71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 298
House Bill 2547
Sponsored by Representative BUTLER
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Transfers funding responsibilities for county assessment and
taxation functions from counties to state. Establishes County
Assessment and Taxation Fund. Continuously appropriates County
Assessment and Taxation Fund moneys to Department of Revenue for
distribution to counties for county assessment and collection
functions and to department for department assessment and
collection actions.
Appropriates money from General Fund to County Assessment and
Taxation Fund for property assessment and taxation functions for
2001-2003 biennium.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to property tax administration funding; creating new
provisions; amending ORS 205.323, 306.125, 306.126, 308.062,
309.022, 311.065, 311.385 and 311.506; repealing ORS 294.175,
294.178, 294.181, 294.184, 294.187 and 311.508; and
appropriating money.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + Section 2 of this 2001 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 306. + }
SECTION 2. { + (1) The County Assessment and Taxation Fund is
established, separate and distinct from the General Fund.
Interest earned by the fund shall be retained by the fund.
(2) The fund shall consist of:
(a) Biennial appropriations to the fund;
(b) Amounts collected pursuant to ORS 205.323 (3)(b); and
(c) Interest earned by the fund.
(3) Amounts in the fund are continuously appropriated to the
Department of Revenue for the purposes of funding:
(a) County assessment functions, including property appraisal
and administration of county assessor offices;
(b) County property tax collection functions, including
administrative costs of county tax collectors;
(c) County boards of property tax appeals; and
(d) Appraisal expenses incurred by the department in appraising
secondary industrial properties identified under ORS 306.126 and
expenses incurred by the department pursuant to action taken by
the department under ORS 308.062.
(4) The department shall make quarterly distributions to
counties from the fund. Subject to the availability of moneys in
the fund and subject to maintaining a reserve in the fund for the
purpose of meeting the expenses described in subsection (3)(d) of
this section, the department shall make distributions to the
counties for the purposes described in subsection (3)(a) to (c)
of this section so as to ensure that resources are adequate to
achieve compliance with the property tax laws of this state and
in order to achieve equality and uniformity in the system of
property taxation in this state.
(5) A distribution to a county under this section shall be
deposited in the county general fund and may be expended only for
the purposes described in subsection (3)(a) to (c) of this
section. + }
SECTION 3. { + The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules:
(1) Establishing procedures for annually determining the amount
to be distributed to each county under section 2 of this 2001
Act; and
(2) Permitting county assessors, county tax collectors, county
boards of property tax appeals and other interested persons to
testify and present evidence on the adequacy of proposed
distributions in achieving the purposes described in section 2
(3)(a) to (c) of this 2001 Act. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) Any moneys remaining in the County
Assessment Function Funding Assistance Account as of January 1,
2002, are transferred to the County Assessment and Taxation Fund
established under section 2 of this 2001 Act.
(2) Any moneys remaining in the Assessment and Taxation County
Account as of January 1, 2002, are transferred to the County
Assessment and Taxation Fund established under section 2 of this
2001 Act. + }
SECTION 5. { + In the case of a county assessment and taxation
fund established pursuant to ORS 294.187 (1999 Edition), any
moneys remaining in the fund as of January 1, 2002, shall be
transferred to the county unsegregated tax collections account
established under ORS 311.385, for further distribution to taxing
districts in the same manner in which property tax receipts for
the tax year beginning July 1, 2001, are distributed to taxing
districts. + }
SECTION 6. { + The compensation of county assessors and
employees of county assessors shall be established as provided in
ORS 204.112, 204.116, 204.121 and 204.126, but shall be paid from
funds distributed to the county under section 2 of this 2001
Act. + }
SECTION 7. ORS 205.323 is amended to read:
205.323. (1) Notwithstanding ORS 205.320, and in addition to
and not in lieu of the fees charged and collected under ORS
205.320 and other fees, the following fees shall be charged and
collected for the recording or filing of any instrument described
in ORS 205.130:
(a) A fee of $1, to be credited as provided in subsection
(3)(a) of this section; and
(b) A fee of $10, to be credited as provided in subsection
(3)(b) of this section.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to the
recording or filing of the following:
(a) Evidence of authority to solemnize marriages under ORS
chapter 106;
(b) Instruments that are otherwise exempt from recording or
filing fees under any provision of law;
(c) Any satisfaction of judgment or certificate of satisfaction
of judgment; or
(d) Internal county government instruments not otherwise
charged a recording or filing fee.
