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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1131
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BROWN (26).
5371S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 137.115, 137.750, 138.380, 138.390, 138.410, and 138.435, RSMo, and to enact
in lieu thereof six new sections relating to the duties of the state tax commission.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 137.115, 137.750, 138.380, 138.390, 1
138.410, and 138.435, RSMo, are repealed and six new sections 2
enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 137.115, 3
137.750, 138.380, 138.390, 138.410, and 138.435, to read as 4
follows:5
137.115. 1. All other laws to the contrary 1
notwithstanding, the assessor or the assessor's deputies in 2
all counties of this state including the City of St. Louis 3
shall annually make a list of all real and tangible personal 4
property taxable in the assessor's city, county, town or 5
district. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 of 6
this section and section 137.078, the assessor shall 7
annually assess all personal property at thirty-three and 8
one-third percent of its true value in money as of January 9
first of each calendar year. The assessor shall annually 10
assess all real property, including any new construction and 11
improvements to real property, and possessory interests in 12
real property at the percent of its true value in money set 13
in subsection 5 of this section. The true value in money of 14
any possessory interest in real property in subclass (3), 15
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where such real property is on or lies within the ultimate 16
airport boundary as shown by a federal airport layout plan, 17
as defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of a commercial airport having a 18
FAR Part 139 certification and owned by a political 19
subdivision, shall be the otherwise applicable true value in 20
money of any such possessory interest in real property, less 21
the total dollar amount of costs paid by a party, other than 22
the political subdivision, towards any new construction or 23
improvements on such real property completed after January 24
1, 2008, and which are included in the above-mentioned 25
possessory interest, regardless of the year in which such 26
costs were incurred or whether such costs were considered in 27
any prior year. The assessor shall annually assess all real 28
property in the following manner: new assessed values shall 29
be determined as of January first of each odd-numbered year 30
and shall be entered in the assessor's books; those same 31
assessed values shall apply in the following even-numbered 32
year, except for new construction and property improvements 33
which shall be valued as though they had been completed as 34
of January first of the preceding odd-numbered year. The 35
assessor may call at the office, place of doing business, or 36
residence of each person required by this chapter to list 37
property, and require the person to make a correct statement 38
of all taxable tangible personal property owned by the 39
person or under his or her care, charge or management, 40
taxable in the county. On or before January first of each 41
even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a 42
two-year assessment maintenance plan to the county governing 43
body and the state tax commission for their respective 44
approval or modification. The county governing body shall 45
approve and forward such plan or its alternative to the plan 46
to the state tax commission by February first. If the 47
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county governing body fails to forward the plan or its 48
alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by 49
February first, the assessor's plan shall be considered 50
approved by the county governing body. [If the state tax 51
commission fails to approve a plan and if the state tax 52
commission and the assessor and the governing body of the 53
county involved are unable to resolve the differences, in 54
order to receive state cost-share funds outlined in section 55
137.750, the county or the assessor shall petition the 56
administrative hearing commission, by May first, to decide 57
all matters in dispute regarding the assessment maintenance 58
plan. Upon agreement of the parties, the matter may be 59
stayed while the parties proceed with mediation or 60
arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final 61
decision of the administrative hearing commission shall be 62
subject to judicial review in the circuit court of the 63
county involved.] In the event a valuation of subclass (1) 64
real property within any county with a charter form of 65
government, or within a city not within a county, is made by 66
a computer, computer-assisted method or a computer program, 67
the burden of proof, supported by clear, convincing and 68
cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, shall be on the 69
assessor at any hearing or appeal. In any such county, 70
unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a 71
presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, 72
computer-assisted method or a computer program. Such 73
evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the 74
following: 75
(1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal 76
of the property by generally accepted appraisal techniques; 77
and 78
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(2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three 79
comparable properties and the address or location thereof. 80
As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means 81
that: 82
(a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the 83
property valuation; and 84
(b) Such properties are not more than one mile from 85
the site of the disputed property, except where no similar 86
properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, 87
the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such 88
property shall be within five hundred square feet in size of 89
the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in 90
age, floor plan, number of rooms, and other relevant 91
