This summary may be found on the Legislative Website at www.leg.state.vt.us by clicking on “Major Issues - Education Finance Ways & Means Draft Bill”
Section-by-Section Summary As of February 23, 2005
Ways and Means Committee Draft 2.3: Bill on Appraisals and Education Finance
Sec. 1. Clarifies that in determining fair market value for appraisals, a sale price is only one factor to be taken into account, but is not solely determinative.
Secs. 2, 3 and 4. Create a voluntary lister and assessor education program, to be administered by Property Valuation and Review, leading to certification at three levels. An appropriation of $100,000 from the education fund for FY2006 is in Sec. 23.
Sec. 5. Clarifies that questionnaires (called “inventories”) used by listers to obtain information necessary for determining market value of a property may include questions on the income and expenses of an income-producing property.
Secs. 6, 7. Beginning in 2006, changes the late-filing deadline for homestead declarations from December 1 to July 15, and makes explicit the rule that for purposes of a prebate or rebate claim, the homestead must be declared.
Sec. 8. Increases the payment towns receive to defray the cost of reappraisals and grand list maintenance. The current payment of $6.00 per parcel was based upon the State paying one-half of the town’s cost of reappraisal, assuming that reappraisals were done approximately every five years, and using a 1997 reappraisal cost-per-parcel of $60.00.
The new figure of $8.50 is based on the midpoint between the low-end reappraisal cost of $50.00 per parcel and the high-end of $120.00 per parcel. The State’s half on a five-year reappraisal basis would be the $8.50. (See Sec. 23 for appropriation.)
Note that towns also receive an additional $1.00 per parcel each year for aiding PVR in the equalization study.
Sec. 9. Excludes from “homestead” definition any contiguous land which underlies business property.
Sec. 10. Allows a town with “excess spending” to use a portion of the penalty revenues to hire an education operations consultant, to advise the district on how better to control spending.
***Income Sensitivity***
Sec. 11. Current law protects a nondebtor spouse from loss of a refund from a joint income tax return or joint rebate claim. This section updates the rebate reference to include prebates as well.
Sec. 12. For calculating household income for income sensitivity, current law refers to income of all persons living in the homestead.
Since the homestead may now include other houses on the homestead parcel, the rule is changed to include only other persons in the “principal dwelling”.
Sec. 13. Creates a legislative study committee on Income-Based Education Property Tax for Vermonters. Report is due December 15, 2005.
***Education Tax***
Sec. 14. Allows listers to correct the grand list for late-filed homestead declarations without having to go through the errors and omissions process, which is cumbersome.
Sec. 15. Current law provides a special rule for determining CLA for a town with a recent mass reappraisal. This amendment makes technical changes to the rule; and also provides that under the special rule, no town’s CLA will be higher than 110 percent in the new-reappraisal year.
Sec. 16. Provides that co-owners of a duplex may each claim an entire half for prebate and rebate purposes.
Secs. 17, 18 and 19. Provide that if the owner of a homestead dies before declaring the homestead, and the homestead is owned by the estate on April 1 and not rented, then the property will be taxed at the homestead education property tax rate for that year.
Retains the current rule for the prebate and rebate: the estate may not claim either of those benefits.
Sec. 20. Provides that in calculating fair market value of land owned by ANR, for purposes of determining a town’s payment in lieu of taxes for that land, the value of the land will not be diminished because of conservation restrictions under Federal law or under a State agreement.
Secs. 21, 22. Remove the limitation on special education expenditures, and appropriate $4.1 million over the Governor’s recommended FY2006 appropriation for special education costs paid by the State, to cover the cost of removing the limitation.
Sec. 23. Appropriates $ 834,000 to pay for the additional $2.50 per-parcel payments to towns under Sec. 9 of the act.
Sec. 24. Reserved for possible common level of appraisal mitigation section.
Sec. 25. EFFECTIVE DATES
Prepared by Emily Bergquist
Legislative Counsel
VT LEG 185326.v4