SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED]
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 535
89TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1998
L2035.02T
AN ACT
To repeal section 137.115, RSMo 1994, and section 163.011, RSMo Supp. 1997, relating to the assessment of property, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the same subject.
Section A. Section 137.115, RSMo 1994, and section 163.011, RSMo Supp. 1997, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 137.115 and 163.011, to read as follows:
137.115. 1. All other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the assessor or [his] the assessor's 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] the assessor's city, county, town or district. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 of this section, [he] the assessor 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] The assessor 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] The assessor 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 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. [He] The assessor 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 or her care, charge or management, and all taxable tangible personal property owned by the person or under his or her 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 order to receive state cost-share funds outlined in section 137.750, the county or the assessor shall petition the administrative hearing commission, by May first, to decide all matters in dispute regarding the assessment maintenance plan. Upon agreement of the parties, the matter may be stayed while the parties proceed with mediation or arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final decision of the administrative hearing commission shall be subject to judicial review in the circuit court of the county involved. In the event a valuation of subclass (1) real property within any [first class charter] county of the first classification with a charter form of government, 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] pursuant to 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] pursuant to 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] the assessor's 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.
163.011. As used in this chapter unless the context requires otherwise:
(1) "Adjusted gross income":
(a) "District adjusted gross income per return" shall be the total Missouri individual adjusted gross income in a school district divided by the total number of Missouri income tax returns filed from the school district as reported by the state department of revenue for the second preceding year;
(b) "State adjusted gross income per return" shall be the total Missouri individual adjusted gross income divided by the total number of Missouri individual income tax returns, of those returns designating school districts, as reported by the state department of revenue for the second preceding year;
(c) "District income factor" shall be one plus thirty percent of the difference of the district income ratio minus one, except that the district income factor applied to the portion of the assessed valuation corresponding to any increase in assessed valuation above the assessed valuation of a district as of December 31, 1994, shall not exceed a value of one;
(d) "District income ratio" shall be the ratio of the district adjusted gross income per return divided by the state adjusted gross income per return;
(2) "Average daily attendance" means the quotient or the sum of the quotients obtained by dividing the total number of hours attended in a term by resident pupils between the ages of five and twenty-one by the actual number of hours school was in session in that term. To the average daily attendance of the school term shall be added the full-time equivalent average daily attendance of summer school students. "Full-time equivalent average daily attendance of summer school students" shall be computed by dividing the total number of hours attended by all summer school pupils by the number of hours required in section 160.011, RSMo, in the school term. For purposes of determining average daily attendance under this subdivision, the term "resident pupil" shall include all children between the ages of five and twenty-one who are residents of the school district and who are attending kindergarten through grade twelve in such district. If a child is attending school in a district other than the district of residence and the child's parent is teaching in the school district or is a regular employee of the school district which the child is attending, then such child shall be considered a resident pupil of the school district which the child is attending for such period of time when the district of residence is not otherwise liable for tuition. Average daily attendance for students below the age of five years for which a school district may receive state aid based on such attendance shall be computed as regular school term attendance unless otherwise provided by law;
(3) "District's tax rate ceiling", the highest tax rate ceiling in effect subsequent to the 1980 tax year or any subsequent year. Such tax rate ceiling shall not contain any tax levy for debt service;
(4) "Eligible pupils" shall be the sum of the average daily attendance of the school term plus the product of two times the average daily attendance for summer school;
(5) "Equalized assessed valuation of the property of a school district" shall be determined by multiplying the assessed valuation of the real property subclasses specified in section 137.115, RSMo, times the percent of true value as adjusted by the department of elementary and secondary education to an equivalent sales ratio of thirty-three and one-third percent and dividing by either the percent of true value as determined by the state tax commission on or before March fifteenth preceding the fiscal year in which the valuation will be effective as adjusted by the department of elementary and secondary education to an equivalent sales ratio of thirty-three and one-third percent or the average percent of true value for the highest three of the last four years as determined and certified by the state tax commission, whichever is greater. To the equalized locally assessed valuation of each district shall be added the assessed valuation of tangible personal property. The assessed valuation of property which has previously been excluded from the tax rolls, which is being contested as not being taxable and which increases the total assessed valuation of the school district by fifty percent or more, shall not be included in the calculation of equalized assessed valuation under this subdivision;
