THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY PIPPY, MARCH 16, 2012

REFERRED TO FINANCE, MARCH 16, 2012  

AN ACT

Providing for property reassessment audits.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Property

Reassessment Audit Act.

Section 2.  Legislative findings and declaration of policy.

The General Assembly finds and declares that:

(1)  Countywide reassessments, including court-ordered

reassessments, have been justified and initiated on the basis

of data derived from the State Tax Equalization Board. Both a

special performance audit conducted by the Auditor General in

February of 2011 and a report issued by the Legislative

Budget and Finance Committee in July of 2010 questioned the

veracity of data generated by the State Tax Equalization

Board.

(2)  Reassessment valuation models that rely on the State

Tax Equalization Board sales data may exclude sales

considered valid by the International Association of

Assessing Officers guidelines, contributing to inaccurate

valuation during a reassessment.

(3)  Inaccurate sales data, inappropriate modeling and

inaccurate property inventory data in reassessments affect

the uniformity of taxation mandated by section 1 of Article

VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania by yielding

unnecessarily inaccurate valuations and disproportionate tax

burdens.

Section 3.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall

have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Board."  The State Tax Equalization Board.

"Completion."  The establishment of values for all properties

in the county and released on an informal basis to the public.

"Contractor."  A mass appraisal company or other contractors,

subcontractors or vendors involved in constructing the property

inventory database or other activities related to establishing

property values.

"County."  A county of the second class, second class A,

third class, fourth class, fifth class, sixth class, seventh

class or eighth class.

Section 4.  Powers and duties of Auditor General.

(a)  Countywide reassessments.--The Auditor General shall

conduct a procedural and performance audit of a county or

contractor conducting a reassessment initiated after the

effective date of this section. The Auditor General shall

conduct an investigation, conduct the audits, issue remedial

recommendations and take any additional action as provided in

this act.

(b)  Other reassessments.--The Auditor General may, or upon

the request of the Governor or a member of the General Assembly

shall, investigate any countywide reassessment being conducted

on the effective date of this section in accordance with section

5, except that no investigation may be initiated if more than

six months have elapsed since the certification of any

valuations by the county.

(c)  Prohibition.--No countywide reassessment may be

certified by a county until the certificate under section 7(e)

has been issued.

Section 5.  Investigations.

(a)  General.--The Auditor General shall investigate any

countywide reassessment in accordance with this section.

(b)  Procedure.--

(1)  The Auditor General shall provide written notice to

the governing body of the county and the county chief

executive, if any, that an investigation has been initiated.

County officials and employees shall cooperate with the

Auditor General or his designees and shall provide requested

records within 30 days of a request.

(2)  The Auditor General, or his designee, may issue

subpoenas to compel the attendance of county officials,

employees or contractors involved in the maintenance of the

property inventory database and the production of any data or

records in the possession of county officials, employees or

contractors. If any person fails to comply with any subpoena

under this paragraph or refuses to be sworn or testify as a

witness, or if any person refuses to permit the Auditor

General to inspect records, the Auditor General may, in

addition to other remedies provided by law, petition the

court of common pleas to order compliance. The court shall

order compliance if it deems the testimony relevant to

determining the accuracy of the valuations used in the

reassessment. Nothing under this section shall authorize the

disclosure of any information deemed proprietary by law or

contract.

(c)  Contracts.--Notwithstanding any provision of law, a

contract for reassessment services executed after the effective

date of this section shall include provisions providing for the

mutual agreement of the parties to the contract that their

officers, employees and agents shall cooperate with any

investigation as provided in this section.

(d)  Report.--For investigations initiated under section

4(b), the Auditor General shall, within 60 days of the written

notice provided under subsection (b), issue a report to the

governing body and chief executive of the county setting forth

the results of the investigation and whether there are

sufficient grounds to warrant judicial action as provided under

section 6.

Section 6.  Judicial action.

(a)  Petition.--If, after an investigation under section 5,

the Auditor General determines that sufficient evidence of

inaccurate valuations exists to warrant procedural and

performance audits under section 7, the Auditor General shall

petition the Commonwealth Court to stay further use of the new

assessed values until the time as the Auditor General has

conducted the audits and issued remedial recommendations. Notice

of the petition shall be provided to the governing body and

chief executive of the county and its contractors.

(b)  Hearing.--Within 15 days of the petition under

subsection (a), the Commonwealth Court shall hold a hearing and

obtain evidence as may be necessary to issue an order.

(c)  Order.--If the Commonwealth Court determines that

sufficient evidence of inaccurate valuation of property exists,

it shall issue an order staying further implementation of the

reassessment, including, if necessary, staying any

determinations of formal appeals, pending the issuance of the

report provided under section 7. The order may contain

additional direction to the county to ensure the continuity of

operations of all taxing districts pending the issuance of the

report.

(d)  Extensions.--The Auditor General may petition the

Commonwealth Court for an extension of any deadlines provided

for under this act if necessary to complete an audit or the

implementation of recommendations.

Section 7.  Audits.

(a)  General.--If required by this act, the Auditor General

shall conduct the following:

(1)  A performance audit of the county and the contractor

to determine whether the quantity or quality of work

performed yields valuations of property of sufficient

accuracy and fairness. Ratio studies between assessed values

and market values, as determined through sales or appraisals,

may be used.

(2)  A procedural audit to examine whether the county and

the contractor are following established or recommended

procedures as set forth by the county or in accordance with

law.

(b)  Personnel.--The Auditor General shall have the same

powers of investigation provided under section 5 and may employ

accountants, assessors or statisticians who shall receive

compensation as fixed by the Auditor General.

(c)  Reports.--The Auditor General shall issue a written

report setting forth the results of the audits and any remedial

recommendations as provided under subsection (d), as follows:

(1)  For audits required under section 4(a), the Auditor

General shall issue the report to the governing body and

chief executive of the county, not later than 90 days after

the completion of the reassessment. The recommendations of

the Auditor General shall be implemented by the county within

90 days of the receipt of the report.

(2)  For audits required under section 6(c), the Auditor

General shall issue the report to the legislative body and

chief executive of the county, if any, and the Commonwealth

Court not later than 90 days after the date of the order. The

recommendations of the Auditor General shall be implemented

by the county within 90 days of the receipt of the report.

(d)  Recommendations.--The report shall contain

recommendations that the Auditor General believes may be

necessary to better ensure the accuracy and fairness of the

reassessment. The chief assessor of the county shall notify the

Auditor General in writing when the recommendations have been

fully implemented.

(e)  Certificate.--The Auditor General or Commonwealth Court

shall issue a written certificate to the county setting forth

that either recommendations were not included in the audit or

that all recommendations have been fully implemented by the

county.

(f)  Appointed liaison.--If the Auditor General deems it

necessary to assist a county in the implementation of

recommendations, the Auditor General may appoint a liaison to

assist the county and report on the progress of the

implementation. The liaison shall be an individual with at least

five years' experience in reassessment practices and procedures,

and shall receive compensation as determined by the Auditor

General.

Section 8.  Reassessment appeals.

Nothing in this act shall affect the progress of informal

appeals or conferences conducted by a county to resolve disputes

over valuation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for

audits conducted as required under section 4(a), formal appeals

shall not be conducted until after the certification of the

reassessment by the county.

Section 9.  Expiration.

This act shall expire December 31, 2015.

Section 20.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.