characteristics. 92
2. Assessors in each county of this state and the City 93
of St. Louis may send personal property assessment forms 94
through the mail. 95
3. The following items of personal property shall each 96
constitute separate subclasses of tangible personal property 97
and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes of 98
taxation at the following percentages of their true value in 99
money: 100
(1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an 101
unmanufactured condition, one-half of one percent; 102
(2) Livestock, twelve percent; 103
(3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 104
(4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration 105
as and are registered as historic motor vehicles pursuant to 106
section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty-five 107
years old and which are used solely for noncommercial 108
purposes and are operated less than two hundred hours per 109
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year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five 110
percent; 111
(5) Poultry, twelve percent; 112
(6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and 113
tools and equipment used in retooling for the purpose of 114
introducing new product lines or used for making 115
improvements to existing products by any company which is 116
located in a state enterprise zone and which is identified 117
by any standard industrial classification number cited in 118
subdivision (7) of section 135.200, twenty-five percent; and 119
(7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and 120
related solar equipment, components, materials, and supplies 121
installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy 122
systems, as described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of 123
section 144.030, that were constructed and producing solar 124
energy prior to August 9, 2022, five percent. 125
4. The person listing the property shall enter a true 126
and correct statement of the property, in a printed blank 127
prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being 128
filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to 129
as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be 130
delivered to the assessor. 131
5. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such 132
subclasses are established in Section 4(b) of Article X of 133
the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, 134
shall be assessed at the following percentages of true value: 135
(a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen 136
percent; 137
(b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; 138
and 139
(c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty-two 140
percent. 141
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(2) A taxpayer may apply to the county assessor, or, 142
if not located within a county, then the assessor of such 143
city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real 144
property if the use or purpose of such real property is 145
changed after such property is assessed under the provisions 146
of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such 147
property shall be reclassified, he or she shall determine 148
the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage 149
of the tax year that such property was classified in each 150
subclassification. 151
6. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, 152
which are actually used as dwelling units shall be assessed 153
at the same percentage of true value as residential real 154
property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of 155
assessment of true value for such manufactured homes shall 156
be the same as for residential real property. If the county 157
collector cannot identify or find the manufactured home when 158
attempting to attach the manufactured home for payment of 159
taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county 160
collector may request the county commission to have the 161
manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such 162
request shall be granted within thirty days after the 163
request is made; however, the removal from the tax books 164
does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it 165
is later identified or found. For purposes of this section, 166
a manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental 167
park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 168
manufactured home owner shall be considered personal 169
property. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home 170
located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 171
may be considered real property. 172
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7. Each manufactured home assessed shall be considered 173
a parcel for the purpose of reimbursement pursuant to 174
section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is deemed to 175
be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015 176
and assessed as a realty improvement to the existing real 177
estate parcel. 178
8. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the 179
assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the 180
personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 181
owner unless the manufactured home is deemed to be real 182
estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015, in 183
which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment 184
of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the 185
existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real 186
property tax statement of the real estate owner. 187
9. The assessor of each county and each city not 188
within a county shall use a nationally recognized automotive 189
trade publication such as the National Automobile Dealers' 190
Association Official Used Car Guide, Kelley Blue Book, 191
Edmunds, or other similar publication as the recommended 192
guide of information for determining the true value of motor 193
vehicles described in such publication. The state tax 194
commission shall select and make available to all assessors 195
which publication shall be used. The assessor of each 196
county and each city not within a county shall use the trade- 197
