This bill amends various sections of the Iowa Code related to property assessment standards and litigation. It mandates that city and county assessors prepare quarterly reports detailing real estate transactions, including property transfer tax, sale price, and assessed value, which must be submitted to the department within sixty days after each quarter. The department is also required to prepare annual summaries of assessment ratios, which will be publicly available by May 1 and accessible on the department's website for a minimum of twenty years. Additionally, the bill establishes new standards for property assessments based on guidelines from the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), including maintaining a coefficient of dispersion (COD) of less than 15.99% and a price-related differential (PRD) between 0.98 and 1.03, unless a variance is justified.

Furthermore, the bill clarifies the definition of "like property" for assessment protests and limits the employment of special counsel in assessment litigation to cases involving legal business entities. It also allows property owners to appeal assessments of properties located in the same taxing district and class as their own. The bill emphasizes the importance of equitable property assessments and aims to enhance the transparency and accountability of the property assessment process in Iowa.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 421.17, 441.21, 441.37, 441.41, 441.42