PRINTER'S NO. 1501
No. 1217 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY BRIGHTBILL, SEPTEMBER 25, 1989
REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS, SEPTEMBER 25, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 19, 1974 (P.L.973, No.319),
2 entitled "An act prescribing the procedure under which an
3 owner may have land devoted to agricultural use, agricultural
4 reserve use, or forest reserve use, valued for tax purposes
5 at the value it has for such uses, and providing for
6 reassessment and certain interest payments when such land is
7 applied to other uses and making editorial changes,"
8 providing for preferential assessments for wetlands, the use
9 of which are limited by law or regulation.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. The title of the act of December 19, 1974
13 (P.L.973, No.319), known as the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest
14 Land Assessment Act of 1974, is amended to read:
15 AN ACT
16 Prescribing the procedure under which an owner may have land
17 devoted to agricultural use, agricultural reserve use, [or]
18 forest reserve use, or wetland use, valued for tax purposes
19 at the value it has for such uses, and providing for
20 reassessment and certain interest payments when such land is
21 applied to other uses and making editorial changes.
1 Section 2. The definitions of "separation" and "split-off"
2 in section 2 of the act, added March 24, 1980 (P.L.45, No.15),
3 are amended and the section is amended by adding a definition to
4 read:
5 Section 2. Definitions.--As used in this act, the following
6 words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in
7 this section unless the context obviously otherwise requires:
8 * * *
9 "Separation." A division, by conveyance or other action of
10 the owner of lands devoted to agricultural use, agricultural
11 reserve or forest reserve or wetland use and preferentially
12 assessed under the provisions of this act into two or more
13 tracts of land, the use of which continues to be agricultural,
14 agricultural reserve or forest reserve or wetland and all tracts
15 so formed meet the requirements of section 3.
16 "Split-off." A division, by conveyance or other action of
17 the owner, of lands devoted to agricultural use, agricultural
18 reserve or forest reserve or wetland use and preferentially
19 assessed under the provisions of this act into two or more
20 tracts of land, the use of which on one or more of such tracts
21 does not meet the requirements of section 3.
22 "Wetlands." Those areas that are inundated or saturated by
23 surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration
24 sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do
25 support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life
26 in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as hydrophytic
27 vegetation, the use of which is limited by law or regulation.
28 Section 3. Section 3 of the act is amended to read:
29 Section 3. Land Devoted to Agricultural Use, Agricultural
30 Reserve, and/or Forest Reserve, Wetlands, Woodlots.--(a) For
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1 general property tax purposes, the value of land which is
2 presently devoted to agricultural use, agricultural reserve,
3 and/or forest reserve shall on application of the owner and
4 approval thereof as hereinafter provided be that value which
5 such land has for its particular use if it also meets the
6 following conditions:
7 (1) Land presently devoted to agricultural use: Such land
8 was devoted to agricultural use the preceding three years and is
9 not less than ten contiguous acres in area or has an anticipated
10 yearly gross income of two thousand dollars ($2,000).
11 (2) Land presently devoted to agricultural reserve: Such
12 land is not less than ten contiguous acres in area.
13 (3) Land presently devoted to forest reserve: Such land is
14 not less than ten contiguous acres in area.
15 (3.1) Land presently devoted to wetland use: Such land is
16 not less than two contiguous acres in area.
17 (4) The contiguous tract of land for which application is
18 made is not less than the entire contiguous area used by the
19 owner for agricultural or forest reserve purposes.
20 (b) The assessor when determining the value of land in
21 agricultural use, agricultural reserve use, [or] forest reserve
22 use, or wetland use, shall, in arriving at the value of such
23 land for its particular use, consider available evidence of such
24 lands' capability for its particular use as derived from the
25 soil survey at the Pennsylvania State University, the National
26 Cooperative Soil Survey, the United States Census of
27 Agricultural Categories of land use classes, and evidence of the
28 capability of land devoted to such use.
29 (c) Farm woodlots, contiguous to, and held by the same
30 ownership as other agricultural land is not required to conform
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1 to the ten acre minimum forest reserve requirement.
2 Section 4. Section 4(b) of the act, amended May 9, 1984
3 (P.L.234, No.51), is amended to read:
4 Section 4. Applications for Preferential Assessments.--* * *
5 (b) Each owner of agricultural land, agricultural reserve
6 and/or forest reserve, or wetland, desiring preferential use
7 assessment under this act, shall make application to the county
8 board of assessment appeals of the county in which the land is
9 located. Such application must be submitted on or before June
10 first of the year immediately preceding the tax year.
11 Preferential assessment shall continue under the initial
12 application until land use change takes place.
13 * * *
14 Section 5. Section 6(a) of the act, amended March 24, 1980
15 (P.L.45, No.15), is amended to read:
16 Section 6. Separation, Split-off or Transfer.--(a) The
17 split-off of a part of the land which is being valued, assessed
18 and taxed under this act for a use other than agricultural or
19 agricultural reserve or forest reserve or wetland shall, except
20 when the split-off occurs through condemnation, subject the land
21 so divided and the entire parcel from which the land was divided
22 to liability for the roll-back taxes as set forth in section 8
23 of this act except as provided in subsection (b).
24 * * *
25 Section 6. Sections 7 and 8(a) of the act are amended to
26 read:
27 Section 7. Contiguous Land in More Than One Taxing
28 District.--Where contiguous land in agricultural, or
29 agricultural reserve, and/or forest reserve or wetland use in
30 one ownership is located in more than one taxing district,
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1 compliance with the minimum area requirement shall be determined
2 on the basis of the total area of such land and not the area
3 which is located in the particular taxing district.
4 Section 8. Determination of Amounts of Taxes When Use
5 Abandoned.--(a) When any tract of land which is in agricultural
6 use, or agricultural reserve use or forest reserve use or
7 wetland use and which is being valued, assessed and taxed under
8 the provisions of this act, is applied to a use other than
9 agricultural, agricultural reserve or forest reserve, or
10 wetland, or for any other reason, except condemnation thereof,
11 is removed from the category of land preferentially assessed and
12 taxed under this act, the land so removed and the entire tract
13 of which it was a part shall be subject to taxes in an amount
14 equal to the difference, hereinafter referred to as roll-back
15 taxes, if any, between the taxes paid or payable on the basis of
16 the valuation and the assessment authorized hereunder and the
17 taxes that would have been paid or payable had that land been
18 valued, assessed and taxed as other land in the taxing district
19 in the current tax year, the year of change, and in six of the
20 previous tax years or the number of years of preferential
21 assessment up to seven, plus interest on each year's roll-back
22 tax at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum. After the first
23 seven years of preferential assessment, the roll-back shall
24 apply to the seven most recent tax years.
25 * * *
26 Section 7. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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