hb 0426

CHAPTER 203

HB 426 – FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to the certification of property assessors and assessing officials, the updating of tax maps by municipalities, the form for abatement applications, the enforcement of discretionary preservation easements, the annual appraisal of real estate, and reports on the status of monthly tax refunds.

SPONSORS: Rep. Stohl, Coos 1; Rep. Patten, Carr 7; Rep. Stone, Rock 73

I. Provides for the certification and decertification of assessors of taxable property by the commissioner of revenue administration and the assessing standards board.

II. Allows towns and cities to change the scale and updating of tax maps, and requires certain information on abatement application forms.

III. Changes a reference to enforcement procedures applicable to discretionary preservation easements.

IV. Establishes procedures by which a municipality with a population over 10,000 may adopt annual appraisals of real estate.

V. Requires the commissioner of the department of revenue administration to make reports to the fiscal committee on the status of monthly tax refunds.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

203:1 Commissioner of Revenue Administration; Municipal Assessments; Reference Corrected. Amend RSA 21-J:3, XXVI to read as follows:

XXVI. Review and report each municipality’s assessments once within every 5 years pursuant to RSA 21-J:11-a[~~, II~~].

203:2 Revenue Administration; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 21-J:13, VI(a) and (b) to read as follows:

(a) Evidence of the [~~financial responsibility and~~] professional capability of personnel to be employed under contract under RSA 21-J:11; and

(b) The content of the contract to be approved under RSA 21-J:11, as provided in RSA 71-B.

203:3 Assessing Standards Board; Guidelines. RSA 21-J:14-b, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. The assessing standards board shall recommend guidelines and appropriate legislation relative to:

(a) Guidelines to be followed by assessors, selectmen, and boards of assessors throughout the state, relating to the administration of the property tax and assessment of real property used in any state property tax system.

(b) The establishment of guidelines for monitoring of local assessment practices by the department of revenue administration, guidelines for the adequacy of tax maps and other records, and guidelines for audit by the department of revenue administration of municipalities.

(c) The identification of practices which constitute sales-chasing and penalties to be adopted by the legislature regarding such practices.

(d) Any study conducted for the purpose of determining the status of assessing practices or the improvement of assessing in the state.

203:4 New Paragraph; Rulemaking by Assessing Standards Board. Amend RSA 21-J:14-b by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:

I-a. The assessing standards board shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:

(a) The establishment of certification, continuing education, and revocation and suspension standards for assessing officials. The department of revenue administration shall be responsible for the enforcement of those standards.

(b) The forms and procedures necessary to fulfill the duties of the board consistent with board recommendations and to assure a fair opportunity for public comment.

203:5 Certification and Decertification of Assessors. RSA 21-J:14-f and 21-J:14-g are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. Every person, whether working individually, for a firm or corporation, or as a municipal employee, making appraisals of a municipality for tax assessment purposes, except elected officials making appraisals pursuant to RSA 75:1, shall be certified by the department according to rules adopted by the assessing standards board as provided in paragraph II. Department of revenue administration employees shall be certified at the level appropriate to their duties.

II. The assessing standards board shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to qualifications for certification, requirements for continuing education, and decertification of persons required to be certified in paragraph I. Such rules shall specify the minimum qualifications with respect to education and training required for certification according to the following functional job categories ranked in ascending hierarchical order:

III. No person, except boards of assessors and selectmen making appraisals pursuant to RSA 75:1, shall make appraisals without first obtaining the certification required by this section. Certification is non-assignable and cannot be transferred. Any person who willfully fails to obtain certification as provided in this section shall be subject to the penalties imposed under RSA 21-J:39, IV.

I. The commissioner may decertify any person or may refuse to issue or renew any certification for failure to comply with the rules of assessing standards board adopted pursuant to RSA 21-J:14-f, II.

II. Any person aggrieved by a decertification or refusal to certify of the commissioner may appeal from such decision by application to the board of tax and land appeals or by petition to the superior court in the county in which such person resides or maintains his or her business within 30 days after receiving written notice of the commissioner’s decision. The board of tax and land appeals or the court, as the case may be, shall hear the appeal forthwith.

203:6 Application; Certification of Assessors. All persons approved or certified by the department or by the New Hampshire Association of Assessing Officials on the effective date of this act shall be deemed certified subject to those rules or standards for continuing education and revocation or suspension of certification adopted by the commissioner of revenue administration until the assessing standards board adopts, repeals, or replaces such rules under RSA 21-J:14-b, I-a and the department implements the board’s rules.

203:7 Commissioner of Revenue Administration; Assessors; Decertification. Amend RSA 21-J:3, XVIII to read as follows:

XVIII. Hear appeals on disputed taxes, penalties, and interest and on [~~certification suspension, revocation,~~] decertification or rejection under RSA 21-J:14-g.

