71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
 
HA to HB 2876
 
LC 2354/HB 2876-5
 
                       HOUSE AMENDMENTS TO
                         HOUSE BILL 2876
 
     By COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL FUNDING AND TAX FAIRNESS/REVENUE
 
                             May 30
 
  On page 1 of the printed bill, line 2, after 'taxation ' insert
'; and appropriating money'.
  Delete lines 4 through 30 and delete page 2 and insert:
  '  { +  SECTION 1. + }  { + Sections 2, 3 and 5 of this 2001
Act are added to and made a part of ORS chapter 308A. + }
  '  { +  SECTION 2. + }  { + The Legislative Assembly finds and
declares that the policy of this state to preserve agricultural
land in large blocks, as stated in ORS 215.243, is promoted by
granting a temporary property tax exemption for the combination
of small lots or parcels of agricultural land into larger lots or
parcels. + }
  '  { +  SECTION 3. + }  { + (1) A lot or parcel of land located
within an exclusive farm use zone is exempt from ad valorem
property tax for 10 tax years following the date on which the lot
or parcel is combined with one or more larger lots or parcels
into a single lot or parcel if:
  ' (a) All of the lots or parcels that are combined into a
single lot or parcel were contiguous and commonly owned prior to
being combined; and
  ' (b) At least one of the lots or parcels was smaller than the
minimum lot size under ORS 215.780 for the exclusive farm use
zone in which the lot or parcel is located.
  ' (2) The exemption allowed under this section shall be limited
to the land that comprised the smallest lot or parcel before
being combined into a larger lot or parcel.
  ' (3) For purposes of this section, the date on which two or
more lots or parcels are combined into a single lot or parcel is
the date on which the legal description of the single combined
lot or parcel is recorded.
  ' (4) For purposes of this section, lots or parcels are under
common ownership when the owner of a lot or parcel is a person
that is in a relationship described in section 267(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code with an owner of another lot or parcel.
  ' (5) A property owner seeking an exemption under this section
shall file an application for exemption with the county assessor.
The application shall be on a form prescribed by the Department
of Revenue and shall contain the information required by the
department. The application shall be filed:
  ' (a) On or before April 1 preceding the first tax year for
which the exemption under this section is sought; or
  ' (b) If the lots or parcels are combined into a single lot or
parcel after April 1 and before July 1 of the first tax year for
which the exemption under this section is sought, within 30 days
following the date of combination.
  ' (6) Upon receipt of an application, the county assessor shall
review the application and grant or deny the exemption. An
exemption may be denied only if the land for which the exemption
is claimed does not meet the requirements for exemption set forth
in subsection (1) of this section or if the application is not
timely filed under subsection (5) of this section. If the
assessor denies the exemption, the assessor must send written
notice of the denial to the property owner on or before October 1
of the tax year for which the exemption is sought. The notice
must state the reason for the exemption denial. If the notice is
not mailed by October 1 of the tax year, the application shall be
considered approved and the exemption shall be granted.
  ' (7)(a) The land described in subsection (2) of this section
shall be exempt from property tax under this section for the tax
year for which the exemption is first granted and for each of the
next nine succeeding tax years in which the land remains a part
of the combined lot or parcel located in an exclusive farm use
zone.
  ' (b) For each year the land is exempt from property tax under
this section, the assessor shall record the exemption in the
assessment and tax roll along with the amount of taxes that would
have been assessed against the land if it were not exempt under
the notation 'potential additional taxes.  '
  ' (8) If any portion of the combined lot or parcel is
partitioned or subdivided during the period of exemption under
this section, the land that was exempt under this section shall
be disqualified from that exemption.
  ' (9)(a) If any portion of the combined lot or parcel is
partitioned or subdivided during the period of exemption under
this section or for 20 tax years following the last tax year for
which an exemption was granted under this section for any land
within the combined lot or parcel, the additional taxes computed
under subsection (7)(b) of this section for all tax years for
which an exemption under this section was granted shall be added
to the tax extended against the land on the next assessment and
tax roll, to be collected and distributed in the same manner as
other ad valorem property tax moneys.
  ' (b) The additional taxes shall be deemed assessed and imposed
in the year to which the additional taxes relate.
  ' (10) Land that is exempt under this section due to a
combination of lots or parcels may not be exempt under this
section due to a subsequent combination of lots or parcels. + }
  '  { +  SECTION 4. + }  { + Section 3 of this 2001 Act applies
to combinations of lots or parcels of land occurring on or after
January 1, 2002, and for which exemption is sought for tax years
beginning on or after July 1, 2002. + }
  '  { +  SECTION 5. + }  { + (1) The county assessor shall
determine the amount of tax that would have been extended on the
assessment and tax roll for each property located in the county
that is receiving the exemption under section 3 of this 2001 Act
for the tax year.  On or before October 15, the assessor shall
certify the amounts determined under this subsection to the
Department of Revenue.
  ' (2) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, on
or before November 15, the department shall pay to each county
treasurer the amounts certified under subsection (1) of this
section for each county, less the discount provided for in ORS
311.505.
  ' (3) A payment made by the department to the county treasurer
shall be distributed to each taxing district in the code area in
which the exempt property is located, based on the percentage
that the total ad valorem property tax billing rate of each
taxing district bears to the total ad valorem property tax
billing rate of all taxing districts in the code area in which
the exempt property is located.
  ' (4) Amounts necessary to make the payments authorized by this
section shall be transferred to a suspense account established
under ORS 293.445 from the appropriation made by the Legislative
Assembly to fund the exemption described in section 3 of this
2001 Act.
  ' (5) Of the total amount transferred to the suspense account
for a biennium, the department shall allocate a portion to each
fiscal year. The allocation shall be the department's best
estimate of the most efficient use of the moneys in the suspense
account so as to minimize any reductions in the payments required
under this section for each fiscal year.
  ' (6) Upon receipt of the amounts certified under subsection
(1) of this section, the department shall determine if the total
of the certified amounts is greater than the amount transferred
to the suspense account and allocated to that fiscal year under
subsection (5) of this section. If the total of the certified
amounts is greater than the amount allocated for the fiscal year,
the payments required under subsection (2) of this section shall
be proportionally reduced so that the state does not accrue a
debt in excess of the amount allocated for the fiscal year. A
claim for payment may not accrue to a county under this section
in excess of the amount determined under this subsection.
  ' (7) If the amount allocated to the first fiscal year of a
biennium under subsection (5) of this section exceeds the amount
of actual payments made under this section for that fiscal year,
the excess amount shall be available for payments in the second
fiscal year of the biennium. + }
  '  { +  SECTION 6. + }  { + (1) In addition to and not in lieu
of any other appropriation, there is appropriated to the
Department of Revenue, for the biennium beginning July 1, 2001,
out of the General Fund, the amount of $___ for the purpose of
making the payments described in section 5 of this 2001 Act.
  ' (2) Notwithstanding section 5 (5) of this 2001 Act, amounts
appropriated under this section must be allocated to payments
made in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2002. + } ' .
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