in value published in the current October issue of the 198
publication selected by the state tax commission. The 199
assessor shall not use a value that is greater than the 200
average trade-in value in determining the true value of the 201
motor vehicle without performing a physical inspection of 202
the motor vehicle. For vehicles two years old or newer from 203
a vehicle's model year, the assessor may use a value other 204
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than average without performing a physical inspection of the 205
motor vehicle. In the absence of a listing for a particular 206
motor vehicle in such publication, the assessor shall use 207
such information or publications that, in the assessor's 208
judgment, will fairly estimate the true value in money of 209
the motor vehicle. For motor vehicles with a true value of 210
less than fifty thousand dollars as of January 1, 2025, the 211
assessor shall not assess such motor vehicle for an amount 212
greater than such motor vehicle was assessed in the previous 213
year, provided that such motor vehicle was properly assessed 214
in the previous year. 215
10. Before the assessor may increase the assessed 216
valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real property by 217
more than fifteen percent since the last assessment, 218
excluding increases due to new construction or improvements, 219
the assessor shall conduct a physical inspection of such 220
property. 221
11. If a physical inspection is required, pursuant to 222
subsection 10 of this section, the assessor shall notify the 223
property owner of that fact in writing and shall provide the 224
owner clear written notice of the owner's rights relating to 225
the physical inspection. If a physical inspection is 226
required, the property owner may request that an interior 227
inspection be performed during the physical inspection. The 228
owner shall have no less than thirty days to notify the 229
assessor of a request for an interior physical inspection. 230
12. A physical inspection, as required by subsection 231
10 of this section, shall include, but not be limited to, an 232
on-site personal observation and review of all exterior 233
portions of the land and any buildings and improvements to 234
which the inspector has or may reasonably and lawfully gain 235
external access, and shall include an observation and review 236
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of the interior of any buildings or improvements on the 237
property upon the timely request of the owner pursuant to 238
subsection 11 of this section. Mere observation of the 239
property via a drive-by inspection or the like shall not be 240
considered sufficient to constitute a physical inspection as 241
required by this section. 242
13. A county or city collector may accept credit cards 243
as proper form of payment of outstanding property tax or 244
license due. No county or city collector may charge 245
surcharge for payment by credit card which exceeds the fee 246
or surcharge charged by the credit card bank, processor, or 247
issuer for its service. A county or city collector may 248
accept payment by electronic transfers of funds in payment 249
of any tax or license and charge the person making such 250
payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the 251
bank, processor, or issuer of such electronic payment. 252
14. Any county or city not within a county in this 253
state may, by an affirmative vote of the governing body of 254
such county, opt out of the provisions of this section and 255
sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by house 256
bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general assembly, second 257
regular session and section 137.073 as modified by house 258
committee substitute for senate substitute for senate 259
committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety-second 260
general assembly, second regular session, for the next year 261
of the general reassessment, prior to January first of any 262
year. No county or city not within a county shall exercise 263
this opt-out provision after implementing the provisions of 264
this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 265
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 266
assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as 267
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 268
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for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 269
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a 270
year of general reassessment. For the purposes of applying 271
the provisions of this subsection, a political subdivision 272
contained within two or more counties where at least one of 273
such counties has opted out and at least one of such 274
counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate 275
as in effect prior to the enactment of house bill no. 1150 276
of the ninety-first general assembly, second regular 277
session. A governing body of a city not within a county or 278
a county that has opted out under the provisions of this 279
subsection may choose to implement the provisions of this 280
section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 281
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 282
assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as 283
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 284
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 285
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, for 286
the next year of general reassessment, by an affirmative 287
vote of the governing body prior to December thirty-first of 288
any year. 289
15. The governing body of any city of the third 290
classification with more than twenty-six thousand three 291
hundred but fewer than twenty-six thousand seven hundred 292
inhabitants located in any county that has exercised its 293
authority to opt out under subsection 14 of this section may 294
levy separate and differing tax rates for real and personal 295
property only if such city bills and collects its own 296
property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the billing 297
