HOUSE BILL NO. 3200 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE SASSMANN.
6606H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 137.115, 137.180, 137.355, and 137.490, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof five new sections relating to the modernization of property assessment practices.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 137.115, 137.180, 137.355, and 137.490, RSMo, are repealed and 2 five new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 137.115, 137.121, 137.180, 3 137.355, and 137.490, to read as follows: 137.115. 1.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 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
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 3200 2
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 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 HB 3200 3
53 (b) Such properties are not more than one mile from the site of the disputed property, 54 except where no similar properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, the nearest 55 comparable property shall be used. Such property shall be within five hundred square feet in 56 size of the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in age, floor plan, number of 57 rooms, and other relevant characteristics. 58 2. Assessors in each county of this state and the City of St. Louis may send personal 59 property assessment forms through the mail. 60 3. The following items of personal property shall each constitute separate subclasses 61 of tangible personal property and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes of taxation at 62 the following percentages of their true value in money: 63 (1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an unmanufactured condition, one-half of 64 one percent; 65 (2) Livestock, twelve percent; 66 (3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 67 (4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration as and are registered as historic 68 motor vehicles pursuant to section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty-five years 69 old and which are used solely for noncommercial purposes and are operated less than two 70 hundred hours per year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five percent; 71 (5) Poultry, twelve percent; 72 (6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and tools and equipment used in 73 retooling for the purpose of introducing new product lines or used for making improvements 74 to existing products by any company which is located in a state enterprise zone and which is 75 identified by any standard industrial classification number cited in subdivision (7) of section 76 135.200, twenty-five percent; and 77 (7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and related solar equipment, components, 78 materials, and supplies installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy systems, as 79 described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of section 144.030, that were constructed and 80 producing solar energy prior to August 9, 2022, five percent. 81 4. The person listing the property shall enter a true and correct statement of the 82 property, in a printed blank prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being filled out, 83 shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to as provided in section 137.155. The list shall 84 then be delivered to the assessor. 85 5. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such subclasses are established in Section 4 86 (b) of Article X of the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, shall be assessed 87 at the following percentages of true value: 88 (a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen percent; 89 (b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; and HB 3200 4
90 (c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty-two percent. 91 (2) A taxpayer may apply to the county assessor, or, if not located within a county, 92 then the assessor of such city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real property if the use 93 or purpose of such real property is changed after such property is assessed under the 94 provisions of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such property shall be reclassified, 95 he or she shall determine the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage of the 96 tax year that such property was classified in each subclassification. 97 6. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, which are actually used as 98 dwelling units shall be assessed at the same percentage of true value as residential real 99 property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of assessment of true value for such 100 manufactured homes shall be the same as for residential real property. If the county collector 101 cannot identify or find the manufactured home when attempting to attach the manufactured 102 home for payment of taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county collector may 103 request the county commission to have the manufactured home removed from the tax books, 104 and such request shall be granted within thirty days after the request is made; however, the 105 removal from the tax books does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it is 106 later identified or found. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home located in a 107 manufactured home rental park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 108 manufactured home owner shall be considered personal property. For purposes of this 109 section, a manufactured home located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 110 may be considered real property. 111 7. Each manufactured home assessed shall be considered a parcel for the purpose of 112 reimbursement pursuant to section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is deemed to be 113 real estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015 and assessed as a realty improvement 114 to the existing real estate parcel. 115 8. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the assessment of a manufactured 116 home shall be included on the personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 117 owner unless the manufactured home is deemed to be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of 118 section 442.015, in which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment of the 119 manufactured home as a realty improvement to the existing real estate parcel shall be 120 included on the real property tax statement of the real estate owner. 121 9. The assessor of each county and each city not within a county shall use a nationally 122 recognized automotive trade publication such as the National Automobile Dealers' 123 Association Official Used Car Guide, Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, or other similar 124 publication as the recommended guide of information for determining the true value of motor 125 vehicles described in such publication. The state tax commission shall select and make 126 available to all assessors which publication shall be used. The assessor of each county and HB 3200 5