(3) Of the amounts charged and collected under this section:
(a) The recording or filing fee charged and collected under
subsection (1)(a) of this section shall be deposited and credited
to the Oregon Land Information System Fund established under ORS
306.132; and
(b) { - Of - } The recording or filing fee charged and
collected under subsection (1)(b) of this section { - , five
percent shall be credited for the benefit of the county and 95
percent - } shall be deposited and credited to the County
Assessment and Taxation Fund created under { - ORS 294.187 - }
{ + section 2 of this 2001 Act + }.
SECTION 8. ORS 306.125 is amended to read:
306.125. { - (1) - } The Department of Revenue is authorized
to institute programs for the appraisal of property in counties
of the state and to make appraisals for the use of county
assessors and boards of property tax appeals in assessing
property and reviewing assessment rolls { + . + } { - , and - }
{ + The department + } may install, and assist in the
preparation and maintenance of maps, plats or standardized record
systems as prescribed by the department, in the offices of
assessors and tax collectors.
{ - (2) The department and county courts are authorized to
enter into agreements for the sharing of the expenses of such
appraisals and installations including salaries and expenses of
department employees engaged therein. - }
{ - (3) Counties entering into agreements pursuant to this
section may pay to the Department of Revenue from time to
time: - }
{ - (a) Moneys to be disbursed by the department as part of
the county's share in the expenses authorized under this section
and agreed to under such agreements; and - }
{ - (b) Moneys to reimburse the department where department
disbursements under such agreements, whether from the
department's appropriations from the State General Fund or from
moneys credited to the Assessment and Taxation County Account,
have exceeded its proportionate share of expenses and a
rebalancing of expense-sharing accounts is deemed desirable or
necessary. - }
{ - (4)(a) All moneys received by the Department of Revenue
under subsection (3) of this section shall be by it immediately
turned over to the State Treasurer who shall deposit the moneys
in the General Fund to the credit of an account to be known as
the Assessment and Taxation County Account, and such account
hereby is continuously appropriated for the purposes of this
section. - }
{ - (b) The Department of Revenue may use the moneys to the
credit of the Assessment and Taxation County Account, or any part
thereof for expenditures in connection with appraisals and
installations contracted for, including cash advances for travel
and living expenses of employees, and including payments to any
county made to rebalance expense-sharing accounts, from time to
time, where a county's disbursements under agreements entered
into pursuant to this section have exceeded its proportionate
share of expenses under such agreement. Any moneys received in
reimbursement of these cash advances shall be deposited in the
Assessment and Taxation County Account. Refunds may be made to
the counties of unexpended receipts. - }
SECTION 9. ORS 306.126 is amended to read:
306.126. (1)(a) As used in this section:
(A) 'Principal industrial property' means any unit of
industrial property having a real market value of the
improvements on the assessment roll for the preceding year of
more than $5 million.
(B) 'Secondary industrial property' means any unit of
industrial property having a real market value of the
improvements on the assessment roll for the preceding year of
more than $1 million but of $5 million or less.
(b) The Department of Revenue shall appraise each principal
industrial property situated within each county and advise the
county assessor of its real market and assessed value and the
real market value of its net improvements. No part of the cost of
the appraisal shall be borne by the county.
