Citations Affected:
IC 6-1.1-4-27.5
;
IC 6-1.1-4-32
;
IC 33-3-5-2.5
;
IC 34-6-2-38.
Synopsis: Independent reassessment of Lake County. Proposed conference committee report
to EHB 1088. Provides procedures for payment of a claim of an independent appraiser. Provides
that a contract entered into by the department of local government finance is treated as if entered
into by the state board of tax commissioners. Provides that the department of local government
finance may terminate a contract for accounting services and enter into a new contract for
accounting services under provisions governing the purchase of services. Expands the direct
contempt powers of the tax court with respect to a failure to provide information to the
department of local government finance or its contractor or to pay a bill of a contractor to cover
a county township official with information necessary or useful for the completion of a general
or special reassessment. Provides for the expiration of the provisions of law requiring the
department of local government finance to conduct a general reassessment with an independent
appraiser. Provides tort immunity to the independent appraiser. Provides that the department of
local government finance shall pay a contractor's verified claim if the county auditor fails to do
so. Makes related changes. (This conference committee report removes the provisions of EHB
1088 and does the following: (1) provides procedures for payment of a claim of an independent
appraiser; (2) expands the direct contempt powers of the tax court with respect to a failure to
provide information to the department of local government finance or its contractor or to pay a
bill of a contractor to cover a county township official with information necessary or useful for
the completion of a general or special reassessment; (3) provides for the expiration of the
provisions of law requiring the department of local government finance to conduct a general
reassessment with an independent appraiser; (4) provides tort immunity to the independent
appraiser; (5) provides that a contract entered into by the department of local government finance
is treated as if entered into by the state board of tax commissioners; (6) provides that the
department of local government finance may terminate a contract for accounting services and
enter into a new contract for accounting services under provisions governing the purchase of
services; (7) provides that the department of local government finance shall pay a contractor's
verified claim if the county auditor fails to do so; and (8) makes related changes.)
Effective: Upon passage.
MR. SPEAKER:
Your Conference Committee appointed to confer with a like committee from the Senate
upon Engrossed Senate Amendments to Engrossed House Bill No. 1088 respectfully reports
that said two committees have conferred and agreed as follows to wit:
that the House recede from its dissent from all Senate amendments and that
the House now concur in all Senate amendments to the bill and that the bill
be further amended as follows:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
in a way to promote understanding of the purposes of the visit in
the affected areas. After receiving the report of assessed values from
the appraisal firm acting under a contract described in subsection
(e), the department of local government finance shall give notice to the
taxpayer and the county assessor, by mail, of the amount of the
reassessment. The notice of reassessment is subject to appeal by the
taxpayer to the Indiana board. The procedures and time limitations that
apply to an appeal to the Indiana board of a determination of the
department of local government finance apply to an appeal under this
subsection. A determination by the Indiana board of an appeal under
this subsection is subject to appeal to the tax court under
IC 6-1.1-15.
This subsection expires on the later of June 30, 2004, or the date a
final determination is entered in the last pending appeal filed under
this subsection.
(g) In order to obtain a review by the Indiana board under
subsection (f), the taxpayer must file a petition for review with the
appropriate county assessor within forty-five (45) days after the
notice of the department of local government finance is given to the
taxpayer under subsection (f). This subsection expires June 30,
2004. (h) The department of local government finance shall mail the
notice required by subsection
(e)(d) (f) within ninety (90) days after the
department receives the report for a parcel from the professional
appraisal firm. This subsection expires June 30, 2004.
(f) (i) The qualifying county shall pay the cost of a any contract
under this section which shall be paid without appropriation from the
county property reassessment fund. of the qualifying county
established under section 27 of this chapter. A contractor may
periodically submit bills for partial payment of work performed
under a contract. However, the maximum amount that the
qualifying county is obligated to pay for all contracts entered into
under subsection (e) for the general reassessment of real property
in the qualifying county to be completed for the March 1, 2002,
assessment date is twenty-five million five hundred thousand
dollars ($25,500,000). Notwithstanding any other law, a contractor
is entitled to payment under this subsection for work performed
under a contract if the contractor:
(1) submits, in the form required by
IC 5-11-10-1
, a fully
itemized, certified bill for the costs under the contract of the
work performed to the department of local government finance
for review;
(2) obtains from the department of local government finance:
(A) approval of the form and amount of the bill; and
(B) a certification that the billed goods and services billed for
payment have been received and comply with the contract;
and
(3) files with the county auditor of the qualifying county:
(A) a duplicate copy of the bill submitted to the department
of local government finance;
(B) the proof of approval provided by the department of
local government finance of the form and amount of the bill
that was approved; and
(C) the certification provided by the department of local
government finance that indicates that the goods and
services billed for payment have been received and comply
with the contract.
An approval and a certification under subdivision (2) shall be
treated as conclusively resolving the merits of the claim. Upon
receipt of the documentation described in subdivision (3), the
county auditor shall immediately certify that the bill is true and
correct without further audit, publish the claim as required by
IC 36-2-6-3
, and submit the claim to the county executive of the
qualifying county. The county executive shall allow the claim, in
full, as approved by the department of local government finance
without further examination of the merits of the claim in a regular
or special session that is held not less than three (3) days and not
more than seven (7) days after completion of the publication
requirements under
IC 36-2-6-3.
