HOUSE BILL NO. 2816 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE HADEN.
6276H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 137.010, 137.016, 137.080, 137.115, 153.030, and 153.034, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof eight new sections relating to energy production projects.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 137.010, 137.016, 137.080, 137.115, 153.030, and 153.034, 2 RSMo, are repealed and eight new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 3 137.010, 137.016, 137.080, 137.115, 137.124, 153.030, 153.034, and 393.1120, to read as 4 follows: 137.010. The following words, terms and phrases when used in laws governing 2 taxation and revenue in the state of Missouri shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this 3 section, except when the context clearly indicates a different meaning: 4 (1) "Grain and other agricultural crops in an unmanufactured condition" shall mean 5 grains and feeds including, but not limited to, soybeans, cow peas, wheat, corn, oats, barley, 6 kafir, rye, flax, grain sorghums, cotton, and such other products as are usually stored in grain 7 and other elevators and on farms; but excluding such grains and other agricultural crops after 8 being processed into products of such processing, when packaged or sacked. The term 9 "processing" shall not include hulling, cleaning, drying, grating, or polishing; 10 (2) "Hydroelectric power generating equipment", very-low-head turbine generators 11 with a nameplate generating capacity of at least four hundred kilowatts but not more than six 12 hundred kilowatts and machinery and equipment used directly in the production, generation, 13 conversion, storage, or conveyance of hydroelectric power to land-based devices and 14 appurtenances used in the transmission of electrical energy;
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 2816 2
15 (3) "Intangible personal property", for the purpose of taxation, shall include all 16 property other than real property and tangible personal property, as defined by this section; 17 (4) "Real property" includes land itself, whether laid out in town lots or otherwise, 18 and all growing crops, buildings, structures, improvements and fixtures of whatever kind 19 thereon, hydroelectric power generating equipment, the installed poles used in the 20 transmission or reception of electrical energy, audio signals, video signals or similar 21 purposes, provided the owner of such installed poles is also an owner of a fee simple interest, 22 possessor of an easement, holder of a license or franchise, or is the beneficiary of a right-of- 23 way dedicated for public utility purposes for the underlying land; attached wires, 24 transformers, amplifiers, substations, and other such devices and appurtenances used in the 25 transmission or reception of electrical energy, audio signals, video signals or similar purposes 26 when owned by the owner of the installed poles, otherwise such items are considered personal 27 property; and stationary property used for transportation or storage of liquid and gaseous 28 products, including, but not limited to, petroleum products, natural gas, propane or LP gas 29 equipment, water, and sewage; 30 (5) "Reliever airport", any land and improvements, exclusive of structures, on 31 privately owned airports that qualify as reliever airports under the National Plan of Integrated 32 Airport Systems that may receive federal airport improvement project funds through the 33 Federal Aviation Administration; 34 (6) "Tangible personal property" includes every tangible thing being the subject of 35 ownership or part ownership whether animate or inanimate, other than money, and not 36 forming part or parcel of real property as herein defined, but does not include household 37 goods, furniture, wearing apparel and articles of personal use and adornment, as defined by 38 the state tax commission, owned and used by a person in his home or dwelling place. 39 Tangible personal property shall include solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and related 40 solar equipment, components, materials, and supplies installed in connection with solar 41 photovoltaic energy systems, as described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of section 42 144.030, [that were constructed and producing solar energy prior to August 9, 2022] or 43 associated with a project that uses solar energy directly to generate electricity. 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 HB 2816 3
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 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 HB 2816 4
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. 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. The provisions of this subsection shall be construed to apply to any 65 portion of real property in subclass (2) used for the purpose of energy production 66 activities for resale to be proportionally calculated, assessed, and reclassified as subclass 67 (3) real property. 68 5. All real property which is vacant, unused, or held for future use; which is used for a 69 private club, a not-for-profit or other nonexempt lodge, club, business, trade, service 70 organization, or similar entity; or for which a determination as to its classification cannot be 71 made under the definitions set out in subsection 1 of this section, shall be classified according 72 to its immediate most suitable economic use, which use shall be determined after 73 consideration of: 74 (1) Immediate prior use, if any, of such property; 75 (2) Location of such property; 76 (3) Zoning classification of such property; except that, such zoning classification 77 shall not be considered conclusive if, upon consideration of all factors, it is determined that 78 such zoning classification does not reflect the immediate most suitable economic use of the 79 property; 80 (4) Other legal restrictions on the use of such property; 81 (5) Availability of water, electricity, gas, sewers, street lighting, and other public 82 services for such property; HB 2816 5
