H. B. 2998
(By Delegates Ireland, Cowles, C. Miller, Porter,
Ellem, Moye, Morgan, Hartman, Klempa,
Rodighiero and Anderson)
[Introduced March 9, 2009; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-1C-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to periodic valuations of real
property and the assessment of the value thereof.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-1C-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1C. FAIR AND EQUITABLE PROPERTY VALUATION.
§11-1C-9. Periodic valuations.
(a) After completion of the initial valuation required under
section seven of this article, each assessor shall maintain current
values on the real and personal property within the county. In
repeating three-year cycles, every parcel of real property shall be
visited by a member of the assessor's staff who has been trained
pursuant to section six of this article to determine if any changes
have occurred which would affect the valuation for the property.
With this information and information such as sales ratio studies
provided by the Tax Commissioner, the assessor shall make such
adjustments as are necessary to maintain accurate, current valuations of all the real and personal property in the county and
shall adjust the assessments accordingly.
(b) In any year the assessed value of a property or species of
property be less than or exceed sixty percent of current market
value, the Tax Commissioner shall direct the assessor to make the
necessary adjustments. If any assessor fails to comply with the
provisions of this section, the Tax Commissioner may, at the county
commission's expense, take reasonable steps to remedy the
assessment deficiencies.
(c) If a parcel of real property used and occupied exclusively
for residential purposes by its owner, or used as a farm occupied
and cultivated by its owners or by bona fide tenants is:
(1) Located within a county in which the assessed values of
property are at or are in excess of sixty percent of market value;
and
(2) Such property has not been sold nor otherwise transferred
at any time within the three years preceding the time that the
assessor, or a member of the assessor's staff, has visited such
property and has made the determination of changes affecting the
value of said real property; then
(3) The amount of any increase in property tax based upon the
assessor's valuation on an annual basis of such real property shall
not be increased by a percentage greater than the annual increase
(if any) in the Consumer Price Index, as calculated by the United
States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(d) If a parcel of real property used and occupied exclusively for residential purposes by its owner, or which is used as a farm
occupied and cultivated by its owners or by bona fide tenants, is:
(1) Located within a county in which the assessed values of
property are at or are in excess of sixty percent of market value;
and
(2) Such property has had any capital improvement constructed
thereon, and,
(3) If such parcel of real property has not been sold nor
otherwise transferred at any time within the three years preceding
the time that the assessor, or a member of the assessor's staff,
has visited such property and has made the determination of changes
affecting the value of said real property; then
(4) The amount of any increase in property tax based upon the
assessor's valuation on an annual basis of such real property may
not be increased by a percentage greater than the annual increase
(if any) in the Consumer Price Index, as calculated by the United
States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, plus the
assessed value of the capital improvement thereon. For purposes of
this section, "capital improvement" has the same definition as
found in section two, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is add language to limit the
rate of increase in assessed values of tracts of real property used
for residential and farm purposes which have not been sold nor
otherwise transferred to an amount not to exceed the annual change
of the Consumer Price Index.
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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