H. B. 3038
(By Delegates Mezzatesta, Michael and Doyle)
(Originating in the House Committee on Finance)
[March 3, 1999]
A BILL to amend section eight, article one-c, chapter eleven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, relating to prohibiting assessors in those
counties where the assessed value of all property in his or
her county is not maintained at sixty percent of the appraised
value from receiving additional funding; effective date.
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 by adding thereto a new article, designated article
fifteen-b, 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.
:Provided, That for the fiscal year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand and one, and each fiscal year thereafter, the
assessors, in order to receive two percent or any percent of the
previous year's projected tax collections for their valuation
funds, must maintain the appraised valuation of all real and
personal property within their jurisdictions at fair market value,
except for special valuation provided for farmland and managed timberland, as determined by the tax commissioner in his or her
annual report of sales ratio analysis: Provided, however, That for
purposes of this paragraph, an assessor is deemed to be in
compliance if the coefficient of dispersion determined by
statistical testing performed by the tax commissioner is less than
twenty percent for residential property in a county and less than
twenty-five percent for vacant residential and commercial property
in a county. 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, further, 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.