HOUSE BILL NO. 2755 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE COLEMAN.
6466H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 137.016, 137.115, 137.1055, and 138.390, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof four new sections relating to property taxes.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 137.016, 137.115, 137.1055, and 138.390, RSMo, are repealed 2 and four new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 137.016, 137.115, 3 137.1058, and 138.390, to read as follows: 137.016. 1. As used in Section 4(b) of Article X of the Missouri Constitution, the 2 following terms mean: 3 (1) "Residential property", all real property improved by a structure which is used or 4 intended to be used for residential living by human occupants, vacant land in connection with 5 an airport, land used as a golf course, manufactured home parks, bed and breakfast inns in 6 which the owner resides and uses as a primary residence with six or fewer rooms for rent, and 7 time-share units as defined in section 407.600, except to the extent such units are actually 8 rented and subject to sales tax under subdivision (6) of subsection 1 of section 144.020, but 9 residential property shall not include other similar facilities used primarily for transient 10 housing. For the purposes of this section, "transient housing" means all rooms available for 11 rent or lease for which the receipts from the rent or lease of such rooms are subject to state 12 sales tax pursuant to subdivision (6) of subsection 1 of section 144.020; 13 (2) "Agricultural and horticultural property", all real property used for agricultural 14 purposes and devoted primarily to the raising and harvesting of crops; to the feeding, 15 breeding and management of livestock which shall include breeding, showing, and boarding 16 of horses; to dairying, or to any other combination thereof; and buildings and structures
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 2755 2
17 customarily associated with farming, agricultural, and horticultural uses. Agricultural and 18 horticultural property shall also include land devoted to and qualifying for payments or other 19 compensation under a soil conservation or agricultural assistance program under an 20 agreement with an agency of the federal government. Agricultural and horticultural property 21 shall further include any reliever airport. Real property classified as forest croplands shall not 22 be agricultural or horticultural property so long as it is classified as forest croplands and shall 23 be taxed in accordance with the laws enacted to implement Section 7 of Article X of the 24 Missouri Constitution. Agricultural and horticultural property shall also include any sawmill 25 or planing mill defined in the U.S. Department of Labor's Standard Industrial Classification 26 (SIC) Manual under Industry Group 242 with the SIC number 2421. Agricultural and 27 horticultural property shall also include urban and community gardens. For the purposes of 28 this section, "urban and community gardens" shall include real property cultivated by 29 residents of a neighborhood or community for the purposes of providing agricultural 30 products, as defined in section 262.900, for the use of residents of the neighborhood or 31 community, and shall not include a garden intended for individual or personal use; 32 (3) "Utility, industrial, commercial, railroad and other real property", all real property 33 used directly or indirectly for any commercial, mining, industrial, manufacturing, trade, 34 professional, business, or similar purpose, including all property centrally assessed by the 35 state tax commission but shall not include floating docks, portions of which are separately 36 owned and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership and in which no one 37 person or business entity owns more than five individual units. All other real property not 38 included in the property listed in subclasses (1) and (2) of Section 4(b) of Article X of the 39 Missouri Constitution, as such property is defined in this section, shall be deemed to be 40 included in the term "utility, industrial, commercial, railroad and other real property". 41 2. Pursuant to Article X of the state Constitution, any taxing district may adjust its 42 operating levy to recoup any loss of property tax revenue, except revenues from the surtax 43 imposed pursuant to Article X, Subsection 2 of Section 6 of the Constitution, as the result of 44 changing the classification of structures intended to be used for residential living by human 45 occupants which contain five or more dwelling units if such adjustment of the levy does not 46 exceed the highest tax rate in effect subsequent to the 1980 tax year. For purposes of this 47 section, loss in revenue shall include the difference between the revenue that would have been 48 collected on such property under its classification prior to enactment of this section and the 49 amount to be collected under its classification under this section. The county assessor of each 50 county or city not within a county shall provide information to each taxing district within its 51 boundaries regarding the difference in assessed valuation of such property as the result of 52 such change in classification. HB 2755 3