(c) The department shall appraise each secondary industrial
property situated within each county and advise the assessor of
its real market and assessed value and the real market value of
its net improvements. The cost of the appraisal shall be
reimbursed from the { - County Assessment Function Funding
Assistance Account as provided under ORS 294.184 - } { + County
Assessment and Taxation Fund established under section 2 of this
2001 Act + }.
(2) The department shall advise the assessor of the values
determined under subsection (1) of this section by a date that is
determined to give the assessor sufficient time to prepare the
assessment roll.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(b) or (c) of this section,
upon request of the county assessor, made prior to January 1 of
the assessment year and accompanied by any information required
by the department, including but not limited to a summary of the
county's proposed budget of expenditures for appraisals for
principal or secondary industrial properties, the department may
delegate its responsibility for making the appraisals, or any of
them, required under subsection (1)(b) or (c) of this section, to
the county assessor. { - Except as provided under ORS 294.175
to 294.184, - } If responsibility is delegated under this
subsection, the entire cost of making the appraisals delegated
shall be { - borne by the county - } { + funded through the
distribution of moneys to counties from the County Assessment and
Taxation Fund under section 2 of this 2001 Act + }. No appeal may
be taken from any determination of the department under this
subsection.
(4) The department may adopt any rules necessary to carry out
the purposes of this section.
(5) The department may adopt an appraisal schedule that
promotes the efficient use of its resources.
SECTION 10. ORS 308.062 is amended to read:
308.062. (1) If the Department of Revenue determines that
appraisals in any county are not being made as provided by law
{ - , to meet the requirements of real market value and under a
program which will insure compliance with ORS 308.027 and
308.234, or if the department determines that the county is not
in compliance with a conference agreement or a plan developed at
a conference as provided under ORS 294.181, it - } { + and
under a program that will ensure compliance with ORS 308.027,
308.146, 308.232 and 308.234, the department + } shall make a
written report to the county court or board of county
commissioners of the county { + . + } { - , describing - }
{ + The report shall describe + } the provisions of law
{ - which - } { + that + } are not being followed and
{ - recommending - } { + recommend + } specific measures to be
taken by the county court or board { + of county
commissioners + } and the assessor to cure the deficiencies
noted.
(2) If the department thereafter discovers that any measure or
measures are not being taken as recommended under subsection (1)
of this section, and that as a result, in the department's
opinion, appraisals in the county are not being made as provided
by law, including meeting the requirements of ORS 308.232 or
308.234, the department shall give 30 days' written notice to the
assessor and to the county court or board of county commissioners
of its intention to use the most practicable means to cure the
deficiencies, including but not limited to the use of its own
employees and equipment or the use of fee appraisers. If within
the 30-day period the assessor and the county court or board of
county commissioners fail to take action to correct the
deficiencies { - through the providing of funds and personnel,
or by the submission of - } { + or to submit + } a plan
acceptable to the department, the department shall proceed to
cure the deficiencies.
{ - The county court or board of county commissioners shall
bear the full expense of the necessary actions taken by the
Department of Revenue for the benefit of the county, aided by the
provisions of subsection (3) of this section. - } { + The
department shall reduce the next distribution to be made to the
county under section 2 of this 2001 Act by the expenses incurred
by the department in curing deficiencies under this subsection.
Department expenses shall be funded by the County Assessment and
Taxation Fund, pursuant to section 2 (3)(d) of this 2001 Act. + }
{ - (3) In the event that the department must perform
services within or for a county pursuant to subsection (2) of
this section, the costs shall be advanced from its Assessment and
Taxation County Account, described in ORS 306.125, and, except as
otherwise provided by law, that account shall be reimbursed for
the sum of such costs from the county's share of the state shared
funds, unless other provision is made by action of the county
court or board. Reimbursement of the Assessment and Taxation
County Account shall be made from time to time upon the order of
the Secretary of State to the State Treasurer, based upon the
Department of Revenue's certified, itemized statement of such
costs to the Secretary of State. Reimbursement shall be from an
equal proportion of all state share funds required or permitted
to be distributed to the county that are not otherwise dedicated
as provided by law. If the county is a county for which
expenditures for assessment and taxation have been certified
under ORS 294.175, the total reimbursement to the department
shall not exceed the amount of the expenditures so certified. If
the county is a county for which expenditures for assessment and
taxation have not been certified under ORS 294.175, the total
reimbursement to the department shall not exceed the total amount
of expenditures as determined for purposes of issuing the notice
required under ORS 294.175 (4). Copies of the department's
certified itemized statement of costs shall be sent to the county
court or board and to the county assessor. - }
SECTION 11. ORS 309.022 is amended to read:
309.022. (1) Each person appointed as a member of a pool under
ORS 309.067 shall complete training approved by the Department of
Revenue for the term of appointment. The department by rule may
prescribe alternative methods of training on the basis of
educational effectiveness, cost and accessibility to members.
