HB4781 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB094 15731 BDD 50943 b

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB4781

Introduced 1/18/2006, by Rep. Elaine Nekritz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 200/16-170
35 ILCS 200/16-175
35 ILCS 200/16-180
35 ILCS 200/16-185
35 ILCS 200/16-186 new
35 ILCS 200/17-10
35 ILCS 200/18-53 new

Amends the Property Tax Code with respect to the Property Tax Appeal Board. Provides that the rules of practice and procedure of the Board shall differentiate cases involving a requested change of assessed value of $300,000 or more on non-farm property other than that consisting solely of 6 or fewer residential units from cases involving other categories of property, allowing a simplified procedure for the latter and requiring the rules of evidence and motion practice as applied in the circuit courts of the State to be applied in rules adopted by the Board concerning the former. Makes changes concerning hearings, presumptions and burdens of proof, case management and discovery, procedures for review and correction of assessments, limitation on the assessment level claims in counties that classify, and sales ratio studies. Authorizes a taxing district to, without referendum, adopt a levy to recapture revenue lost by a property tax refund it is required to make. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning revenue.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing Sections 16-170, 16-175, 16-180, 16-185, and 17-10 and by adding Sections 16-186 and 18-53 as follows:

(35 ILCS 200/16-170)

Sec. 16-170. Hearings.

(a) A hearing shall be granted if any party to the appeal so requests, and, upon motion of any party to the appeal or by direction of the Property Tax Appeal Board, any appeal may be set down for a hearing, with proper notice to the interested parties. Notice to all interested taxing bodies shall be deemed to have been given when delivered by the board of review to served upon the State's Attorney of the county from which the appeal has been taken, except that in cases involving a requested change of assessed value of $300,000 or more on non-farm property other than that consisting solely of 6 or fewer residential units notice shall also be given as provided in Section 16-180.

(b) Hearings may be held before less than a majority of the members of the Property Tax Appeal Board, and the chairman may assign members or hearing officers to hold hearings. Such hearings shall be open to the public and shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of practice and procedure promulgated by the Board. In all cases the Board shall ensure that all parties are notified at least 60 days in advance of any scheduled hearing date.

(c) In all cases the Property Tax Appeal The Board, on the Board's own motion or on motion of any party, shall any member or hearing officer may require the production of any books, records, papers or other documents within the possession or control of any party that are may be material or relevant as evidence in any pending matter. The Board's rules, and any order requiring the production of documents pursuant thereto, shall provide a reasonable opportunity to all parties to review the documents produced and to introduce them in evidence pending before it and necessary for the making of a just decision.

(Source: P.A. 76-689; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-175)

Sec. 16-175. Case management and discovery procedures; required disclosure of information in certain cases; expert witnesses; subpoenas.

(a) In cases involving a requested change of assessed value of $300,000 or more on non-farm property other than that consisting solely of 6 or fewer residential units, the following procedures shall apply:

(1) The Property Tax Appeal Board shall schedule a case management conference within 70 to 90 days after the commencement of the appeal. The conference shall include the appellant, the taxpayer of record if other than the appellant, the State's Attorney, and any intervening taxing bodies. The parties shall discuss the possible settlement of the case. If a settlement cannot be reached at the conference, the Board shall issue a case management order scheduling any necessary discovery, any further prehearing conferences as may be necessary, and the hearing. The case management order shall provide for the exchange among the parties of the information concerning any expert and lay witnesses as enumerated in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 213, subdivisions (f)(1) through (f)(3), if such an exchange has not already occurred.

(2) Within 60 days after each party's first filing in the case, the following information and documents, if any, within that party's possession and control, shall be submitted to the Property Tax Appeal Board and to each opposing party:

(A) Each party shall submit copies of any appraisal or other written estimate of value pertaining to the subject property that has a date of valuation within the period of 2 years prior to and through the subject tax year. The board of review need not, however, submit appraisals or estimates of value not commissioned by it, which are in its file solely because of prior submissions by the taxpayer.

(B) The taxpayer shall submit any contracts and closing statements relating to a transfer of ownership of the subject property within the period of 2 years prior to and through the subject tax year.

(C) Each party shall submit an affidavit attesting that the information provided in compliance with this subdivision (a)(2) is complete to the best of that party's knowledge, information, and belief.

(3) Discovery, including issuance of subpoenas on the Board's own motion or on request of any party, shall be allowed subject to the same rules as are applied in the circuit courts of the State, as near as may be.

