Senate Bill No. 589
(By Senator McCabe, Mitchell, Rowe, Sprouse, Plymale and Hunter)
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[Introduced February 14, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article one-c, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to county assessors
developing and maintaining a geographic information system as
part of their tax mapping system; and allowing county
assessors to sell the geographic information system maps.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven, article one-c, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1C. FAIR AND EQUITABLE PROPERTY VALUATION.
§11-1C-7. Duties of county assessors; property to be appraised at
fair market value; exceptions; initial equalization;
valuation plan.
(a) Except for property appraised by the state tax commissioner under section ten of this article and property
appraised and assessed under article six of this chapter, all
assessors shall, within three years of the approval of the county
valuation plan required pursuant to this section, appraise all real
and personal property in their jurisdiction at fair market value
except for special valuation provided for farmland and managed
timberland. They shall utilize the procedures and methodologies
established by the property valuation training and procedures
commission and the valuation system established by the tax
commissioner.
(b) In determining the fair market value of the property in
their jurisdictions, assessors may use as an aid to valuation any
information available on the character and values of such any
property including, but not limited to, the updated information
found on any statewide electronic data processing system network
established pursuant to section twenty-one, article one-a of this
chapter. Valuations shall not be based exclusively on such the
statewide electronic data processing system network, and usage of
the information on such any files as an aid to proper valuation
shall not constitute an implementation of the statewide mass
reappraisal of property.
(c) Before beginning the valuation process, each assessor
shall develop a county valuation plan for using information
currently available, for checking its accuracy and for correcting any errors found. The plan must be submitted to the tax
commissioner on or before the first day of December, one thousand
nine hundred ninety, for review and approval, and such plan must be
revised as necessary and resubmitted every three years thereafter.
Whenever a plan is submitted to the tax commissioner, a copy shall
also be submitted to the county commission of that county and the
property valuation training and procedures commission, and that
county commission and the property valuation training and
procedures commission may forward comments to the tax commissioner.
The tax commissioner shall respond to any plan submitted or
resubmitted within sixty days of its receipt. The valuation
process shall not begin nor shall funds provided in section eight
of this article be available until the plan has received approval
by the tax commissioner: Provided,
That any initial plan that has
not received approval by the commissioner prior to the first day of
May, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, shall be submitted on or
by such date to the valuation commission for resolution prior to
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, by
which date all counties shall have an approved valuation plan in
effect.
(d) Upon approval of the valuation plan, the assessor shall
immediately begin implementation of the valuation process. Any
change in value discovered subsequent to the certification of
values by the assessor to the county commission, acting as the board of equalization and review, in any given year shall be placed
upon the property books for the next certification of values:
Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of this code to
the contrary, the property valuation training and procedures
commission may authorize the tax commissioner to approve a
valuation plan and the board of public works to submit such a plan
which would permit the placement of proportionately uniform
percentage changes in values on the books that estimate the
percentage difference between the current assessed value and sixty
percent of the fair market value for classes or identified
sub-classes of property and distribute the change between the two
tax years preceding the tax year beginning on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three. This procedure may
be used in lieu of placing individual values on the books at sixty
percent of value as discovered, or may be in addition to such
valuation. If such procedure is adopted by a county, then property
whose reevaluation is the responsibility of the board of public
works and the state tax commissioner shall have its values
estimated and placed on the books in like manner. Such estimates
shall be based on the best information obtained by the assessor,
the board of public works and the tax commissioner, and the changes
shall move those values substantially towards sixty percent of fair
market value, such sixty percent to be reached on or before the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three.
(e) The county assessor shall establish and maintain as
official records of the county tax maps of the entire county drawn
to scale or aerial maps, which maps shall indicate all property and
lot lines, set forth dimensions or areas, indicate whether the land
is improved, and identify the respective parcels or lots by a
system of numbers or symbols and numbers, whereby the ownership of
such parcels and lots can be ascertained by reference to the
appropriate records: Provided, That all such records shall be
established and maintained and the sale or reproduction of
microfilm, photography and maps shall be in accordance with
legislative rules promulgated by the commission.
(f) The county assessor may develop and maintain as part of
their tax mapping system a geographic information system utilizing
existing tax map data information from the statewide data
processing network and any other information the assessor
determines is necessary for the accurate mapping, appraisal and
maintenance of property valuation information. Geographic
information system maps may be sold by the counties in accordance
with rules promulgated by the property valuation training and
procedures commission for the sale of the maps: Provided, That the
copies may not be provided in electronic or digital format:
Provided, however, That the information shall be proprietary to the
county assessors and no person may reproduce, copy, redistribute or
resell copies of geographic information system maps prepared by the county assessor. Any person who reproduces, copies, redistributes
or resells, or who allows the reproduction, copying, redistribution
or resale of geographic information system maps prepared by the
county assessor, shall be refused permission by the county assessor
to purchase geographic information system maps.
(f) (g) Willing and knowing refusal of the assessor or the
county commission to comply with and effect the provisions of this
article, or to correct any deficiencies as may be ordered by the
tax commissioner with the concurrence of the valuation commission
under any authority granted pursuant to this article or other
provisions of this code, shall constitute grounds for removal from
office. Such The removal may be appealed to the circuit court.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize county
assessors to develop and maintain a geographic information system
as part of their tax mapping system and to allow the county
assessors to sell the geographic information system maps.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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