Modifies provisions relating to property assessments

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. 1212
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
5244S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 137.115 and 137.245, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections
relating to property assessments, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 137.115 and 137.245, RSMo, are 1
repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be 2
known as sections 137.115 and 137.245, to read as follows:3
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, for all calendar years 7
ending on or before December 31, 2026, the assessor shall 8
annually assess all personal property at thirty-three and 9
one-third percent of its true value in money as of January 10
first of each calendar year. Except as otherwise provided 11
in subsection 3 of this section and section 137.078, for all 12
calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, the 13
assessor shall annually assess all personal property 14
pursuant to subsection 6 of this section. The assessor 15
shall annually assess all real property, including any new 16
construction and improvements to real property, and 17
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possessory interests in real property at the percent of its 18
true value in money as set in subsection 5 of this section 19
for all calendar years ending on or before December 31, 20
2026, and as set in subsection 6 of this section for all 21
calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. The 22
true value in money of any possessory interest in real 23
property in subclass (3), where such real property is on or 24
lies within the ultimate airport boundary as shown by a 25
federal airport layout plan, as defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of 26
a commercial airport having a FAR Part 139 certification and 27
owned by a political subdivision, shall be the otherwise 28
applicable true value in money of any such possessory 29
interest in real property, less the total dollar amount of 30
costs paid by a party, other than the political subdivision, 31
towards any new construction or improvements on such real 32
property completed after January 1, 2008, and which are 33
included in the above-mentioned possessory interest, 34
regardless of the year in which such costs were incurred or 35
whether such costs were considered in any prior year. The 36
assessor shall annually assess all real property in the 37
following manner: new assessed values shall be determined 38
as of January first of each odd-numbered year and shall be 39
entered in the assessor's books; those same assessed values 40
shall apply in the following even-numbered year, except for 41
new construction and property improvements which shall be 42
valued as though they had been completed as of January first 43
of the preceding odd-numbered year. The assessor may call 44
at the office, place of doing business, or residence of each 45
person required by this chapter to list property, and 46
require the person to make a correct statement of all 47
taxable tangible personal property owned by the person or 48
under his or her care, charge or management, taxable in the 49
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county. On or before January first of each even-numbered 50
year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a two-year 51
assessment maintenance plan to the county governing body and 52
the state tax commission for their respective approval or 53
modification. The county governing body shall approve and 54
forward such plan or its alternative to the plan to the 55
state tax commission by February first. If the county 56
governing body fails to forward the plan or its alternative 57
to the plan to the state tax commission by February first, 58
the assessor's plan shall be considered approved by the 59
county governing body. If the state tax commission fails to 60
approve a plan and if the state tax commission and the 61
assessor and the governing body of the county involved are 62
unable to resolve the differences, in order to receive state 63
cost-share funds outlined in section 137.750, the county or 64
the assessor shall petition the administrative hearing 65
commission, by May first, to decide all matters in dispute 66
regarding the assessment maintenance plan. Upon agreement 67
of the parties, the matter may be stayed while the parties 68
proceed with mediation or arbitration upon terms agreed to 69
by the parties. The final decision of the administrative 70
hearing commission shall be subject to judicial review in 71
the circuit court of the county involved. In the event a 72
valuation of subclass (1) real property within any county 73
with a charter form of government, or within a city not 74
within a county, is made by a computer, computer-assisted 75
method or a computer program, the burden of proof, supported 76
by clear, convincing and cogent evidence to sustain such 77
valuation, shall be on the assessor at any hearing or 78
appeal. In any such county, unless the assessor proves 79
otherwise, there shall be a presumption that the assessment 80
was made by a computer, computer-assisted method or a 81
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computer program. Such evidence shall include, but shall 82
not be limited to, the following: 83
(1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal 84
of the property by generally accepted appraisal techniques; 85
and 86
(2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three 87
comparable properties and the address or location thereof. 88
As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means 89
that: 90
(a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the 91
property valuation; and 92
(b) Such properties are not more than one mile from 93
the site of the disputed property, except where no similar 94
properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, 95
the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such 96
property shall be within five hundred square feet in size of 97
the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in 98
age, floor plan, number of rooms, and other relevant 99
characteristics. 100
2. Assessors in each county of this state and the City 101
of St. Louis may send personal property assessment forms 102