(b) The following procedures shall apply in all cases:

(1) The name of any independent or controlled expert witness, as defined in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 213, subsection (f), who will be called by any party to testify at a hearing before the Property Tax Appeal Board and any reports or documents that will be used during the witness' testimony must be disclosed to the Board and to each opposing party at least 30 days prior to the date of hearing. The testimony of any witness whose identity, report, or documents have not been disclosed as required by this subdivision (b)(1) shall be barred.

(2) An appraisal or valuation report may be presented and testified to by any qualified representative of either a governmental office on whose behalf the report was prepared or an appraisal firm with which the original author of the report was affiliated. Any such representative of a governmental office or appraisal firm shall, however, for all purposes related to his or her testimony, accept the same responsibility as the original author of the report for the opinions and other matters contained in the report.

(c) In all cases the Chairman of the Property Tax Appeal Board or his or her designee may issue subpoenas. Subpoenas which shall be served by any person lawfully authorized to serve a subpoena under the laws of the State of Illinois. In case of disobedience to a subpoena, the Board may petition any circuit court of the State for an order requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or production of documents. Witnesses attending any hearing held by the Property Tax Appeal Board, pursuant to any subpoena, shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the circuit courts of the State.

(Source: P.A. 83-1250; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-180)

Sec. 16-180. Procedure for review and correction of assessments determination of correct assessment. (a) The Property Tax Appeal Board shall establish by rules an expeditious informal procedure for the review and, if necessary, determination of the correction of the correct assessment of property which is the subject of an appeal. The rules of practice and procedure of the Property Tax Appeal Board shall differentiate cases involving a requested change of assessed value of $300,000 or more on non-farm property other than that consisting solely of 6 or fewer residential units from cases involving other categories of property. In cases involving only such other categories of property, the Board shall provide a simplified The procedure, to the extent that the Board considers practicable, that shall eliminate formal rules of pleading, practice and evidence. In all other cases the rules of evidence and motion practice as applied in the circuit courts of the State shall be applied in the procedure established by the Board. In all cases, and except for any reasonable filing fee determined by the Board, may provide that costs shall be in the discretion of the Board.

(b) In cases subject to the simplified procedure under subsection (a) of this Section, the Property Tax Appeal Board rules may provide that each party's documentary evidence be submitted to the Board, which shall furnish copies of such evidence to the other parties in advance of the hearing. In cases not subject to the simplified procedure, the rules of the Board shall provide that:

(1) documentary evidence shall be directly exchanged among the parties with copies provided to the Board; and

(2) all petitions, motions, correspondence or other papers to be filed with the Board subsequent to the original appellant's petition shall be filed together with a certificate of counsel or other proof that copies thereof have been served directly upon all other parties in the same manner as required in practice in the circuit courts of the State.

(c) A copy of the appellant's petition shall be mailed by the clerk of the Property Tax Appeal Board to the board of review whose decision is being appealed. In all cases where a change in assessed valuation of $100,000 or more is sought, the board of review shall serve a copy of the petition on all taxing districts as shown on the last available tax bill. The chairman of the Property Tax Appeal Board shall provide for the speedy hearing of all such appeals. Each appeal shall be limited to the grounds listed in the petition filed with the Property Tax Appeal Board.

(e) All appeals shall be considered de novo based solely upon the evidence, issues, and legal argument submitted to the Property Tax Appeal Board, without regard to whether such evidence, issues, and legal argument were previously submitted to the board of review and the Property Tax Appeal Board shall not be limited to the evidence presented to the board of review of the county. A party participating in the hearing before the Property Tax Appeal Board is entitled to introduce evidence that is otherwise proper and admissible without regard to whether that evidence has previously been introduced at a hearing before the board of review of the county. Where no complaint has been made to the board of review of the county where the property is located and the appeal is based solely on the effect of an equalizing factor assigned to all property or to a class of property by the board of review, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall not grant a reduction in assessment greater than the amount that was added as the result of the equalizing factor.

The provisions added to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be construed as declaratory of existing law and not as a new enactment.

(Source: P.A. 93-248, eff. 7-22-03; 93-758, eff. 7-16-04.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-185)

Sec. 16-185. Presumption and burden of proof; decisions.

(a) The assessment resulting from the decision of the board of review shall be presumed to be correct and legal, but the presumption is rebuttable. When market value is the subject of the appeal, the appellant shall have the burden of proving any contested matter of fact by a preponderance of the evidence. When uniformity is the basis of the appeal, the appellant shall have the burden of proving any contested matter of fact by clear and convincing evidence. When market value is the basis of the appeal, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall consider the appellant's valuation claim without regard to the correctness of any practice, procedure, or method of valuation followed by the assessor or board of review in making or reviewing the assessment, and without regard to the intent or motivation of any assessing official.

