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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. 1202
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR HUDSON.
5493S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 137.010, 137.080, and 137.115, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new
sections relating to the assessment of certain broadband communications equipment.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 137.010, 137.080, and 137.115, RSMo, 1
are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to 2
be known as sections 137.010, 137.080, and 137.115, to read as 3
follows:4
137.010. The following words, terms and phrases when 1
used in laws governing taxation and revenue in the state of 2
Missouri shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this 3
section, except when the context clearly indicates a 4
different meaning: 5
(1) "Grain and other agricultural crops in an 6
unmanufactured condition" shall mean grains and feeds 7
including, but not limited to, soybeans, cow peas, wheat, 8
corn, oats, barley, kafir, rye, flax, grain sorghums, 9
cotton, and such other products as are usually stored in 10
grain and other elevators and on farms; but excluding such 11
grains and other agricultural crops after being processed 12
into products of such processing, when packaged or sacked. 13
The term "processing" shall not include hulling, cleaning, 14
drying, grating, or polishing; 15
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(2) "Hydroelectric power generating equipment", very- 16
low-head turbine generators with a nameplate generating 17
capacity of at least four hundred kilowatts but not more 18
than six hundred kilowatts and machinery and equipment used 19
directly in the production, generation, conversion, storage, 20
or conveyance of hydroelectric power to land-based devices 21
and appurtenances used in the transmission of electrical 22
energy; 23
(3) "Intangible personal property", for the purpose of 24
taxation, shall include all property other than real 25
property and tangible personal property, as defined by this 26
section; 27
(4) "Real property" includes land itself, whether laid 28
out in town lots or otherwise, and all growing crops, 29
buildings, structures, improvements and fixtures of whatever 30
kind thereon, hydroelectric power generating equipment, the 31
installed poles used in the transmission or reception of 32
electrical energy, audio signals, video signals or similar 33
purposes, provided the owner of such installed poles is also 34
an owner of a fee simple interest, possessor of an easement, 35
holder of a license or franchise, or is the beneficiary of a 36
right-of-way dedicated for public utility purposes for the 37
underlying land; attached wires, transformers, amplifiers, 38
substations, and other such devices and appurtenances used 39
in the transmission or reception of electrical energy, audio 40
signals, video signals or similar purposes when owned by the 41
owner of the installed poles, otherwise such items are 42
considered personal property; and stationary property used 43
for transportation or storage of liquid and gaseous 44
products, including, but not limited to, petroleum products, 45
natural gas, propane or LP gas equipment, water, and sewage; 46
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(5) "Reliever airport", any land and improvements, 47
exclusive of structures, on privately owned airports that 48
qualify as reliever airports under the National Plan of 49
Integrated Airport Systems that may receive federal airport 50
improvement project funds through the Federal Aviation 51
Administration; 52
(6) "Tangible personal property" includes every 53
tangible thing being the subject of ownership or part 54
ownership whether animate or inanimate, other than money, 55
and not forming part or parcel of real property as herein 56
defined, but does not include household goods, furniture, 57
wearing apparel and articles of personal use and adornment, 58
as defined by the state tax commission, owned and used by a 59
person in his home or dwelling place. Tangible personal 60
property shall include: 61
(a) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and 62
related solar equipment, components, materials, and supplies 63
installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy 64
systems, as described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of 65
section 144.030, that were constructed and producing solar 66
energy prior to August 9, 2022; and 67
(b) Machinery and equipment used to provide broadband 68
communications service. Machinery and equipment used to 69
provide broadband communications service shall include, but 70
not be limited to, wires, cables, fiber, conduits, antennas, 71
poles, switches, routers, amplifiers, rectifiers, repeaters, 72
receivers, multiplexers, duplexers, transmitters, circuit 73
cards, insulating and protective materials and cases, power 74
equipment, backup power equipment, diagnostic equipment, 75
storage devices, customer-premise equipment, modems, 76
software, cable-modem-termination-system components, Wi-Fi 77
equipment, and other general central-office, headend, or hub 78
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equipment such as channel cards, frames, and cabinets, and 79
any successor-technology items used to monitor, test, 80
maintain, enable, or facilitate qualifying equipment, 81
machinery, ancillary components, appurtenances, accessories, 82
or other infrastructure used in whole or in part to provide 83
broadband communications service. 84
137.080. Real estate and tangible personal property 1
shall be assessed annually at the assessment which commences 2
on the first day of January. For purposes of assessing and 3
taxing tangible personal property, all tangible personal 4
property shall be divided into the following subclasses: 5
(1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an 6
unmanufactured condition; 7
(2) Livestock; 8
(3) Farm machinery; 9
(4) Vehicles, including recreational vehicles, but not 10
including manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, 11
which are actually used as dwelling units; 12
(5) Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, 13
which are actually used as dwelling units; 14
(6) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration 15
and are registered as historic motor vehicles under section 16
301.131; 17
(7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and 18
related solar equipment, components, materials, and supplies 19
installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy 20
systems, as described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of 21
section 144.030, that were constructed and producing solar 22
energy prior to August 9, 2022; [and] 23
(8) Machinery and equipment used to provide broadband 24
