Property Tax Administrative Procedures

The property tax administrator is required by law to prepare and publish manuals, appraisal procedures, instructions, and guidelines (property tax materials) concerning the administration of the property tax. Beginning January 1, 2022, section 1 of the bill requires the administrator to conduct a public hearing on a proposed change to the property tax materials prior to submitting the proposed change to the advisory committee to the property tax administrator (advisory committee). The administrator must publish notice of the hearing and mail notice to those people who so request. At the hearing, interested persons may submit information and the administrator is required to consider these submissions. Any interested person may also petition the administrator for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of any property tax material.

At least 2 weeks prior to the advisory committee reviewing a proposed change to the property tax materials, section 2 requires the property tax administrator to publish notice about the proposed change.

Under current law, an assessor may, with the permission of the board of county commissioners, include an estimate of property taxes owed in a notice of valuation. Section 3 requires an assessor to include this estimate and allows the assessor to include a range of values.

If in the consideration of a protest an assessor finds that he or she made a systematic error and the valuations of other similar properties are incorrect, section 4 requires the assessor to correct the error for the other similar properties. Sections 4 through 9 extend all deadlines related to protests of the valuation of real or personal property and for appeals to the county board of equalization to the same day of the following month. The deadline for a county assessor to report the total valuation for assessment of land and improvements within a county is likewise delayed.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)