(b) The Property Tax Appeal Board shall make a decision in each appeal or case appealed to it, and the decision shall be based upon equity and the weight of evidence and not upon constructive fraud, and the decision shall be binding upon appellant and officials of government. The extension of taxes on any assessment so appealed shall not be delayed by any proceeding before the Board, and, in case the assessment is altered by the Board, any taxes extended upon the unauthorized assessment or part thereof shall be abated, or, if already paid, shall be refunded with interest as provided in Section 23-20.

The decision or order of the Property Tax Appeal Board in any such appeal, shall, within 10 days thereafter, be certified at no charge to the appellant and to the proper authorities, including the board of review or board of appeals whose decision was appealed, the county clerk who extends taxes upon the assessment in question, and the county collector who collects property taxes upon such assessment.

(c) If no complaint has been made to the board of review of the county where the property is located and the appeal is based solely on the effect of an equalizing factor assigned to all property or to a class of property by the board of review, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall not grant a reduction in assessment greater than the amount that was added as the result of the equalizing factor.

(d) If the Property Tax Appeal Board renders a decision lowering the assessment of a particular parcel after the deadline for filing complaints with the board of review or board of appeals or after adjournment of the session of the board of review or board of appeals at which assessments for the subsequent year are being considered, the taxpayer may, within 30 days after the date of written notice of the Property Tax Appeal Board's decision, appeal the assessment for the subsequent year directly to the Property Tax Appeal Board.

(e) If the Property Tax Appeal Board renders a decision lowering the assessment of a particular parcel on which a residence occupied by the owner is situated, such reduced assessment, subject to equalization, shall remain in effect for the remainder of the general assessment period as provided in Sections 9-215 through 9-225, unless that parcel is subsequently sold in an arm's length transaction establishing a fair cash value for the parcel that is different from the fair cash value on which the Board's assessment is based, or unless the decision of the Property Tax Appeal Board is reversed or modified upon review.

(Source: P.A. 88-455; 88-660, eff. 9-16-94; 89-671, eff. 8-14-96.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-186 new)

Sec. 16-186. Limitation on assessment level claims in counties that classify.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, except as otherwise provided in this Section, in appeals arising in counties that classify property for purposes of taxation pursuant to an ordinance adopted in accordance with Section 9-150, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall have no jurisdiction to consider whether a level of assessment other than the level specified in the classifying ordinance should apply to the property which is the subject of the appeal. Such issues shall not be considered by the Property Tax Appeal Board in its review and correction of assessments under Sections 16-180 and 16-185 and related Sections.

(b) The limitation provided in this Section shall not apply in cases where the only subject of the appeal is a property assessed within any classification that includes single family residences under the ordinance adopted in accordance with Section 9-150. Nothing in this subsection, however, shall be construed to accord presumptive validity to Department ratio studies of property within any classification that includes single family residences nor shall this subsection be construed as prohibiting the introduction of evidence or argument by any party disputing the methodology or conclusions of these studies.

(35 ILCS 200/17-10)

Sec. 17-10. Sales ratio studies.

(a) The Department shall monitor the quality of local assessments by designing, preparing and using ratio studies, and shall use the results as the basis for equalization decisions. In compiling sales ratio studies, the Department shall exclude from the reported sales price of any property any amounts included for personal property and, for sales occurring through December 31, 1999, shall exclude seller paid points. The Department shall not include in its sales ratio studies sales of property which have been platted and for which an increase in the assessed valuation is restricted by Section 10-30. The Department shall not include in its sales ratio studies the initial sale of residential property that has been converted to condominium property.

When the declaration required under the Real Estate Transfer Tax Law contains financing information required under Section 31-25, the Department shall adjust sales prices to exclude seller-paid points and shall adjust sales prices to "cash value" when seller related financing is used that is different than the prevailing cost of cash. The prevailing cost of cash for sales occurring on or after January 1, 1992 shall be established as the monthly average 30-year fixed Primary Mortgage Market Survey rate for the North Central Region as published weekly by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, as computed by the Department, or such other rate as determined by the Department. This rate shall be known as the survey rate. For sales occurring on or after January 1, 1992, through December 31, 1999, adjustments in the prevailing cost of cash shall be made only after the survey rate has been at or above 13% for 12 consecutive months and will continue until the survey rate has been below 13% for 12 consecutive months. For sales occurring on or after January 1, 2000, adjustments for seller paid points and adjustments in the prevailing cost of cash shall be made only after the survey rate has been at or above 13% for 12 consecutive months and will continue until the survey rate has been below 13% for 12 consecutive months. The Department shall make public its adjustment procedure upon request.