and collection of such separate and differing tax rates. 298
Such separate and differing rates shall not exceed such 299
city's tax rate ceiling. 300
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16. Any portion of real property that is available as 301
reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 302
purposes of excavation for future use or sale to others that 303
has not been bonded and permitted under chapter 444 shall be 304
assessed based upon how the real property is currently being 305
used. Any information provided to a county assessor, state 306
tax commission, state agency, or political subdivision 307
responsible for the administration of tax policies shall, in 308
the performance of its duties, make available all books, 309
records, and information requested, except such books, 310
records, and information as are by law declared confidential 311
in nature, including individually identifiable information 312
regarding a specific taxpayer or taxpayer's mine property. 313
For purposes of this subsection, "mine property" shall mean 314
all real property that is in use or readily available as a 315
reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 316
purposes of excavation for current or future use or sale to 317
others that has been bonded and permitted under chapter 444. 318
137.750. 1. [If a county has an assessment 1
maintenance plan approved pursuant to section 137.115,] A 2
portion of all the costs and expenses of the assessor of 3
each county and each city not within a county, incurred for 4
the current quarter in performing all duties necessary to 5
assess and maintain equalized assessed valuations of real 6
property, making real and personal property assessments and 7
preparing abstracts of assessment lists, shall be reimbursed 8
by the state. The state shall reimburse up to sixty percent 9
of all the current and past unreported quarterly costs and 10
expenses of the assessor of each county and each city not 11
within a county based on compliance with the state tax 12
commission approved assessment and equalization maintenance 13
plan. Except as provided in section 138.435, the state 14
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shall reimburse each eligible county a minimum of three 15
dollars per parcel for up to twenty thousand parcels, but no 16
further reimbursements shall be made until the county has 17
expended at least two-thirds of that amount of money for 18
assessment maintenance from its assessment fund. The annual 19
state reimbursement to any county pursuant to this section 20
in 2000 shall not exceed seven dollars per parcel of real 21
property in the county and each year thereafter such maximum 22
amount may be increased by up to three percent, but the 23
amount reimbursed by the state shall not exceed sixty 24
percent of the actual costs and expenses incurred, except 25
that counties entitled to only the three-dollar per parcel 26
minimum shall receive one-fourth of the state's contribution 27
each quarter. 28
2. The governing body of each county and city not 29
within a county which seeks or will seek reimbursement under 30
any provision of this section or section 137.720 shall 31
establish a fund to be known as the "Assessment Fund", to be 32
used solely as a depository for funds received by the county 33
or city pursuant to this section and sections 137.037 and 34
137.720, from the general revenue fund of the county or 35
other sources for the purpose of funding the costs and 36
expenses incurred in implementing an assessment and 37
equalization maintenance plan [approved under section 38
137.115] and for assessing real and personal property. 39
3. All counties and cities not within a county seeking 40
state funds under this section shall submit a certified copy 41
of their costs and expenses to the commissioner of the 42
office of administration not later than the thirtieth day of 43
the quarter immediately following the quarter for which such 44
state funds are sought. The commissioner of the office of 45
administration [shall, in such form as may be prescribed by 46
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rule, certify that the county requests for reimbursement are 47
consistent with the assessment and equalization maintenance 48
plan approved by the state tax commission as provided in 49
section 137.115, and] shall pay the state's share out of 50
funds appropriated for that purpose quarterly to each 51
eligible county and city to reimburse such county or city 52
for reimbursable costs and expenses incurred in the previous 53
calendar quarter. 54
4. (1) The following costs and expenses shall not 55
qualify for state reimbursement or reimbursement from tax 56
moneys withheld from political subdivisions: 57
(a) Premiums for property and casualty insurance and 58
liability insurance; 59
(b) Depreciation, interest, building and ground 60
maintenance, fuel and utility costs, and other indirect 61
expenses which can be classified as the overhead expenses of 62
the assessor's office; 63
(c) Purchases of motor vehicles; 64
(2) Costs and expenses which shall qualify for state 65
reimbursement, but only if identified in the county 66
maintenance plan and subsequently specifically approved by 67
the state tax commission, shall include: 68
(a) Salaries and benefits of data processing and legal 69
personnel not directly employed by the assessor; 70
(b) Costs and expenses for computer software, 71
hardware, and maintenance; 72
(c) Costs and expenses of any additional office space 73
made necessary in order to carry out the county's 74
maintenance plan; 75
(d) Costs of leased equipment; 76
(e) Costs of aerial photography. 77
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138.380. 1. It shall be the duty of the state tax 1
commission, and the commissioners shall have authority, to 2
perform all duties enumerated in this section and such other 3
duties as may be provided by law: 4
(1) To raise or lower the assessed valuation of any 5
parcel or item of real or tangible personal property, 6
including the power to raise or lower the assessed valuation 7
of the real or tangible personal property of any individual, 8
copartnership, company, association or corporation; 9
