PRINTER'S NO.  1729

  

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

  

SENATE BILL

 

No.

1309

Session of

2011

  

  

INTRODUCED BY ARGALL, ORIE, FONTANA, M. WHITE, ALLOWAY, MENSCH, FOLMER, YUDICHAK AND WAUGH, OCTOBER 26, 2011

  

  

REFERRED TO FINANCE, OCTOBER 26, 2011  

  

  

  

AN ACT

  

1

Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania

2

Consolidated Statutes, in consolidated county assessment, 

3

further providing for appeals by taxing authorities.

4

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

5

hereby enacts as follows:

6

Section 1.  Section 8855 of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania

7

Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

8

§ 8855.  Appeals by taxing districts.

9

[A] (a)  General rule.--Subject to the provisions of

10

subsection (b), a taxing district shall have the right to appeal

11

any assessment within its jurisdiction in the same manner,

12

subject to the same procedure and with like effect as if the

13

appeal were taken by a taxable person with respect to the

14

assessment, and, in addition, may take an appeal from any

15

decision of the board or court of common pleas as though it had

16

been a party to the proceedings before the board or court even

17

though it was not a party in fact. A taxing district authority

18

may intervene in any appeal by a taxable person under section

 


1

8854 (relating to appeals to court) as a matter of right.

2

(b)  Basis of appeals.--

3

(1)  A taxing district may not appeal the assessment of

4

property based on the sale of the property.

5

(2)  In the event that a taxing authority has appealed an

6

assessment in violation of paragraph (1) at any time after

7

the last countywide reassessment, the affected taxable person

8

shall have the right to appeal and to have the assessed value

9

changed back to the base-year value assigned prior to the

10

appeal as per county records. The change shall be made by the

11

county assessment bureau.

12

(3)  A taxing district may appeal the assessment only if

13

one of the following factors applies:

14

(i)  The appeal is from an assessment established

15

during a countywide reassessment and the appeal is filed

16

not later than the first day of September of the taxable

17

year following the year for which the newly established

18

values from the countywide reassessment shall take

19

effect.

20

(ii)  The property or parcel has been divided and

21

conveyed in smaller parcels.

22

(iii)  Improvements have been made to real property.

23

(iv)  Existing improvements have been removed from

24

real property or have been destroyed.

25

(v)  A change has occurred in the productive use of

26

the property or parcel by material alteration in the

27

nature of the use or through alteration or additions

28

which modify the use.

29

(vi)  The property or parcel that has been granted a

30

preferential assessment under the act of December 19,

- 2 -

 


1

1974 (P.L.973, No.319), known as the Pennsylvania

2

Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974, or other

3

tax discount or relief program authorized by law.

4

(4)  (i)  Any assessment change based on paragraph (3)

5

(i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or (v) that occurs after the most

6

recent countywide assessment, but prior to the date of an

7

appeal by a taxing district based on the sale of the

8

property, shall remain in place and shall be expressed in

9

base-year values.

10

(ii)  Any assessment change based on paragraph (3)

11

(vi) that occurs after the most recent countywide

12

assessment and after the date of an appeal by a taxing

13

district shall be reapplied to the corrected assessed

14

value and shall be expressed in base-year values.

15

(5)  A property's fair market value, assessed value and

16

assessment changes shall be expressed in dollar amounts that

17

reflect what the values would be in the base year.

18

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.

- 3 -