Amendment SSA1-SB624

LRBs0239/1

JK:amn&skw

2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE

SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO SENATE BILL 624

January 29, 2020 - Offered by Senator Craig.

SB624-SSA1,1,3 An Act to amend 70.365 of the statutes; relating to: notice that an assessor is prohibited from changing the valuation of property based solely on a recent sale of the property.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Current law requires that, to determine a property's value for property tax purposes, the assessor consider recent arm's-length sales of the property to be assessed if according to professionally acceptable appraisal practices those sales conform to recent arm's-length sales of reasonably comparable property. Current law, generally, prohibits an assessor from changing the assessed value of a property based solely on the recent arm's-length sale of the property unless the change in assessed value corrects a previous assessment based on incorrect information about the physical characteristics of the property.

This bill requires that an assessor's notice of changed assessment to a property owner include language that specifies that the assessor may not change the assessment of property based solely on the recent arm's length sale of the property without adjusting the assessed value of comparable properties in the same market area.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB624-SSA1,1 Section 1 . 70.365 of the statutes, as affected by 2019 Wisconsin Act 2, is amended to read:

SB624-SSA1,4,2 70.365 Notice of changed assessment. When the assessor assesses any taxable real property, or any improvements taxed as personal property under s. 77.84 (1), and arrives at a different total than the assessment of it for the previous year, the assessor shall notify the person assessed if the address of the person is known to the assessor, otherwise the occupant of the property. However, the assessor is not required to provide notice under this section if land is classified as agricultural land, as defined in s. 70.32 (2) (c) 1g., for the current year and previous year and the difference between the assessments is $500 or less. If the assessor determines that land assessed under s. 70.32 (2r) for the previous year is no longer eligible to be assessed under s. 70.32 (2r), and the current classification under s. 70.32 (2) (a) is not undeveloped, agricultural forest, productive forest land, or other, the assessor shall notify the person assessed if the assessor knows the person's address, or otherwise the occupant of the property, that the person assessed may be subject to a conversion charge under s. 74.485. Any notice issued under this section shall be in writing and shall be sent by ordinary mail at least 15 days before the meeting of the board of review or before the meeting of the board of assessors in 1st class cities and in 2nd class cities that have a board of assessors under s. 70.075, except that, in any year in which the taxation district conducts a revaluation under s. 70.05, the notice shall be sent at least 30 days before the meeting of the board of review or board of assessors. The notice shall contain the amount of the changed assessment and the time, date, and place of the meeting of the local board of review or of the board of assessors. The notice shall also include the following: “ Under Wisconsin law, generally, the assessor may not change the assessment of property based solely on the recent arm's length sale of the property without adjusting the assessed value of comparable properties in the same market area. For information on the assessment of properties that have recently sold, visit the Internet site of the Department of Revenue at ... (Internet site address).” However, if the assessment roll is not complete, the notice shall be sent by ordinary mail at least 15 days prior to the date to which the board of review or board of assessors has adjourned, except that, in any year in which the taxation district conducts a revaluation under s. 70.05, the notice shall be sent at least 30 days prior to the date to which the board of review or board of assessors has adjourned. The assessor shall attach to the assessment roll a statement that the notices required by this section have been mailed and failure to receive the notice shall not affect the validity of the changed assessment, the resulting changed tax, the procedures of the board of review or of the board of assessors or the enforcement of delinquent taxes by statutory means. After the person assessed or the occupant of the property receives notice under this section, if the assessor changes the assessment as a result of the examination of the rolls as provided in s. 70.45 and the person assessed waives, in writing and on a form prescribed or approved by the department of revenue, the person's right to the notice of the changed assessment under this section, no additional notice is required under this section. The secretary of revenue shall prescribe the form of the notice required under this section. The form shall include information notifying the taxpayer of the procedures to be used to object to the assessment. The form shall also indicate whether the person assessed may be subject to a conversion charge under s. 74.485.

SB624-SSA1,2 Section 2. Initial applicability.

SB624-SSA1,4,4 (1) This act first applies to the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2021.

SB624-SSA1,4,5 (End)