127 each city not within a county shall use the trade-in value published in the current October 128 issue of the publication selected by the state tax commission. The assessor shall not use a 129 value that is greater than the average trade-in value in determining the true value of the motor 130 vehicle without performing a physical inspection of the motor vehicle. For vehicles two years 131 old or newer from a vehicle's model year, the assessor may use a value other than average 132 without performing a physical inspection of the motor vehicle. In the absence of a listing for 133 a particular motor vehicle in such publication, the assessor shall use such information or 134 publications that, in the assessor's judgment, will fairly estimate the true value in money of 135 the motor vehicle. For motor vehicles with a true value of less than fifty thousand dollars as 136 of January 1, 2025, the assessor shall not assess such motor vehicle for an amount greater 137 than such motor vehicle was assessed in the previous year, provided that such motor vehicle 138 was properly assessed in the previous year. 139 10. (1) Before the assessor may increase the assessed valuation of any parcel of 140 subclass (1) real property by more than fifteen percent since the last assessment, excluding 141 increases due to new construction or improvements, the assessor shall conduct a physical 142 inspection of such property. 143 (2) In determining the true value in money of real property, a county assessor 144 may utilize aerial imagery, satellite imagery, geographic information systems (GIS), 145 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), oblique imagery, and other comparable technologies, 146 either alone or in combination with existing assessment methods, provided such 147 technologies are used in accordance with professionally accepted mass appraisal 148 standards. 149 11. If a physical inspection is required, pursuant to subsection 10 of this section, the 150 assessor shall notify the property owner of that fact in writing and shall provide the owner 151 clear written notice of the owner's rights relating to the physical inspection. If a physical 152 inspection is required, the property owner may request that an interior inspection be 153 performed during the physical inspection. The owner shall have no less than thirty days to 154 notify the assessor of a request for an interior physical inspection. 155 12. (1) A physical inspection, as required by subsection 10 of this section, shall 156 include, but not be limited to, an on-site personal observation and review of all exterior 157 portions of the land and any buildings and improvements to which the inspector has or may 158 reasonably and lawfully gain external access, and shall include an observation and review of 159 the interior of any buildings or improvements on the property upon the timely request of the 160 owner pursuant to subsection 11 of this section. Mere observation of the property via a drive- 161 by inspection or the like shall not be considered sufficient to constitute a physical inspection 162 as required by this section. HB 3200 6
163 (2) However, the use of technology authorized under subdivision (2) of 164 subsection 10 of this section shall satisfy any inspection requirement for real property 165 assessment purposes and shall not require an on-site physical inspection unless 166 otherwise deemed necessary by the assessor. Nothing in this subdivision shall be 167 construed to prohibit an assessor from conducting an on-site inspection when 168 warranted, nor shall it limit a property owner's right to request a review or appeal of 169 an assessment. 170 13. A county or city collector may accept credit cards as proper form of payment of 171 outstanding property tax or license due. No county or city collector may charge surcharge for 172 payment by credit card which exceeds the fee or surcharge charged by the credit card bank, 173 processor, or issuer for its service. A county or city collector may accept payment by 174 electronic transfers of funds in payment of any tax or license and charge the person making 175 such payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the bank, processor, or issuer of 176 such electronic payment. 177 14. Any county or city not within a county in this state may, by an affirmative vote of 178 the governing body of such county, opt out of the provisions of this section and sections 179 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 180 assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as modified by house committee 181 substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety- 182 second general assembly, second regular session, for the next year of the general 183 reassessment, prior to January first of any year. No county or city not within a county 184 shall exercise this opt-out provision after implementing the provisions of this section and 185 sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first 186 general assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as modified by house 187 committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 188 960, ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a year of general 189 reassessment. For the purposes of applying the provisions of this subsection, a political 190 subdivision contained within two or more counties where at least one of such counties has 191 opted out and at least one of such counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate as 192 in effect prior to the enactment of house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general assembly, 193 second regular session. A governing body of a city not within a county or a county that has 194 opted out under the provisions of this subsection may choose to implement the provisions of 195 this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by house bill no. 1150 of 196 the ninety-first general assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as modified by 197 house committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for senate bill 198 no. 960, ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, for the next year of general HB 3200 7
199 reassessment, by an affirmative vote of the governing body prior to December thirty-first of 200 any year. 201 15. The governing body of any city of the third classification with more than twenty- 202 six thousand three hundred but fewer than twenty-six thousand seven hundred inhabitants 203 located in any county that has exercised its authority to opt out under subsection 14 of this 204 section may levy separate and differing tax rates for real and personal property only if such 205 city bills and collects its own property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the billing and 206 collection of such separate a