53 3. All reclassification of property as the result of changing the classification of 54 structures intended to be used for residential living by human occupants which contain five or 55 more dwelling units shall apply to assessments made after December 31, 1994. 56 4. Where real property is used or held for use for more than one purpose and such 57 uses result in different classifications, the county assessor shall allocate to each classification 58 the percentage of the true value in money of the property devoted to each use; except that, 59 where agricultural and horticultural property, as defined in this section, also contains a 60 dwelling unit or units, the farm dwelling, appurtenant residential-related structures and up to 61 five acres immediately surrounding such farm dwelling shall be residential property, as 62 defined in this section, provided that the portion of property used or held for use as an urban 63 and community garden shall not be residential property. This subsection shall not apply to 64 any reliever airport. 65 5. All real property which is vacant, unused, or held for future use; which is used for a 66 private club, a not-for-profit or other nonexempt lodge, club, business, trade, service 67 organization, or similar entity; or for which a determination as to its classification cannot be 68 made under the definitions set out in subsection 1 of this section, shall be classified according 69 to its immediate most suitable economic use, which use shall be determined after 70 consideration of: 71 (1) Immediate prior use, if any, of such property; 72 (2) Location of such property; 73 (3) Zoning classification of such property; except that, such zoning classification 74 shall not be considered conclusive if, upon consideration of all factors, it is determined that 75 such zoning classification does not reflect the immediate most suitable economic use of the 76 property; 77 (4) Other legal restrictions on the use of such property; 78 (5) Availability of water, electricity, gas, sewers, street lighting, and other public 79 services for such property; 80 (6) Size of such property; 81 (7) Access of such property to public thoroughfares; and 82 (8) Any other factors relevant to a determination of the immediate most suitable 83 economic use of such property. 84 6. All lands classified as forest croplands shall not, for taxation purposes, be 85 classified as subclass (1), subclass (2), or subclass (3) real property, as such classes are 86 prescribed in Section 4(b) of Article X of the Missouri Constitution and defined in this 87 section, but shall be taxed in accordance with the laws enacted to implement Section 7 of 88 Article X of the Missouri Constitution. HB 2755 4
89 7. An assessor shall not reclassify any real property without first conducting an 90 in-person consultation with the owner of record of such property. An assessor shall be 91 considered to have satisfied the provisions of this subsection if the assessor can 92 document that a good-faith effort was made to contact the owner of record, including, 93 but not limited to, documenting any mailings, phone calls, or electronic notifications 94 sent to the owner of record. 137.115. 1. (1) All other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the assessor or the 2 assessor's deputies in all counties of this state including the City of St. Louis shall annually 3 make a list of all real and tangible personal property taxable in the assessor's city, county, 4 town or district. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 of this section and section 5 137.078, the assessor shall annually assess all personal property at thirty-three and one-third 6 percent of its true value in money as of January first of each calendar year. 7 (2) The assessor shall annually assess all real property, including any new 8 construction and improvements to real property, and possessory interests in real property at 9 the percent of its true value in money set in subsection 5 of this section. The true value in 10 money of any possessory interest in real property in subclass (3), where such real property is 11 on or lies within the ultimate airport boundary as shown by a federal airport layout plan, as 12 defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of a commercial airport having a FAR Part 139 certification and 13 owned by a political subdivision, shall be the otherwise applicable true value in money of any 14 such possessory interest in real property, less the total dollar amount of costs paid by a party, 15 other than the political subdivision, towards any new construction or improvements on such 16 real property completed after January 1, 2008, and which are included in the above- 17 mentioned possessory interest, regardless of the year in which such costs were incurred or 18 whether such costs were considered in any prior year. 19 (3) The assessor shall annually assess all real property in the following manner: new 20 assessed values shall be determined as of January first of each odd-numbered year and shall 21 be entered in the assessor's books; those same assessed values shall apply in the following 22 even-numbered year, except for new construction and property improvements which shall be 23 valued as though they had been completed as of January first of the preceding odd-numbered 24 year. 25 (4) The assessor may call at the office, place of doing business, or residence of each 26 person required by this chapter to list property, and require the person to make a correct 27 statement of all taxable tangible personal property owned by the person or under his or her 28 care, charge or management, taxable in the county. 29 (5) On or before January first of each even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare 30 and submit a two-year assessment maintenance plan to the county governing body and the 31 state tax commission for their respective approval or modification. The county governing HB 2755 5
32 body shall approve and forward such plan or its alternative to the plan to the state tax 33 commission by February first. If the county governing body fails to forward the plan or its 34 alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by February first, the assessor's plan shall 35 be considered approved by the county governing body. If the state tax commission fails to 36 approve a plan and if the state tax commission and the assessor and the governing body of the 37 county involved are unable to resolve the differences, in order to receive state cost-share 38 funds outlined in section 137.750, the county or the assessor shall petition the administrative 39 hearing commission, by May first, to decide all matters in dispute regarding the assessment 40 maintenance plan. Upon agreement of the parties, the matter may be stayed while the parties 41 proceed with mediation or arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final decision 42 of the administrative hearing commission shall be subject to judicial review in the circuit 43 court of the county involved. 