through the mail. 103
3. The following items of personal property shall each 104
constitute separate subclasses of tangible personal property 105
and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes of 106
taxation at the following percentages of their true value in 107
money: 108
(1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an 109
unmanufactured condition, one-half of one percent; 110
(2) Livestock, twelve percent; 111
(3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 112
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(4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration 113
as and are registered as historic motor vehicles pursuant to 114
section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty-five 115
years old and which are used solely for noncommercial 116
purposes and are operated less than two hundred hours per 117
year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five 118
percent; 119
(5) Poultry, twelve percent; 120
(6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and 121
tools and equipment used in retooling for the purpose of 122
introducing new product lines or used for making 123
improvements to existing products by any company which is 124
located in a state enterprise zone and which is identified 125
by any standard industrial classification number cited in 126
subdivision (7) of section 135.200, twenty-five percent; and 127
(7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and 128
related solar equipment, components, materials, and supplies 129
installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy 130
systems, as described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of 131
section 144.030, that were constructed and producing solar 132
energy prior to August 9, 2022, five percent. 133
4. The person listing the property shall enter a true 134
and correct statement of the property, in a printed blank 135
prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being 136
filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to 137
as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be 138
delivered to the assessor. 139
5. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such 140
subclasses are established in Section 4(b) of Article X of 141
the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, 142
shall be assessed at the following percentages of true value 143
for all calendar years ending on or before December 31, 144
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2026, and as provided in subsection 6 of this section for 145
all calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2027: 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
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. (1) As used in this subsection, the following 163
terms shall mean: 164
(a) "Allowable growth factor", the lesser of the 165
percent increase in inflation or five percent; 166
(b) "Base year percentage", the percentage of true 167
value at which the following items of personal and real 168
property shall be assessed as of January first of a calendar 169
year, as adjusted pursuant to subdivision (2) of this 170
subsection: 171
a. All personal property, except as otherwise provided 172
in subsection 3 of this section and section 137.078, thirty- 173
three and one-third percent; 174
b. All subclass (1) real property, nineteen percent; 175
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c. All subclass (2) real property as described in 176
subsection 1 of section 137.017, twelve percent; 177
d. All subclass (2) real property as described in 178
subsection 4 of section 137.017, twelve percent; 179
e. All subclass (3) real property, thirty-two percent; 180
(c) "Percent increase in inflation", the percentage, 181
if any, by which the general price level increases, as 182
measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 183
for the United States, or its successor publications, as 184
defined and officially reported by the United States 185
Department of Labor, or its successor agency; 186
(d) "Total assessed value", the assessed value of a 187
subclass of real property, individually, or personal 188
property, in the aggregate, in this state as measured by 189
multiplying the true value in money of such property by the 190
base year percentage for such property. 191
(2) (a) For all calendar years beginning on or after 192
January 1, 2027, the state tax commission shall annually 193
calculate the total assessed value for each subclass of real 194
property, individually, and for personal property in the 195
aggregate. If the calculation for any class or subclass 196
exceeds the total assessed value for such class or subclass 197
from the previous year by more than the allowable growth 198
factor, the state tax commission shall adjust the base year 199
percentage for such class or subclass so that the total 200
assessed value for the class or subclass does not exceed the 201
total assessed value for such class or subclass from the 202
previous year by more than the allowable growth factor. 203
(b) All calculations and adjustments required by 204
paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be completed and 205
submitted to each county assessor by no later than August 206
seventh of each year, and the assessor shall use such 207
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adjusted base year percentages to assess property for that 208
tax year. 209
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection 210
to the contrary, the state tax commission shall not adjust 211
the base year percentage for any subclass (2) real property 212
as described in subsection 1 of section 137.017. 213
7. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, 214
which are actually used as dwelling units shall be assessed 215
at the same percentage of true value as residential real 216
property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of 217
assessment of true value for such manufactured homes shall 218
be the same as for residential real property. If the county 219
collector cannot identify or find the manufactured home when 220
attempting to attach the manufactured home for payment of 221
taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county 222
collector may request the county commission to have the 223
manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such 224
