COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 565
(By Senators Sypolt, Bailey and Love)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 21, 2008.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §11-3-2a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to notices of increased assessment;
providing an exemption to the required notice of an increase
in the assessed valuation of real property when the increase
is under one thousand dollars; reducing the required notice
period; and removing outdated language.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-3-2a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY.
§11-3-2a. Notice of increased assessment required; exceptions to
notice.
(a) If the assessor determines the assessed valuation of any
item of real property is more than ten percent greater than the
valuation assessed for that item in the last tax year,
the increase
is one thousand dollars or more and the increase
be is entered in the property books as provided in section nineteen of this article,
the assessor shall give notice of the increase to the person
assessed or the person controlling the property as provided in
section two of this article. The notice
must shall be given at
least fifteen days prior to the first meeting in February at which
the county commission meets as the board of equalization and review
for that tax year and advise the person assessed or the person
controlling the property of his
or her right to appear and seek an
adjustment in the assessment. The notice shall be made by first
class United States postage mailed to the address of the person
assessed or the person controlling the property for payment of tax
on the item in the previous year, unless there was a general
increase of the entire valuation in any one or more districts in
which case the notice shall be by publication
thereof of the notice
by a Class II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
and
The area for the publication is the county. The requirement of
notice under this section is satisfied and waived if personal
notice of the increase is shown by:
(1) The taxpayer having signed the assessment form after it
had been completed showing the increase;
(2) Notice was given as provided in section three-a of this
article; or
(3) The person so assessed executing acknowledgment of the
notice of the increase.
(b) During the initial reappraisal of all property under section seven, article one-c of this chapter, the tax commissioner
and each county assessor shall send every person owning or
controlling property appraised by the tax commissioner or the
county assessor, as the case may be, a pamphlet which explains the
reappraisal process and its equalization goal in a detailed yet
informal manner. The property valuation training and procedures
commission, created under section three, article one-c of this
chapter, shall design the pamphlet for use in all counties while
allowing individual county information to be included if it
determines that the information would improve understanding of the
process.
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(NOTE: This bill provides that the increase in the assessed
valuation must be at least $1,000 before the required notice is to
be sent that the county commission will be meeting as the board of
equalization and review.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)