(6) "Free and reduced lunch eligible pupil count", the number of pupils eligible for free and reduced lunch on the last Wednesday in January for the preceding school year who were enrolled as students of the district, as approved by the department in accordance with applicable federal regulations;
(7) "Guaranteed tax base" means the amount of equalized assessed valuation per eligible pupil guaranteed each school district by the state in the computation of state aid. To compute the guaranteed tax base, school districts shall be ranked annually from lowest to highest according to the amount of equalized assessed valuation per pupil. The guaranteed tax base shall be based upon the amount of equalized assessed valuation per pupil of the school district in which the ninety-fifth percentile of the state aggregate number of pupils falls during the third preceding year and shall be equal to the state average equalized assessed valuation per eligible pupil for the third preceding year times two and one hundred and sixty-seven thousandths. The average equalized assessed valuation per pupil shall be the quotient of the total equalized assessed valuation of the state divided by the number of eligible pupils;
(8) "Membership" shall be the average of (1) the number of resident full-time students and the full-time equivalent number of part-time students who were enrolled in the public schools of the district on the last Wednesday in September of the previous year and who were in attendance one day or more during the preceding ten school days and (2) the number of resident full-time students and the full-time equivalent number of part-time students who were enrolled in the public schools of the district on the last Wednesday in January of the previous year and who were in attendance one day or more during the preceding ten school days, plus the full-time equivalent number of summer school pupils. "Full-time equivalent number of part-time students" is determined by dividing the total number of hours for which all part-time students are enrolled by the number of hours in the school term. "Full-time equivalent number of summer school pupils" is determined by dividing the total number of hours for which all summer school pupils were enrolled by the number of hours required pursuant to section 160.011, RSMo, in the school term. Only students eligible to be counted for average daily attendance shall be counted for membership;
(9) "Operating levy for school purposes" means the sum of tax rates levied for teachers and incidental funds in the payment year and shall be, after all adjustments and equalization of the operating levy, no less than the minimum value required in section 163.021 for eligibility for increases in state aid as calculated pursuant to section 163.031 and no greater than a maximum value of four dollars and sixty cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation. To equalize the operating levy, multiply the aggregate tax rates for teachers, incidental, and building funds by either the percent of true value, as determined by the state tax commission on or before March fifteenth preceding the fiscal year in which the evaluation will be effective as adjusted by the department of elementary and secondary education to an equivalent sales ratio of thirty-three and one-third percent, or the average percent of true value for the highest three of the last four years as determined and certified by the state tax commission, whichever is greater, and divide by the percent of true value as adjusted by the department of elementary and secondary education to an equivalent sales ratio of thirty-three and one-third percent, provided that for any district for which the equivalent sales ratio is equal to or greater than thirty-three and one-third percent, the equalized operating levy shall be the adjusted operating levy. For any county in which the equivalent sales ratio is less than thirty-one and two-thirds percent, the state tax commission shall conduct a second study in that county and shall use a sample [at least twice as large as the one originally used] consisting of the parcels used as a sample in the original study combined with an equal number of newly selected parcels. If the new ratio is higher than the original ratio provided by this subdivision, the new ratio shall be used for the purposes of this subdivision and for determining equalized assessed valuation pursuant to subdivision (5) of this section. For the purposes of calculating state aid pursuant to section 163.031, for any district which has not enacted a voluntary tax rate rollback nor increased the amount of a voluntary tax rate rollback from the previous year's amount, the tax rate used to determine a district's entitlement shall be adjusted so that any decrease in the entitlement due to a decrease in the tax rate resulting from the reassessment shall equal the decrease in the deduction for the assessed valuation of the district as a result of the change in the tax rate due to reassessment. The tax rate adjustments required under this subdivision due to reassessment shall be cumulative and shall be applied each year to determine the tax rate used to calculate the entitlement; except that whenever the actual current operating levy exceeds the tax rate calculated pursuant to this subdivision for the purpose of determining the district's entitlement, then the prior tax rate adjustments required under this subdivision due to reassessment shall be eliminated and shall not be applied in determining the tax rate used to calculate the district entitlement;
(10) "School purposes" pertains to teachers and incidental funds;
(11) "Teacher" means any teacher, teacher-secretary, substitute teacher, supervisor, principal, supervising principal, superintendent or assistant superintendent, school nurse, social worker, counselor or librarian who shall, regularly, teach or be employed for no higher than grade twelve more than one-half time in the public schools and who is certified under the laws governing the certification of teachers in Missouri;
(12) "Adjusted operating levy", the sum of tax rates for the current year for teachers and incidental funds for a school district as reported to the proper officer of each county pursuant to section 164.011, RSMo;
(13) "Current operating costs", all expenditures for instruction and support services excluding capital outlay and debt service expenditures less the revenue from federal categorical sources, food service, student activities and payments from other districts.
President of the Senate
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Governor