(2) { - Provision shall be made in the county budget for - }
The following { + amounts shall be funded from the distribution
of moneys to counties under section 2 of this 2001 Act + }:
(a) An amount sufficient to defray the reasonable expenses of
the boards, including a per diem allowance.
(b) An amount sufficient to defray the necessary traveling and
living expenses of each person whose name appears in the pools
described in ORS 309.067 while completing training approved by
the Department of Revenue as required under subsection (1) of
this section.
(c) An amount sufficient to compensate the appraisers provided
for under ORS 309.024.
SECTION 12. ORS 311.065 is amended to read:
311.065. Each county tax collector shall be entitled to such
deputies and clerical assistance as may be necessary properly to
transact the business and perform the work of the office. Such
deputies and clerical assistance shall be furnished by the county
court { - at the expense of the county - } . { + The expenses
of the county tax collector and the staff of the county tax
collector shall be paid for through the distribution of moneys to
counties under section 2 of this 2001 Act. + }
SECTION 13. ORS 311.385 is amended to read:
311.385. (1) The tax collector shall deposit all property tax
moneys with the county treasurer no later than:
(a) One business day after:
(A) Payment of the moneys is made in person at the office of
the tax collector; or
(B) The tax collector receives moneys collected by a financial
institution or other collection agency; or
(b) Thirty calendar days after the payment arrives by mail in
the county mail receptacle.
(2) The tax collector shall take a receipt for all moneys
deposited with the county treasurer.
(3) Property tax moneys shall not be deposited in any account
other than the unsegregated tax collections account, except as
provided in ORS 311.370 { - and 311.508 - } .
(4) No later than one business day after receiving notice of
collection of tax moneys by a financial institution or other
collection agency, the tax collector shall notify the county
treasurer of the collection of those tax moneys.
(5) Except as provided in ORS 311.370 { - and 311.508 - } ,
the county treasurer shall deposit all property tax moneys to an
account in the records of the county treasurer designated as the
unsegregated tax collections account. Only those moneys that will
be distributed under ORS 311.390 and interest earned from the
investment of those moneys shall be deposited to the unsegregated
tax collections account.
(6) As used in this section, 'property tax moneys' includes all
ad valorem taxes and all taxes on property, as defined in ORS
310.140, and all other amounts specifically authorized by law to
be included on the assessment and tax roll, that are certified
for collection under ORS 310.060 or other law and any interest on
those taxes.
SECTION 14. ORS 311.506 is amended to read:
311.506. During each biennial regular session, the Legislative
Assembly shall review the rate of interest, as specified under
ORS 311.505 (2) { - or section 10, chapter 796, Oregon Laws
1989 - } , that is charged and collected on property taxes that
are due and unpaid.
SECTION 15. { + In addition to and not in lieu of any other
appropriation, there is appropriated to the County Assessment and
Taxation Fund, for the biennium beginning July 1, 2001, out of
the General Fund, the sum of $ ___ for the purposes set forth in
section 2 of this 2001 Act. + }
SECTION 16. { + ORS 294.175, 294.178, 294.181, 294.184,
294.187 and 311.508 are repealed. + }
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