203:8 Commissioner of Revenue Administration; Assessors; Rulemaking; Decertification. Amend RSA 21-J:13, XII to read as follows:

XII. Certification, decertification, enforcement, and hearing requirements under RSA 21-J: 14-f and 21-J:14-g.

203:9 Certified Assessors; Criminal Penalties. Amend RSA 21-J:39, IV(c) to read as follows:

II.(a) The scale on a tax map shall be meaningful and adequately represent the land contained on the map, taking into consideration the urban or rural character of the land. The scale shall be sufficient to allow the naming and numbering of, and the placement of dimensions within, if possible, the parcel represented in the individual plat.

(b) Nothing in this paragraph shall apply to any city or town which, prior to the imposition of such scale requirements, has drawn a tax map, appropriated funds or contracted with any person or firm to prepare a tax map or expended funds in the initial phase of preparing a tax map.

III. Each parcel shall be identified by a map and parcel number and shall be indexed alphabetically by owner’s name and numerically by parcel number.

IV. Tax maps shall be [~~continually~~] updated at least annually to indicate ownership and parcel size changes.

203:11 Assessing Standards Board; Municipal Official; Designee. Amend RSA 21-J:14-a, II(f) to read as follows:

(f) Three members appointed by the governor with the consent of council, one of whom shall be a municipal governing body official or designee who shall not be an assessor for a town with a population of less than 5,000; one of whom shall be a municipal governing body official or designee who shall not be an assessor for a town with a population of more than 5,000; and one of whom shall be a municipal governing body official or designee who shall not be an assessor for a city. Each member shall hold office for the term of such member's position for 2 years and until a successor shall have been appointed and qualified. Any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by the governor with the consent of the council.

203:12 New Subparagraph; Abatements; By Selectmen or Assessors; Form. Amend RSA 76:16, III by inserting after subparagraph (g) the following new subparagraph:

(h) The statement: “If an abatement is granted and taxes have been paid, interest on the abatement shall be paid in accordance with RSA 76:17-a. Any interest paid to the applicant must be reported by the municipality to the United States Internal Revenue Service, in accordance with federal law. Prior to the payment of an abatement with interest, the taxpayer shall provide the municipality with the applicant’s social security number or federal tax identification number. Municipalities shall treat the social security or federal tax identification information as confidential and exempt from a public information request under RSA 91-A.”

II. The commissioner shall issue a copy of the report upon its completion to the municipality and to the assessing standards board. The report shall be completed after the completion of the equalization of property valuations conducted pursuant to RSA 21-J:3, XIII. When issued, the report shall be a public document.

203:14 Discretionary Preservation Easements; Enforcement. Amend RSA 79-D:13 to read as follows:

79-D:13 Enforcement. All taxes levied pursuant to RSA 79-D:8 which are not paid when due shall be collected in the same manner as provided in RSA [~~80:1-80:42~~] 80.

203:15 New Section; Appraisal of Taxable Property; Annual Appraisal; Municipalities Over 10,000. Amend RSA 75 by inserting after section 8-a the following new section:

75:8-b Annual Appraisal; Municipalities Over 10,000. Except when assessing real estate under RSA 75:8-a, any municipality with a population over 10,000 as determined pursuant to RSA 78-A:25 intending to appraise real estate annually at market value, as defined in RSA 75:1, shall authorize such annual appraisal by a majority vote of the governing body. The governing body shall hold 2 public hearings regarding the annual appraisal process at least 15 days, but not more than 60 days, prior to the governing body’s authorization vote. Any municipality with a population over 10,000 as determined pursuant to RSA 78-A:25 annually appraising real estate at market value shall provide notification of changes to the assessed valuation prior to the issuance of the final tax bill, either by individual notice to the property owner, by public notice in a newspaper of general circulation, or by any other means deemed appropriate by the governing body.

203:16 Repeal. RSA 71-B:5, V, relative to petitions for corrective action before the board of tax and land appeals, is repealed.

203:17 New Subdivision; Reports on Status of Monthly Tax Refunds. Amend RSA 21-J by inserting after section 44 the following new subdivision:

I. The commissioner of the department of revenue administration shall report to the fiscal committee of the general court within 10 days after the close of each month, the status of monthly refunds pending from the combined general fund and education trust fund for the following taxes:

II. This report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of refunds claimed, dollar value of refunds carried over from the prior month, current claims, paid out refunds, and refunds outstanding at the end of the month. This report shall also include the total anticipated refund for the next 3 calendar months for each tax in subparagraphs I(a)– (c).