To repeal section 137.115, RSMo 1994 and section 138.395, RSMo Supp. 1995, relating to assessment of property, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI,

AS FOLLOWS:

Section A. Section 137.115, RSMo 1994 and section 138.395, RSMo Supp. 1995, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof to be known as sections 137.115 and 138.395, to read as follows:

137.115. 1. All other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the assessor or his deputies in all counties of this state including the city of St. Louis shall annually make a list of all real and tangible personal property taxable in his city, county, town or district. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 of this section, he shall annually assess all personal property at thirty-three and one-third percent of its true value in money as of January first of each calendar year. He shall annually assess all real property, including any new construction and improvements to real property, and possessory interests in real property at the percent of its true value in money set in subsection 5 of this section. He shall annually assess all real property in the following manner: New assessed values shall be determined as of January [first of each odd-numbered year] 1, 1997 and every four years thereafter and shall be entered in the assessor's books[; those same assessed values shall apply in the following even-numbered year], except for new construction and property improvements which shall be valued as though they had been completed as of January first of the preceding [odd-numbered] year in which new assessed values were determined. He may call at the office, place of doing business, or residence of each person required by this chapter to list property, and require the person to make a correct statement of all taxable real property in the county owned by the person, or under his care, charge or management, and all taxable tangible personal property owned by the person or under his care, charge or management, taxable in the county. On or before January first of each even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a two-year assessment maintenance plan to the county governing body and the state tax commission for their respective approval or modification. The county governing body shall approve and forward such plan or its alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by February first. If the county governing body fails to forward the plan or its alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by February first, the assessor's plan shall be considered approved by the county governing body. If an assessment maintenance plan is agreed upon by the county assessor, the county governing body and the state tax commission within thirty days of submission to the state tax commission, the county shall be eligible for state cost-share funds as outlined in section 137.750. If the state tax commission fails to approve a plan within thirty days after the date submitted and if the state tax commission and the assessor and the governing body of the county involved are unable to resolve the differences within an additional thirty days, then the differences shall be submitted to the circuit court of the county involved for final resolution within an additional thirty days. The decision of the circuit court may be appealed pursuant to chapter 621, RSMo. In the event a valuation of subclass (1) real property within any first class charter county, or within a city not within a county, is made by a computer, computer assisted method or a computer program, the burden of proof, supported by clear, convincing and cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, shall be on the assessor at any hearing or appeal. In any such county, unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, computer assisted method or a computer program. Such evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal of the property by generally accepted appraisal techniques; and

(2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three comparable properties and the address or location thereof. As used in this paragraph, the word "comparable" means that:

(a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the property valuation; and

(b) Such properties are not more than one mile from the site of the disputed property, except where no similar properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such property shall be within five hundred square feet in size of the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in age, floor plan, number of rooms, and other relevant characteristics.

2. Assessors in each county of this state and the city of St. Louis may send personal property assessment forms through the mail.

3. The following items of personal property shall each constitute separate subclasses of tangible personal property and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes of taxation at the following percents of their true value in money:

(1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an unmanufactured condition, one-half of one percent;

(2) Livestock, twelve percent;

(3) Farm machinery, twelve percent;

(4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration as and are registered as historic motor vehicles under section 301.131, RSMo, and aircraft which are at least twenty-five years old and which are used solely for noncommercial purposes and are operated less than fifty hours per year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five percent; and

(5) Poultry, twelve percent.

4. The person listing the property shall enter a true and correct statement of the property, in a printed blank prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be delivered to the assessor.

5. All subclasses of real property, as such subclasses are established in section 4(b) of article X of the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, shall be assessed at the following percentages of true value:

(1) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen percent;

(2) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; and

(3) For real property in subclass (3), thirty-two percent.

6. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, RSMo, which are actually used as dwelling units shall be assessed at the same percentage of true value as residential real property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of assessment of true value for such manufactured homes shall be the same as for residential real property. If the county collector cannot identify or find the manufactured home when attempting to attach the manufactured home for payment of taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county collector may request the county commission to have the manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such request shall be granted within thirty days after the request is made; however, the removal from the tax books does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it is later identified or found. A manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the manufactured home owner shall be considered personal property. A manufactured home located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner may be considered real property.

7. Each manufactured home assessed shall be considered a "parcel" for the purpose of reimbursement under section 137.750, unless the manufactured home has been converted to real property in compliance with section 700.111, RSMo, and assessed as a realty improvement to the existing real estate parcel.

8. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the personal property tax statement of the manufactured home owner unless the manufactured home has been converted to real property in compliance with section 700.111, RSMo, in which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real property tax statement of the real estate owner.

9. The assessor of each county and each city not within a county shall use the trade-in value published in the October issue of the National Automobile Dealers' Association Official Used Car Guide, or its successor publication, as the recommended guide of information for determining the true value of motor vehicles described in such publication. In the absence of a listing for a particular motor vehicle in such publication, the assessor shall use such information or publications which in his judgment will fairly estimate the true value in money of the motor vehicle.

10. If the assessor increases the assessed valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real property by more than seventeen percent since the last assessment, excluding increases due to new construction or improvements, then the assessor shall conduct a physical inspection of such property.

138.395. The state tax commission shall notify each school district of the equivalent sales ratio for the previous year adopted for determining the equalized assessed valuation of the property and the equalized operating levy of the school district for distributions of school foundation formula funds at least thirty days prior to the certification of such ratio to the department of elementary and secondary education, and shall provide the school district an opportunity for a meeting with the commission, or a duly authorized agent thereof, on such ratio prior to such certification. Prior to January 1, 1997, in certifying said ratios to the department of elementary and secondary education, the commission shall certify all ratios at thirty-three and one-third percent. On and after January 1, 1997, in certifying such ratios to the department of elementary and secondary education, the commission shall certify all ratios higher than [thirty-one and two-thirds] thirty percent at thirty-three and one-third percent. On and after January 1, 1998, if the state tax commission, after performing the computation of equivalent sales ratio for the county and recomputing such computation to ensure accuracy, finds that such equivalent sales ratio for the county is less than or equal to [thirty-one and two-thirds] thirty percent, the state tax commission shall reduce the county's reimbursement by fifteen percent the following year if it is not corrected by subsequent action of the state tax commission.