request shall be granted within thirty days after the 225
request is made; however, the removal from the tax books 226
does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it 227
is later identified or found. For purposes of this section, 228
a manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental 229
park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 230
manufactured home owner shall be considered personal 231
property. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home 232
located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 233
may be considered real property. 234
[7.] 8. Each manufactured home assessed shall be 235
considered a parcel for the purpose of reimbursement 236
pursuant to section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is 237
deemed to be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of 238
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section 442.015 and assessed as a realty improvement to the 239
existing real estate parcel. 240
[8.] 9. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the 241
assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the 242
personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 243
owner unless the manufactured home is deemed to be real 244
estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015, in 245
which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment 246
of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the 247
existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real 248
property tax statement of the real estate owner. 249
[9.] 10. The assessor of each county and each city not 250
within a county shall use a nationally recognized automotive 251
trade publication such as the National Automobile Dealers' 252
Association Official Used Car Guide, Kelley Blue Book, 253
Edmunds, or other similar publication as the recommended 254
guide of information for determining the true value of motor 255
vehicles described in such publication. The state tax 256
commission shall select and make available to all assessors 257
which publication shall be used. The assessor of each 258
county and each city not within a county shall use the trade- 259
in value published in the current October issue of the 260
publication selected by the state tax commission. The 261
assessor shall not use a value that is greater than the 262
average trade-in value in determining the true value of the 263
motor vehicle without performing a physical inspection of 264
the motor vehicle. For vehicles two years old or newer from 265
a vehicle's model year, the assessor may use a value other 266
than average without performing a physical inspection of the 267
motor vehicle. In the absence of a listing for a particular 268
motor vehicle in such publication, the assessor shall use 269
such information or publications that, in the assessor's 270
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judgment, will fairly estimate the true value in money of 271
the motor vehicle. For motor vehicles with a true value of 272
less than fifty thousand dollars as of January 1, 2025, the 273
assessor shall not assess such motor vehicle for an amount 274
greater than such motor vehicle was assessed in the previous 275
year, provided that such motor vehicle was properly assessed 276
in the previous year. 277
[10.] 11. Before the assessor may increase the 278
assessed valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real 279
property by more than fifteen percent since the last 280
assessment, excluding increases due to new construction or 281
improvements, the assessor shall conduct a physical 282
inspection of such property. 283
[11.] 12. If a physical inspection is required, 284
pursuant to subsection [10] 11 of this section, the assessor 285
shall notify the property owner of that fact in writing and 286
shall provide the owner clear written notice of the owner's 287
rights relating to the physical inspection. If a physical 288
inspection is required, the property owner may request that 289
an interior inspection be performed during the physical 290
inspection. The owner shall have no less than thirty days 291
to notify the assessor of a request for an interior physical 292
inspection. 293
[12.] 13. A physical inspection, as required by 294
subsection [10] 11 of this section, shall include, but not 295
be limited to, an on-site personal observation and review of 296
all exterior portions of the land and any buildings and 297
improvements to which the inspector has or may reasonably 298
and lawfully gain external access, and shall include an 299
observation and review of the interior of any buildings or 300
improvements on the property upon the timely request of the 301
owner pursuant to subsection [11] 12 of this section. Mere 302
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observation of the property via a drive-by inspection or the 303
like shall not be considered sufficient to constitute a 304
physical inspection as required by this section. 305
[13.] 14. A county or city collector may accept credit 306
cards as proper form of payment of outstanding property tax 307
or license due. No county or city collector may charge 308
surcharge for payment by credit card which exceeds the fee 309
or surcharge charged by the credit card bank, processor, or 310
issuer for its service. A county or city collector may 311
accept payment by electronic transfers of funds in payment 312
of any tax or license and charge the person making such 313
payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the 314
bank, processor, or issuer of such electronic payment. 315
[14.] 15. Any county or city not within a county in 316
this state may, by an affirmative vote of the governing body 317
of such county, opt out of the provisions of this section 318
and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by 319
house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general assembly, 320
second regular session and section 137.073 as modified by 321
house committee substitute for senate substitute for senate 322
committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety-second 323
general assembly, second regular session, for the next year 324
of the general reassessment, prior to January first of any 325
year. No county or city not within a county shall exercise 326
this opt-out provision after implementing the provisions of 327