provided, that before any such assessment is so raised, 10
notice of the intention of the commission to raise such 11
assessed valuation and of the time and place at which a 12
hearing thereon will be held, shall be given to such 13
individual, copartnership, company, association or 14
corporation as provided in sections 138.460 and 138.470, and 15
further provided that the commission shall not have the 16
power to require a county to raise or lower the assessed 17
valuation of an entire class or subclass of property; 18
(2) To require from any officer in this state, on 19
forms prescribed by the commission, such annual or other 20
reports as shall enable said commission to ascertain the 21
assessed and equalized value of all real and tangible 22
property listed for taxation, the amount of taxes assessed, 23
collected and returned, and such other matter as the 24
commission may require, to the end that it may have complete 25
information concerning the entire subject of revenue and 26
taxation and all matters and things incidental thereto; 27
(3) To cause to be placed upon the assessment rolls at 28
any time during the year omitted property which may be 29
discovered to have, for any reason, escaped assessment and 30
taxation, and to correct any errors that may be found on the 31
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assessment rolls and to cause the proper entry to be made 32
thereon; 33
(4) To investigate the tax laws of other states and 34
countries, to formulate and submit to the legislature such 35
recommendations as the commission may deem expedient to 36
prevent evasions of the assessment and taxing laws, whether 37
the tax is specific or general, to secure just, equal and 38
uniform taxes, and improve the system of assessment and 39
taxation in this state; 40
(5) To prescribe the form of all blanks and books that 41
are used in the assessment and collection of the general 42
property tax, except as otherwise provided by law; and 43
(6) To develop, or enter into contracts with entities 44
for the development of, computer software programs 45
sufficient to produce the projected tax liability notices 46
required under subsections 2 and 3 of section 137.180, 47
subsection 2 of section 137.355, and subsection 2 of section 48
137.490. Upon receiving a request, before December 31, 49
2009, filed by a collector of any county or any city not 50
within the county, the commission shall provide the 51
collector with such computer software programs. 52
2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 53
contrary, the commission shall not utilize the standards 54
promulgated by the International Association of Assessing 55
Officers (IAAO) or any other international or domestic 56
organization to carry out any powers and duties prescribed 57
in this chapter. 58
138.390. 1. The state tax commission shall equalize 1
the valuation of real and tangible personal property among 2
the several counties in the state in the following manner: 3
with the abstracts of all the taxable property in the 4
several counties of the state and the abstracts of the sales 5
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of real estate in such counties as returned by the 6
respective county clerks and the assessor of the city of St. 7
Louis, the commission shall classify all real estate situate 8
in cities, towns, and villages, as town lots, and all other 9
real estate as farming lands, and shall classify all 10
tangible personal property as follows: banking 11
corporations, railroad corporations, street railroad 12
corporations, all other corporations, horses, mares and 13
geldings, mules, asses and jennets, neat cattle, sheep, 14
swine, goats, domesticated small animals and all other 15
livestock, poultry, power machinery, farm implements, other 16
tangible personal property. 17
2. (1) The state tax commission shall equalize the 18
valuation of each class or subclass of property thereof 19
among the respective counties of the state in the following 20
manner: 21
[(1)] (a) It shall add to the valuation of each class, 22
subclass, or portion thereof of the property, real or 23
tangible personal, of each county which it believes to be 24
valued below its real value in money such amount or percent 25
as will increase the same in each case to its true value; 26
[(2)] (b) It shall deduct from the valuation of each 27
class, subclass, or portion thereof of the property, real or 28
tangible personal, of each county which it believes to be 29
valued above its real value in money such amount or percent 30
as will reduce the same in each case to its true value. 31
(2) (a) For the purposes of this subsection, the 32
state tax commission shall utilize ratio studies to 33
determine whether a class or subclass of property is valued 34
below or above its true value in money. 35
(b) A class or subclass of property shall be 36
considered to be valued below its true value in money if: 37
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a. The weighted median ratio is less than seventy 38
percent and the coefficient of dispersion is greater than 39
twenty-five percent; or 40
b. The weighted median ratio is less than seventy 41
percent and the upper bound of the ninety-five percent 42
confidence interval for the weighted median is less than 43
seventy percent. 44
(c) A class or subclass of property shall be 45
considered to be valued above its true value in money if: 46
a. The weighted median ratio is greater than one 47
hundred percent and the coefficient of dispersion is greater 48
than twenty-five percent; or 49
b. The weighted median ratio is greater than one 50
hundred percent and the upper bound of the ninety-five 51
percent confidence interval for the weighted median is 52
greater than one hundred percent. 53
138.410. 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of 1
this section, the commission shall exercise general 2
supervision over all the assessing officers of this state, 3
over county boards of equalization and appeal in the 4
performance of their duties under this chapter and all other 5
laws concerning the general property tax and shall institute 6
proper proceedings to enforce the penalties and liabilities 7
