ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 366
(By Senators Love and Kessler)
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[Passed March 14, 1998; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section eight, article one-c, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to additional
funding for certain assessors' offices beginning on or after
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety- nine; requirements imposed upon use of additional funding;
and certification of level of funding by valuation
commission.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, 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-8. Additional funding for assessors' offices;
maintenance funding.
(a) In order to finance the extra costs associated with the valuation and training mandated by this article, there is hereby
created a revolving valuation fund in each county which shall be
used exclusively to fund the assessor's office. No persons whose
salary is payable from the valuation fund shall be hired under
this section without the approval of the valuation commission,
the hirings shall be without regard to political favor or
affiliation, and the persons hired under this section are subject
to the provisions of the ethics act in chapter six-b of this
code, including, but not limited to, the conflict of interest
provisions under chapter six-b of this code. Notwithstanding any
other provisions of this code to the contrary, assessors may
employ citizens of any West Virginia county for the purpose of
performing, assessing and appraising duties under this chapter
upon approval of the employment by the valuation commission.
(b) During the fiscal year commencing the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and thereafter as
necessary, any county receiving moneys provided by the valuation
commission under this section shall use the county's valuation
fund receipts which exceed the total amount received in the
fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-four, and such other portion of the county's
valuation fund receipts that may be required by the valuation
commission, to repay the valuation commission the money received
plus accrued interest: Provided, That the fund should not drop below one percent of the total municipal, county commission and
county school board revenues generated by application of the
respective regular levy rates.
(c) (1) To finance the ongoing extra costs associated with
the valuation and training mandated by this article, beginning
with the fiscal year commencing on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and for a period of at least
three consecutive years, an amount equal to two percent of the
previous year's projected tax collections, or whatever percent is
approved by the valuation commission, from the regular levy set
by, or for, the county commission, the county school board and
any municipality in the county shall be prorated as to each
levying body, set aside and placed in the valuation fund. In May
of each year the sheriff of each county shall make a final
transfer to the assessor's valuation fund which will reflect any
difference in the amount of actual collections in the previous
fiscal year as opposed to those previously projected by the chief
inspector's office as the basis for the contributions to the
valuation fund, to bring the total transfers for that year to two
percent of the previous year's actual collections. The two- percent payment shall continue in any county where funds borrowed
from the state pursuant to subsection (a) of this section have
not been fully repaid until such moneys, together with accrued
interest thereon, have been fully repaid or until the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, whichever comes
last. Each year thereafter, for counties with loans, and each
fiscal year after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, for those counties without loans, the
valuation fund shall be continued at an annual amount not to
exceed two percent, as determined by the valuation commission, of
the previous year's projected tax collections from such regular
levies: Provided, That on and after the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, a valuation fund of a county
with a loan shall be continued at an annual amount not to exceed
three percent, as determined by the valuation commission, and any
amounts received in excess of two percent of the collections
shall be expended solely to repay the loan and for no other
purpose. No provision of this subdivision shall be construed to
abrogate any requirement imposed under subsection (b) of this
section.
(2) For the fiscal year beginning on the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, and any fiscal year
thereafter, the assessors, in order to receive any percent of the
previous year's projected tax collections for their valuation
funds, must submit a request to the valuation commission no later
than the fifteenth day of December, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four, and by the same date in December each year
thereafter. The submission shall include a projected expenditure budget, including any balances expected to be carried forward,
with justification for the percent requested for their valuation
fund for the ensuing fiscal year. A copy of the projected budget
and justifications shall also be sent to the assessor's county
commission, municipalities and school board. The valuation
commission shall meet after the fifteenth day of January but
prior to the first day of February each year beginning in the
year one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, and has authority to
accept and confirm up to two percent as a justifiable amount for
counties without loans, and to accept and confirm up to three
percent for counties with loans, subject to the requirement of
subdivision (1) of this subsection that any amounts received in
excess of two percent of the collections shall be expended solely
to repay the loan and for no other purpose. The valuation
commission may establish whatever lower percent of the previous
year's projected tax collections each assessor shall receive
based upon the evidence at hand, and the particular reevaluation
needs of the county. Absent a proper application by any
assessor, the valuation commission may, after consultation with
the tax commissioner's office, set whatever allowable percent it
considers proper. Following its decisions, the valuation
commission shall certify to the chief inspector's office of the
department of tax and revenue and the joint committee on
government and finance, the percent approved for each assessor's valuation fund, and the chief inspector's office shall notify
each affected sheriff and levying body of the moneys due from
their levies to their respective valuation funds. County
commissions, boards of education and municipalities may present
written evidence, prior to the fifteenth day of January, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-five, and by the same date of each
year thereafter, acceptable to the valuation commission showing
that a lesser amount than that requested by the assessor would be
adequate to fund the extra costs associated with the valuation
mandated by section seven of this article: Provided, That the
county commissions, in addition, shall fund the county assessor's
office at least the level of funding provided during the fiscal
year in which this section was initially enacted.
These additional funds are intended to enable assessors to
maintain current valuations and to perform the periodic
reevaluation required under section nine of this article.
(d) Moneys due the valuation fund shall be deposited by the
sheriff of the county on a monthly basis as directed by the chief
inspector's office for the benefit of the assessor and shall be
available to and may be spent by the assessor without prior
approval of the county commission, which may not exercise any
control over the fund. Clerical functions related to the fund
shall be performed in the same manner as done with other normal
funding provided to the assessor.