ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 766
(By Senators Wooton, Ball, Dittmar, Hunter, Kessler,
Oliverio, Ross, Snyder, White, Deem and Scott)
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[Passed March 14, 1998; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend article six, chapter eleven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve-a,
relating to authorizing the board of public works to correct
erroneous assessments.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article six, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve-a, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 6. ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE BUSINESSES.
§11-6-12a. Relief from erroneous assessments.
(a) Any owner or operator claiming to be aggrieved by an
assessment of the board of public works, including matters relating
to the valuation of property resulting from a clerical error or a
mistake occasioned by an unintentional or inadvertent act as distinguished from a mistake resulting from negligence or the
exercise of poor judgment may, within sixty days of the effective
date of this section and thereafter within one year from the date
upon which the board of public works has set final values or within
one year from the time such clerical error or mistake is discovered
or reasonably could have been discovered, apply for relief to the
board of public works as provided in this section.
(b) Upon the discovery of any such clerical error or mistake,
the secretary of the board of public works shall send notice to the
owner or operator affected by the clerical error or mistake by
first class mail advising the owner or operator of the right to
make application for relief from the erroneous assessment.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this
section, the application for relief shall be presented to the
secretary of the board of public works no later than one year from
the date upon which the error or mistake is discovered.
(d) If the board of public works determines that the applicant
is entitled to relief, any excess taxes already paid shall be
refunded or, if the taxes are charged but not paid, the applicant
shall be released from the payment of such excess: Provided, That
except for an application for relief filed within sixty days of the
effective date of this section, in the event a mistake or error is
discovered more than one year from the date the board has set final
values, and the board determines the applicant is entitled to relief, then any correction under this section shall be in the form
of a credit against future years' taxes.
(e) Whenever any correction is made by the board of public
works, the secretary of the board of public works shall direct that
the adjustments be made by the state tax commissioner and
communicated to the auditor for correction of the tax statements.
The auditor shall thereafter cease any attempt to collect any
amounts erroneously charged against the owner or operator and, if
already collected, shall refund any excess taxes paid: Provided,
That except for an application for relief filed within sixty days
of the effective date of this section, in the event a mistake or
error is discovered more than one year from the date the board has
set final values, and the board determines the applicant is
entitled to relief, then any correction under this section shall be
in the form of a credit against future years' taxes.
(f) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to
authorize the board of public works to consider any question
involving the assessment or valuation of property which has been
the subject matter of an appeal under the provisions of section
twelve of this article.
(g) Any owner or operator may appeal the decision of the board
of public works with respect to an application made for relief
under this section in the same manner as appeals are authorized
under the provisions of section twelve of this article.