provided by law for public officers, officers of 8
corporations and individuals failing to comply with the 9
provisions of this chapter, and of all laws relating to the 10
general property tax. 11
2. [In the execution of these powers the said 12
commission shall call upon the attorney general or any 13
prosecuting or circuit attorney in the state, to assist this 14
commission in the enforcement of laws with the supervision 15
of which this commission is charged, and when so called upon 16
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it shall be the duty of the attorney general, and the 17
prosecuting or circuit attorneys in their respective 18
counties, to assist in the commencement and prosecutions of 19
actions and proceedings for penalties, forfeitures, removals 20
and punishments for violation of the laws in respect to the 21
assessment and taxation of property, and to represent the 22
commission in any litigation which it may wish to institute 23
or in which it may become involved in the discharge of its 24
duties] The commission shall exercise a general advisory 25
role over all assessing officers of the state for the 26
purposes of equalizing assessments as between counties, and 27
the commission shall not have the power to require counties 28
to enter into any agreement or memorandum of understanding 29
for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the assessed 30
valuation of an entire class or subclass of property, or of 31
any portion thereof other than through an appeal of a 32
decision made by a county board of equalization. 33
138.435. 1. There is hereby established within the 1
state tax commission the "Office of State Ombudsman for 2
Property Assessment and Taxation" for the purpose of helping 3
to assure the fairness, accountability, and transparency of 4
the property tax process. 5
2. The office shall be administered by the state 6
ombudsman, who shall devote his or her entire time to the 7
duties of the position. 8
3. The office shall establish and implement procedures 9
for receiving, processing, responding to, and resolving 10
complaints made by or on behalf of taxpayers relating to 11
assessments, valuation of property, tax levies of political 12
subdivisions, and appeals before the assessor, board of 13
equalization, or the state tax commission. 14
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4. The ombudsman or representatives of the office 15
shall have the authority to: 16
(1) Investigate any complaints or inquiries that come 17
to the attention of the office. The ombudsman shall have 18
access to review taxpayer records, if given permission by 19
the taxpayer or the taxpayer's legal guardian. Taxpayers 20
shall have the right to request, deny, or terminate any 21
assistance that the ombudsman may provide; 22
(2) Make the necessary inquiries and review of such 23
information and records as the ombudsman or representative 24
of the office deems necessary to accomplish the objective of 25
verifying these complaints. 26
5. The office shall acknowledge complaints, report its 27
findings, make recommendations, gather and disseminate 28
information and other material, and publicize its existence. 29
6. The ombudsman may recommend to the relevant state 30
or local governmental agency or political subdivision 31
changes in the rules and regulations adopted or proposed by 32
such governmental agency or political subdivision which do 33
or may adversely affect the rights or privileges of 34
taxpayers. The office shall analyze and monitor the 35
development and implementation of federal, state and local 36
laws, regulations, and policies with respect to property 37
assessment and taxation, and shall recommend to the state 38
tax commission changes in such laws, regulations, and 39
policies deemed by the office to be appropriate. 40
7. The office shall promote community contact and 41
involvement with taxpayers through the use of volunteers and 42
volunteer programs to encourage citizen involvement in the 43
property tax process. 44
8. The office shall prepare and distribute to each 45
county written notices which set forth the address, 46
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telephone number, and email address of the office, a brief 47
explanation of the function of the office, the procedure to 48
follow in filing a complaint, and other pertinent 49
information. 50
9. The county shall ensure that such written notice is 51
available upon request of any taxpayer. 52
10. The office shall inform taxpayers or their legal 53
guardians of their rights and entitlements by means of the 54
distribution of educational materials and group meetings. 55
11. (1) There is hereby created in the state treasury 56
the "State Ombudsman for Property Tax Fund", which shall 57
consist of moneys as provided in this subsection. The state 58
treasurer shall be custodian of the fund. In accordance 59
with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state treasurer may 60
approve disbursements. The fund shall be a dedicated fund 61
and money in the fund shall be used solely by the state tax 62
commission to fund the office of state ombudsman for 63
property assessment and taxation. Notwithstanding the 64
provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, any moneys 65
remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not 66
revert to the credit of the general revenue fund. The state 67
treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the same manner 68
as other funds are invested. Any interest and moneys earned 69
on such investments shall be credited to the fund. 70
(2) If in any given fiscal year the annual 71
appropriation made to the state tax commission from the 72
general assembly is insufficient to fund the office of the 73
state ombudsman for property assessment and taxation, the 74
state tax commission shall determine the amount of the 75
insufficiency and an equal portion of the state 76
reimbursement made to each county assessment fund pursuant 77
to section 137.750 shall instead be deposited in the state 78
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ombudsman for property tax fund such that the amount 79
deposited is equal to the amount of the insufficiency. 80
✓