communications service and that is placed in service prior 25
to August 28, 2026; and 26
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(9) All taxable tangible personal property not 27
included in [subclass (1), subclass (2), subclass (3), 28
subclass (4), subclass (5), subclass (6), or subclass (7)] 29
subclasses (1) to (8). 30
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
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
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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
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
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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
(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
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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
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; 119
[and] 120
(7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and 121
related solar equipment, components, materials, and supplies 122
installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy 123
systems, as described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of 124
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section 144.030, that were constructed and producing solar 125
energy prior to August 9, 2022, five percent; and 126
(8) (a) Machinery and equipment that is used to 127
provide broadband communications service and that is placed 128
in service on or after August 28, 2026, twelve percent for 129
all calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, 130
and ending on or before December 31, 2033; 131
(b) Machinery and equipment that is used to provide 132
broadband communications service and that is placed in 133
service on or after August 28, 2026, thirty-three and one- 134
third percent for all calendar years beginning on or after 135
January 1, 2034. 136
4. The person listing the property shall enter a true 137
and correct statement of the property, in a printed blank 138
prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being 139
filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to 140
as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be 141
delivered to the assessor. 142
5. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such 143
subclasses are established in Section 4(b) of Article X of 144
the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, 145
shall be assessed at the following percentages of true value: 146
(a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen 147
percent; 148
(b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; 149
and 150
(c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty-two 151
percent. 152
(2) A taxpayer may apply to the county assessor, or, 153
if not located within a county, then the assessor of such 154
city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real 155
property if the use or purpose of such real property is 156
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changed after such property is assessed under the provisions 157
of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such 158
property shall be reclassified, he or she shall determine 159
the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage 160
of the tax year that such property was classified in each 161
subclassification. 162
6. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, 163
which are actually used as dwelling units shall be assessed 164
at the same percentage of true value as residential real 165
property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of 166
assessment of true value for such manufactured homes shall 167
be the same as for residential real property. If the county 168
collector cannot identify or find the manufactured home when 169
attempting to attach the manufactured home for payment of 170
taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county 171
collector may request the county commission to have the 172
manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such 173
request shall be granted within thirty days after the 174
request is made; however, the removal from the tax books 175
does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it 176
is later identified or found. For purposes of this section, 177
a manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental 178
park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 179
manufactured home owner shall be considered personal 180
property. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home 181
located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 182
may be considered real property. 183
7. Each manufactured home assessed shall be considered 184
a parcel for the purpose of reimbursement pursuant to 185
section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is deemed to 186
be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015 187
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and assessed as a realty improvement to the existing real 188
estate parcel. 189
8. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the 190
assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the 191
personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 192
owner unless the manufactured home is deemed to be real 193
estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015, in 194
which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment 195
of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the 196
existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real 197
property tax statement of the real estate owner. 198
9. The assessor of each county and each city not 199
within a county shall use a nationally recognized automotive 200
trade publication such as the National Automobile Dealers' 201
Association Official Used Car Guide, Kelley Blue Book, 202
Edmunds, or other similar publication as the recommended 203
guide of information for determining the true value of motor 204
vehicles described in such publication. The state tax 205
commission shall select and make available to all assessors 206
which publication shall be used. The assessor of each 207
county and each city not within a county shall use the trade- 208
in value published in the current October issue of the 209
publication selected by the state tax commission. The 210
assessor shall not use a value that is greater than the 211
average trade-in value in determining the true value of the 212
motor vehicle without performing a physical inspection of 213
the motor vehicle. For vehicles two years old or newer from 214
a vehicle's model year, the assessor may use a value other 215
than average without performing a physical inspection of the 216
motor vehicle. In the absence of a listing for a particular 217
motor vehicle in such publication, the assessor shall use 218
such information or publications that, in the assessor's 219