83 (6) Size of such property; 84 (7) Access of such property to public thoroughfares; and 85 (8) Any other factors relevant to a determination of the immediate most suitable 86 economic use of such property. 87 6. All lands classified as forest croplands shall not, for taxation purposes, be 88 classified as subclass (1), subclass (2), or subclass (3) real property, as such classes are 89 prescribed in Section 4(b) of Article X of the Missouri Constitution and defined in this 90 section, but shall be taxed in accordance with the laws enacted to implement Section 7 of 91 Article X of the Missouri Constitution. 137.080. Real estate and tangible personal property shall be assessed annually at the 2 assessment which commences on the first day of January. For purposes of assessing and 3 taxing tangible personal property, all tangible personal property shall be divided into the 4 following subclasses: 5 (1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an unmanufactured condition; 6 (2) Livestock; 7 (3) Farm machinery; 8 (4) Vehicles, including recreational vehicles, but not including manufactured homes, 9 as defined in section 700.010, which are actually used as dwelling units; 10 (5) Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, which are actually used as 11 dwelling units; 12 (6) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration and are registered as historic 13 motor vehicles under section 301.131; 14 (7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and related solar equipment, components, 15 materials, and supplies installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy systems, as 16 described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of section 144.030,[ that were constructed and 17 producing solar energy prior to August 9, 2022] or associated with a project that uses solar 18 energy directly to generate electricity; and 19 (8) All taxable tangible personal property not included in subclass (1), subclass (2), 20 subclass (3), subclass (4), subclass (5), subclass (6), or subclass (7). 137.115. 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. The assessor shall 7 annually assess all real property, including any new construction and improvements to real 8 property, and possessory interests in real property at the percent of its true value in money set HB 2816 6
9 in subsection 5 of this section. The true value in money of any possessory interest in real 10 property in subclass (3), where such real property is on or lies within the ultimate airport 11 boundary as shown by a federal airport layout plan, as defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of a 12 commercial airport having a FAR Part 139 certification and owned by a political subdivision, 13 shall be the otherwise applicable true value in money of any such possessory interest in real 14 property, less the total dollar amount of costs paid by a party, other than the political 15 subdivision, towards any new construction or improvements on such real property completed 16 after January 1, 2008, and which are included in the above-mentioned possessory interest, 17 regardless of the year in which such costs were incurred or whether such costs were 18 considered in any prior year. The assessor shall annually assess all real property in the 19 following manner: new assessed values shall be determined as of January first of each odd- 20 numbered year and shall be entered in the assessor's books; those same assessed values shall 21 apply in the following even-numbered year, except for new construction and property 22 improvements which shall be valued as though they had been completed as of January first of 23 the preceding odd-numbered year. The assessor may call at the office, place of doing 24 business, or residence of each person required by this chapter to list property, and require the 25 person to make a correct statement of all taxable tangible personal property owned by the 26 person or under his or her care, charge or management, taxable in the county. On or before 27 January first of each even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a two-year 28 assessment maintenance plan to the county governing body and the state tax commission for 29 their respective approval or modification. The county governing body shall approve and 30 forward such plan or its alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by February first. 31 If the county governing body fails to forward the plan or its alternative to the plan to the state 32 tax commission by February first, the assessor's plan shall be considered approved by the 33 county governing body. If the state tax commission fails to approve a plan and if the state tax 34 commission and the assessor and the governing body of the county involved are unable to 35 resolve the differences, in order to receive state cost-share funds outlined in section 137.750, 36 the county or the assessor shall petition the administrative hearing commission, by May first, 37 to decide all matters in dispute regarding the assessment maintenance plan. Upon agreement 38 of the parties, the matter may be stayed while the parties proceed with mediation or 39 arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final decision of the administrative 40 hearing commission shall be subject to judicial review in the circuit court of the county 41 involved. In the event a valuation of subclass (1) real property within any county with a 42 charter form of government, or within a city not within a county, is made by a computer, 43 computer-assisted method or a computer program, the burden of proof, supported by clear, 44 convincing and cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, shall be on the assessor at any 45 hearing or appeal. In any such county, unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a HB 2816 7
46 presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, computer-assisted method or a 47 computer program. Such evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following: 48 (1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal of the property by generally 49 accepted appraisal techniques; and 50 (2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three comparable properties and the 51 address or location thereof. As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means that: 52 (a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the property valuation; and 53