this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 328
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 329
assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as 330
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 331
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 332
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a 333
year of general reassessment. For the purposes of applying 334
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the provisions of this subsection, a political subdivision 335
contained within two or more counties where at least one of 336
such counties has opted out and at least one of such 337
counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate 338
as in effect prior to the enactment of house bill no. 1150 339
of the ninety-first general assembly, second regular 340
session. A governing body of a city not within a county or 341
a county that has opted out under the provisions of this 342
subsection may choose to implement the provisions of this 343
section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 344
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 345
assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as 346
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 347
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 348
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, for 349
the next year of general reassessment, by an affirmative 350
vote of the governing body prior to December thirty-first of 351
any year. 352
[15.] 16. The governing body of any city of the third 353
classification with more than twenty-six thousand three 354
hundred but fewer than twenty-six thousand seven hundred 355
inhabitants located in any county that has exercised its 356
authority to opt out under subsection 14 of this section may 357
levy separate and differing tax rates for real and personal 358
property only if such city bills and collects its own 359
property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the billing 360
and collection of such separate and differing tax rates. 361
Such separate and differing rates shall not exceed such 362
city's tax rate ceiling. 363
[16.] 17. Any portion of real property that is 364
available as reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for 365
minerals for purposes of excavation for future use or sale 366
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to others that has not been bonded and permitted under 367
chapter 444 shall be assessed based upon how the real 368
property is currently being used. Any information provided 369
to a county assessor, state tax commission, state agency, or 370
political subdivision responsible for the administration of 371
tax policies shall, in the performance of its duties, make 372
available all books, records, and information requested, 373
except such books, records, and information as are by law 374
declared confidential in nature, including individually 375
identifiable information regarding a specific taxpayer or 376
taxpayer's mine property. For purposes of this subsection, 377
"mine property" shall mean all real property that is in use 378
or readily available as a reserve for strip, surface, or 379
coal mining for minerals for purposes of excavation for 380
current or future use or sale to others that has been bonded 381
and permitted under chapter 444. 382
137.245. 1. The assessor shall make out and return to 1
the county governing body, on or before the first day of 2
[July] June in every year, the assessor's book, verified by 3
an affidavit annexed thereto, in the following words: 4
"______ being duly sworn, makes oath and 5
says that such person has made diligent efforts 6
to ascertain all the taxable property being or 7
situate, on the first day of January last past, 8
in the county of which such person is assessor; 9
that, so far as such person has been able to 10
ascertain the same, it is correctly set forth in 11
the foregoing book, in the manner and the value 12
thereof stated therein, according to the mode 13
required by law". 14
2. The clerk of the county governing body shall 15
immediately make out an abstract of the assessment book, 16
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showing aggregate footings of the different columns, so as 17
to set forth the aggregate amounts of the different kinds of 18
real and tangible personal property and the valuation 19
thereof, and forward the abstract to the state tax 20
commission. Failure of the clerk to make out and forward 21
the abstract to the state tax commission on or before the 22
twentieth day of [July] June is a misdemeanor. 23
3. The clerk of the county governing body in all 24
counties, and the assessor in St. Louis City, shall make out 25
an abstract of the assessment book showing the aggregate 26
amounts of different kinds of real, personal and other 27
tangible property and the valuations of each for each 28
political subdivision in the county entitled to levy ad 29
valorem taxes on property except for municipalities 30
maintaining their own tax or assessment books. The clerk of 31
each county, and the assessor in St. Louis City, shall 32
forward a copy of the aggregate valuation listed in the tax 33
book for each political subdivision, except counties and 34
municipalities maintaining their own tax or assessment 35
books, to the governing body of the subdivision by the 36
twentieth day of [July] June of each year. In any county 37
which contains a city with a population of one hundred 38
thousand or more inhabitants which is located within a 39
county of the first classification that adjoins no other 40
county of the first classification, the clerk of the county 41
shall provide the final revised assessed valuation listed in 42
the tax book for each school district within the county to 43
each such district on or before the fifteenth day of August 44
of each year. The clerk of any county of the first 45
classification with a charter form of government and with 46
more than six hundred thousand but less than seven hundred 47
thousand inhabitants shall forward a copy of the aggregate 48
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valuation listed in the tax book for school districts within 49
the county to each such district by the fifteenth day of 50
July of each year. 51
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