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judgment, will fairly estimate the true value in money of 220
the motor vehicle. For motor vehicles with a true value of 221
less than fifty thousand dollars as of January 1, 2025, the 222
assessor shall not assess such motor vehicle for an amount 223
greater than such motor vehicle was assessed in the previous 224
year, provided that such motor vehicle was properly assessed 225
in the previous year. 226
10. Before the assessor may increase the assessed 227
valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real property by 228
more than fifteen percent since the last assessment, 229
excluding increases due to new construction or improvements, 230
the assessor shall conduct a physical inspection of such 231
property. 232
11. If a physical inspection is required, pursuant to 233
subsection 10 of this section, the assessor shall notify the 234
property owner of that fact in writing and shall provide the 235
owner clear written notice of the owner's rights relating to 236
the physical inspection. If a physical inspection is 237
required, the property owner may request that an interior 238
inspection be performed during the physical inspection. The 239
owner shall have no less than thirty days to notify the 240
assessor of a request for an interior physical inspection. 241
12. A physical inspection, as required by subsection 242
10 of this section, shall include, but not be limited to, an 243
on-site personal observation and review of all exterior 244
portions of the land and any buildings and improvements to 245
which the inspector has or may reasonably and lawfully gain 246
external access, and shall include an observation and review 247
of the interior of any buildings or improvements on the 248
property upon the timely request of the owner pursuant to 249
subsection 11 of this section. Mere observation of the 250
property via a drive-by inspection or the like shall not be 251
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considered sufficient to constitute a physical inspection as 252
required by this section. 253
13. A county or city collector may accept credit cards 254
as proper form of payment of outstanding property tax or 255
license due. No county or city collector may charge 256
surcharge for payment by credit card which exceeds the fee 257
or surcharge charged by the credit card bank, processor, or 258
issuer for its service. A county or city collector may 259
accept payment by electronic transfers of funds in payment 260
of any tax or license and charge the person making such 261
payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the 262
bank, processor, or issuer of such electronic payment. 263
14. Any county or city not within a county in this 264
state may, by an affirmative vote of the governing body of 265
such county, opt out of the provisions of this section and 266
sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by house 267
bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general assembly, second 268
regular session and section 137.073 as modified by house 269
committee substitute for senate substitute for senate 270
committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety-second 271
general assembly, second regular session, for the next year 272
of the general reassessment, prior to January first of any 273
year. No county or city not within a county shall exercise 274
this opt-out provision after implementing the provisions of 275
this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 276
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 277
assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as 278
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 279
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 280
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a 281
year of general reassessment. For the purposes of applying 282
the provisions of this subsection, a political subdivision 283
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contained within two or more counties where at least one of 284
such counties has opted out and at least one of such 285
counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate 286
as in effect prior to the enactment of house bill no. 1150 287
of the ninety-first general assembly, second regular 288
session. A governing body of a city not within a county or 289
a county that has opted out under the provisions of this 290
subsection may choose to implement the provisions of this 291
section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 292
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 293
assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as 294
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 295
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 296
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, for 297
the next year of general reassessment, by an affirmative 298
vote of the governing body prior to December thirty-first of 299
any year. 300
15. The governing body of any city of the third 301
classification with more than twenty-six thousand three 302
hundred but fewer than twenty-six thousand seven hundred 303
inhabitants located in any county that has exercised its 304
authority to opt out under subsection 14 of this section may 305
levy separate and differing tax rates for real and personal 306
property only if such city bills and collects its own 307
property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the billing 308
and collection of such separate and differing tax rates. 309
Such separate and differing rates shall not exceed such 310
city's tax rate ceiling. 311
16. Any portion of real property that is available as 312
reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 313
purposes of excavation for future use or sale to others that 314
has not been bonded and permitted under chapter 444 shall be 315
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assessed based upon how the real property is currently being 316
used. Any information provided to a county assessor, state 317
tax commission, state agency, or political subdivision 318
responsible for the administration of tax policies shall, in 319
the performance of its duties, make available all books, 320
records, and information requested, except such books, 321
records, and information as are by law declared confidential 322
in nature, including individually identifiable information 323
regarding a specific taxpayer or taxpayer's mine property. 324
For purposes of this subsection, "mine property" shall mean 325
all real property that is in use or readily available as a 326
reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 327
purposes of excavation for current or future use or sale to 328
others that has been bonded and permitted under chapter 444. 329
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