44 (6) In the event a valuation of subclass (1) real property within any county with a 45 charter form of government, or within a city not within a county, is made by a computer, 46 computer-assisted method or a computer program, the burden of proof, supported by clear, 47 convincing and cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, shall be on the assessor at any 48 hearing or appeal. In any such county, Unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a 49 presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, computer-assisted method or a 50 computer program. Such evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following: 51 [(1)] (a) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal of the property by 52 generally accepted appraisal techniques; and 53 [(2)] (b) The purchase prices from sales of at least three comparable properties and 54 the address or location thereof. As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means 55 that: 56 [(a)] a. Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the property valuation; and 57 [(b)] b. Such properties are not more than one mile from the site of the disputed 58 property, except where no similar properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, 59 the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such property shall be within five hundred 60 square feet in size of the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in age, floor 61 plan, number of rooms, and other relevant characteristics. 62 2. Assessors in each county of this state and the City of St. Louis may send personal 63 property assessment forms through the mail. 64 3. The following items of personal property shall each constitute separate subclasses 65 of tangible personal property and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes of taxation at 66 the following percentages of their true value in money: 67 (1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an unmanufactured condition, one-half of 68 one percent; HB 2755 6
69 (2) Livestock, twelve percent; 70 (3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 71 (4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration as and are registered as historic 72 motor vehicles pursuant to section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty-five years 73 old and which are used solely for noncommercial purposes and are operated less than two 74 hundred hours per year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five percent; 75 (5) Poultry, twelve percent; 76 (6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and tools and equipment used in 77 retooling for the purpose of introducing new product lines or used for making improvements 78 to existing products by any company which is located in a state enterprise zone and which is 79 identified by any standard industrial classification number cited in subdivision (7) of section 80 135.200, twenty-five percent; and 81 (7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and related solar equipment, components, 82 materials, and supplies installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy systems, as 83 described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of section 144.030, that were constructed and 84 producing solar energy prior to August 9, 2022, five percent. 85 4. The person listing the property shall enter a true and correct statement of the 86 property, in a printed blank prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being filled out, 87 shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to as provided in section 137.155. The list shall 88 then be delivered to the assessor. 89 5. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such subclasses are established in Section 4 90 (b) of Article X of the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, shall be assessed 91 at the following percentages of true value: 92 (a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen percent; 93 (b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; and 94 (c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty-two percent. 95 (2) A taxpayer may apply to the county assessor, or, if not located within a county, 96 then the assessor of such city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real property if the use 97 or purpose of such real property is changed after such property is assessed under the 98 provisions of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such property shall be reclassified, 99 he or she shall determine the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage of the 100 tax year that such property was classified in each subclassification. 101 6. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, which are actually used as 102 dwelling units shall be assessed at the same percentage of true value as residential real 103 property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of assessment of true value for such 104 manufactured homes shall be the same as for residential real property. If the county collector 105 cannot identify or find the manufactured home when attempting to attach the manufactured HB 2755 7
106 home for payment of taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county collector may 107 request the county commission to have the manufactured home removed from the tax books, 108 and such request shall be granted within thirty days after the request is made; however, the 109 removal from the tax books does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it is 110 later identified or found. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home located in a 111 manufactured home rental park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 112 manufactured home owner shall be considered personal property. For purposes of this 113 section, a manufactured home located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 114 may be considered real property. 115 7. Each manufactured home assessed shall be considered a parcel for the purpose of 116 reimbursement pursuant to section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is deemed to be 117 real estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015 and assessed a