Upon allowance of the claim by
the county executive, the county auditor shall immediately issue a
warrant or check for the full amount of the claim approved by the
department of local government finance. Compliance with this
subsection shall be treated as compliance with section 28.5 of this
chapter,
IC 5-11-6-1
,
IC 5-11-10
, and
IC 36-2-6.
The determination
and payment of a claim in compliance with this subsection is not
subject to remonstrance and appeal.
IC 36-2-6-4
(f) and
IC 36-2-6-9
do not apply to a claim under this subsection.
IC 5-11-10-1.6
(d)
applies to a fiscal officer who pays a claim in compliance with this
subsection. This subsection expires June 30, 2004.
(g) (j) Notwithstanding
IC 4-13-2
, a period of seven (7) days is
permitted for each of the following to review and act under
IC 4-13-2
on a contract of the department of local government finance under this
section:
(1) The commissioner of the Indiana department of administration.
(2) The director of the budget agency.
(3) The attorney general.
(4) The governor.
(h) (k) With respect to a general reassessment of real property to be
completed under section 4 of this chapter for an assessment date after
the March 1, 2002, assessment date, the department of local
government finance shall initiate a review with respect to the real
property in a qualifying county or a township in a qualifying county, or
a portion of the real property in a qualifying county or a township in a
qualifying county. The department of local government finance may
contract to have the review performed by an appraisal firm. The
department of local government finance or its contractor shall
determine for the real property under consideration and for the
qualifying county or township the variance between:
(1) the total assessed valuation of the real property within the
qualifying county or township; and
(2) the total assessed valuation that would result if the real property
within the qualifying county or township were valued in the
manner provided by law.
the qualifying county under section 13.6 of this chapter to the
extent that the contractor finds that the land values reflect the true
tax value of land, as determined under the statutes and the rules of
the department of local government finance. If the contractor finds
that the land values determined for the qualifying county under
section 13.6 of this chapter do not reflect the true tax value of land,
the contractor shall determine land values for the qualifying
county that reflect the true tax value of land, as determined under
the statutes and the rules of the department of local government
finance. The land values determined by the contractor shall be
used to the same extent as if the land values had been determined
under section 13.6 of this chapter. The contractor shall notify the
county assessor and the township assessors in the qualifying county
of the land values as modified under this subsection. This
subsection expires June 30, 2004.
(u) A contractor acting under a contract under subsection (e)
may notify the department of local government finance if:
(1) the county auditor fails to:
(A) certify the bill;
(B) publish the claim;
(C) submit the claim to the county executive; or
(D) issue a warrant or check;
as required in subsection (i) at the first opportunity the county
auditor is legally permitted to do so;
(2) the county executive fails to allow the claim as required in
subsection (i) at the first opportunity the county executive is
legally permitted to do so; or
(3) a person or entity authorized to act on behalf of the county
takes or fails to take an action, including failure to request an
appropriation, and that action or failure to act delays or halts
the process under this section for payment of a bill submitted
by a contractor under subsection (i).
This subsection expires June 30, 2004.
(v) The department of local government finance, upon receiving
notice under subsection (u) from the contractor, shall:
(1) verify the accuracy of the contractor's assertion in the
notice that:
(A) a failure occurred as described in subsection (b)(1) or
(b)(2); or
(B) a person or entity acted or failed to act as described in
subsection (b)(3); and
(2) provide to the treasurer of state the department of local
government finance's approval under subsection (i)(2)(A) of
the bill with respect to which the contractor gave notice under
subsection (u).
This subsection expires June 30, 2004.
(w) Upon receipt of the approval of the department of local
government finance under subsection (v), the treasurer of state
shall pay the contractor the amount of the bill approved by the
department of local government finance from money in the
possession of the state that would otherwise be available for
distribution to the qualifying county, including distributions from
the property tax replacement fund or distributions of admissions
taxes or wagering taxes. This subsection expires June 30, 2004.
(x) The treasurer of state shall withhold from the part
attributable to the county of the next distribution to the county
treasurer under
IC 4-33-12-6
,
IC 4-33-13-5
,
IC 6-1.1-21-4
(b), or
another law the amount of any payment made by the treasurer of
state to the contractor under subsection (w). Money shall be
deducted first from money payable under
IC 6-1.1-21.4
(b) and then
from all other funds payable to the qualifying county. This
subsection expires June 30, 2004.
(y) Compliance with subsections (u) through (x) shall be treated
as compliance with
IC 5-11-10.This
subsection expires June 30,
2004.
(z)
IC 5-11-10-1.6
(d) applies to the treasurer of state with respect
to the payment made in compliance with subsections (u) through
(x). This subsection and subsections (u) through (y) shall be
interpreted liberally so that the state shall, to the extent legally
valid, ensure that the contractual obligations of a county under this
section are paid. Nothing in this subsection or subsections (u)
through (y) shall be construed to create a debt of the state. This
subsection expires June 30, 2004.
that is acting within the scope of the employee's duties.
____________________________ ____________________________
Representative Dobis Senator Alting
Chairperson
____________________________ ____________________________
Representative Smith M Senator Lanane
House Conferees Senate Conferees