error or
other admitted error on the part of the county assessor, the assessor may make
corrections to a valuation at any time, notwithstanding the thirty-day period
specified in this subsection. The
protest shall set out the pertinent facts in relation to the matter contained
in the notice in ordinary and concise language and in such manner as to enable
a person of common understanding to know what is intended. The protest shall be made upon a form
prescribed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
F.
A taxpayer may file a protest if the valuation of property has not
increased or decreased from the previous year if the protest is filed on or
before the first Monday in April. Such
protest shall be made upon a form prescribed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
G.
At the time of filing a protest pursuant to subsections E and F of
this section, the taxpayer shall also file the form provided for in Section
2835 of this title. If the taxpayer
fails to file the required form, a presumption shall exist in favor of the
correctness of the county assessor's valuation in any appeal of the county
assessor's valuation.
H. The county assessor
shall schedule an informal hearing with the taxpayer to hear the protest as to
the disputed valuation or addition of omitted property. The informal hearing may be held in person or
may be held telephonically, if requested by the taxpayer. A taxpayer that is unable to participate in a
scheduled informal hearing, either in person or telephonically, shall be given
at least two additional opportunities to participate on one of two alternative
dates provided by the county assessor, each on a different day of the week,
before the county assessor or an authorized representative of the county
assessor. The assessor shall issue a
written decision in the matter disputed within seven (7) calendar days of the
date of the informal hearing and shall provide by regular or electronic mail a
copy of the decision to the taxpayer.
The decision shall clearly be marked with the date it was mailed. Within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date
the decision is mailed, the taxpayer may file an appeal with the county board
of equalization. The appeal shall be
made upon a form prescribed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. One copy of the form shall be mailed or
delivered to the county assessor and one copy shall be mailed or delivered to
the county board of equalization. On
receipt of the notice of an appeal to the county board of equalization by the
taxpayer, the county assessor shall provide the county board of equalization
with all information submitted by the taxpayer, data supporting the disputed
valuation and a written explanation of the results of the informal hearing.
SECTION 3.
NEW LAW A new section of law
to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2876.1 of Title 68, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
At the time a taxpayer files a protest pursuant to Section 2876
of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the taxpayer shall be provided a schedule
of the protest timeline which shall include all deadlines and the consequences
of failing to meet each deadline. The
Oklahoma Tax Commission may prescribe a standard schedule for the county
assessors to distribute.
SECTION 4.
AMENDATORY 68 O.S. 2021,
Section 2826, is amended to read as follows:
Section 2826. A.
1. For residential property, the
county assessor may appoint, or may request the Oklahoma Tax Commission to
assign, an appraiser to assist the county assessor in valuation of the property.
2.
For nonresidential property, after consultation with the Oklahoma Tax
Commission, the county assessor may appoint an appraiser to assist the county
assessor in valuation of the property.
B. Appraisers whose
services may be obtained by appointment by the assessor or who may be assigned
by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, upon request of the county assessor, to assist
any county assessor shall act in an advisory capacity only. Valuations made recommended by
such appraisers shall not be binding upon the assessor. All valuations made pursuant to the Ad
Valorem Tax Code shall be made and entered by the assessor pursuant to law.
C.
Appraisers whose services were obtained to assist the county assessor
for valuation shall not participate in any valuation negotiations, protests to
the county assessor, or protests to the county board of equalization. Contracts for such appraiser services shall be
subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
D. County assessors may
provide photocopies of taxpayer rendition forms and photocopies of any other
documents filed by the taxpayer which are directly related to and necessary for
appraisers to assist in this capacity. The
original documents filed by the taxpayer must be maintained by the county
assessors. Upon the expiration of the
period for reassessment, provided in Section 2846 of this title, all copies of
taxpayer documents and the related work papers of the appraisers must be
destroyed or returned to the county assessors by February 1 of the following
year. In addition, all photocopies of
taxpayer documentation and appraiser work papers must be returned to the county
assessor within ten (10) calendar days of the termination of the contract with
the appraisers to provide the services described in this section.
E. Except for
communications of information protected by Section 2835 of this title, all
communications between a county assessor and an appraiser, including
communications through a third party, shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open
Records Act.
SECTION 5.
This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
Passed the House of
Representatives the 19th day of May,
2022.
Presiding
Officer of the House
of
Representatives
Passed the Senate the 19th day of May, 2022.
Presiding
Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office
of the Governor this ____________________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By:
_________________________________
Approved by the
Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of
the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE
OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office
of the Secretary of State this __________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By:
_________________________________