H. B. 2732
(By Delegates Flanigan, Huffman, Browning,
Staton and Carper)
[Introduced March 26, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section six-f, article eight, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to levies.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six-f, article eight, 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 8. LEVIES.
§11-8-6f. Effect on regular school board levy rate when
appraisal results in tax increase.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where any
annual appraisal, triennial appraisal or general valuation of
property would produce a statewide aggregate assessment that
would cause an increase of one percent or more in the total
property tax revenues that would be realized were the then
current regular levy rates of the county boards of education to
be imposed, the rate of levy for county boards of education shallbe reduced uniformly statewide and proportionately for all
classes of property for the forthcoming tax year so as to cause
such rate of levy to produce no more than one hundred one percent
of the previous year's projected statewide aggregate property tax
revenues from extending the county board of education levy rate,
unless subsection (b) of this section is complied with. The
reduced rates of levy shall be calculated in the following
manner: (1) The total assessed value of each class of property
as it is defined by section five, article eight of this chapter
for the assessment period just concluded shall be reduced by
deducting the total assessed value of newly created properties
not assessed in the previous year's tax book for each class of
property; (2) the resulting net assessed value of Class I
property shall be multiplied by .01; the value of Class II by
.02; and the values of Class III and IV, each by .04; (3) total
the current year's property tax revenue resulting from regular
levies for the boards of education throughout this state and
multiply the resulting sum by one hundred one percent:
Provided,
That the one hundred one percent figure shall be increased by the
amount the boards of educations' increased levy provided for in
subsection (b), section eight, article one-c of this chapter; (4)
divide the total regular levy tax revenues, thus increased in
subdivision (3), above, by the total weighted net assessed value
as calculated in paragraph two of this subsection and multiply
the resulting product by one hundred; the resulting number is the
Class I regular levy rate, stated as cents-per-one hundreddollars of assessed value; and (5) the Class II rate is two times
the Class I rate; Classes III and IV, four times the Class I rate
as calculated in the preceding subdivision.
An additional appraisal or valuation due to new construction
or improvements, including beginning recovery of natural
resources, to existing real property or newly acquired personal
property shall not be an annual appraisal or general valuation
within the meaning of this section, nor shall the assessed value
of such improvements be included in calculating the new tax levy
for purposes of this section. Special levies shall not be
included in any calculations under this section:
Provided,
however,
That no county board of education shall have its total
tax collections in any year reduced to an amount less than the
computation of local share for the base year one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three.
(b) After conducting a public hearing, the Legislature may,
by act, increase the rate above the reduced rate required in
subsection (a) of this section if any such increase is deemed to
be necessary.
(c) This section shall be effective as to any regular levy
rate imposed for the county boards of education for taxes due and
payable on or after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-one. If any provision of this section is held
invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this section which can be given effect without
the invalid provision or its application and to this end theprovisions of this section are declared to be severable.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that county
boards of education shall not have tax collections reduced to an
amount less than the 1993 base.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.