(b) The General Assembly finds and declares that it has been and is the policy of this State that ratio studies by the Department pursuant to this Section and related Sections are designed and conducted for purposes of the State equalization process as set forth in Article 17 of this Code. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, except as otherwise provided in this Section, no ratio studies conducted pursuant to any provision of this Code by the Department shall be admitted in evidence in assessment appeal proceedings before boards of review or the Property Tax Appeal Board under Article 16 of this Code. The studies by the Department, and any conclusions based on those studies, shall not be considered by the Property Tax Appeal Board under Sections 16-180 and 16-185 and related Sections or by boards of review under Sections 16-20, 16-95, and related Sections.

(c) Nothing in subsection (b) of this Section prohibits boards of review or the Property Tax Appeal Board from complying with the requirement of Section 9-145, where applicable, that property in designated counties be valued at "33-1/3%" of its "fair cash value" as defined in this Code.

(d) In cases arising in counties that classify property for purposes of taxation pursuant to an ordinance adopted in accordance with Section 9-150, the limitation provided in subsection (b) of this Section shall not apply where the only subject of the appeal is a property assessed within any classification that includes single family residences under the ordinance adopted in accordance with Section 9-150. Nothing in this subsection, however, shall be construed to accord presumptive validity to Department studies of property within any classification that includes single family residences nor shall this subsection be construed as prohibiting the introduction of evidence or argument by any party disputing the methodology or conclusions of those studies.

(Source: P.A. 91-555, eff. 1-1-00.)

(35 ILCS 200/18-53 new)

Sec. 18-53. Recovery of revenue lost due to tax refunds.

(a) When a taxing district is required to refund a portion of the property tax revenue distributed to that taxing district because of a decision of the Property Tax Appeal Board, an assessment or exemption decision of the Department of Revenue, a court order issued pursuant to an assessment valuation complaint under subdivision (b)(3) of Section 23-15, or an administrative decision of a local assessing official reducing the assessed value of a property within the district, that taxing district may, without referendum, adopt a levy to recapture the revenue lost by the refund or refunds. The recapture levy must not exceed an amount equal to the aggregate refunds paid by the district for the prior fiscal year. Within 45 days after a request by a taxing district, the county treasurer must certify the aggregate refunds paid by a taxing district for purposes of this Section. For purposes of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, the taxing district's aggregate extension base shall not include the recapture levy authorized under this Section.

(b) Whenever the county treasurer certifies aggregate refunds at the request of a taxing district under this Section, the treasurer shall keep records of the individual refunds included in the aggregate. All such information shall be provided to the county clerk. The county clerk shall keep a record of such information and of any recapture levy that may thereafter be extended, so that the amount of such extension may be distinguished from any other levies and extensions for that district. The county treasurer's and the county clerk's records under this Section shall be available to the public upon request.

(c) Any taxpayer who has received a refund of taxes paid on his or her property, which refund has been included in a recapture levy by a particular taxing district under this Section, shall have the right to have the extension of such district's levy against his or her property abated to the extent such extension exceeds $500. The abatement shall be granted only upon application as provided in this Section. For purposes of this Section, the "property" for which the recapture extension may be abated is defined as one or more parcels which were the subject of a consolidated refund. If the taxing district's recapture levy and extension was made in a lesser amount than the aggregate of all refunds certified by the treasurer for that district, each abatement shall reflect that same proportionate reduction.

(d) A taxpayer seeking an abatement under this Section shall apply to the county treasurer no later than the due date under Section 23-10 for tax objection complaints regarding tax levies of the year for which the recapture levy was extended. The county treasurer may prescribe the form in which the application shall be made. The application shall include a copy of the decision or order that gave rise to the refund and shall specify the abatement claimed. The treasurer, assisted if necessary by the county clerk, shall confirm whether the refund identified in the application was included within the appropriate treasurer's certification of aggregate refunds, and upon such confirmation the abatement shall be allowed as provided in this Section. If the taxes abated have been paid they shall be refunded. If the treasurer cannot determine whether the application should be allowed, or otherwise denies the application, any taxpayer who has paid the tax subject to the claimed abatement may petition the circuit court for a refund in the time and manner provided in Section 20-175. Any refund granted pursuant to an abatement shall not be included in a recapture levy under this Section.

(e) The county treasurer and county clerk shall mark their records to reflect any abatement under this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.