THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

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

SENATOR BRUBAKER, FINANCE, AS AMENDED, APRIL 3, 2012   

AN ACT

Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in consolidated county assessment, 

further providing for appeals by taxing authorities.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 8855 of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

§ 8855.  Appeals by taxing districts.

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

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

any assessment within its jurisdiction in the same manner,

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

appeal were taken by a taxable person with respect to the

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

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

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

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

may intervene in any appeal by a taxable person under section

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

(b)  Basis of appeals.--

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

property based on the sale of the property.

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

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

the last countywide reassessment, the affected taxable person

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

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

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

county assessment bureau.

(3)  The following shall apply:

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(i)  Appeals under paragraph (2) must be filed by

September 1, 2012.

(ii)  An appeal under paragraph (2) shall be limited

to a current owner who is an affected taxable person. A

successful appeal shall not entitle the current owner to

a refund of taxes paid in a prior year based on an

assessment in violation of paragraph (1).

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

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if one of the following factors applies:

(i)  The appeal is from an assessment established

during a countywide reassessment and the appeal is filed

not later than the first day of September of the taxable

year following the year for which the newly established

values from the countywide reassessment shall take

effect.

(ii)  The property or parcel has been divided and

conveyed in smaller parcels.

(iii)  Improvements have been made to real property.

(iv)  Existing improvements have been removed from

real property or have been destroyed.

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

the property or parcel by material alteration in the

nature of the use or through alteration or additions

which modify the use.

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

preferential assessment under the act of December 19,

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

Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974, or other

tax discount or relief program authorized by law.

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

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

(vii)  The additional revenue to be collected by the

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appealing taxing district is at least $10,000 per year.

(5)  The following apply to assessment changes:

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

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

recent countywide assessment, but prior to the date of an

appeal by a taxing district based on the sale of the

property, shall remain in place and shall be expressed in

base-year values.

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

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(vi) (4)(vi) that occurs after the most recent countywide

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assessment and after the date of an appeal by a taxing

district shall be reapplied to the corrected assessed

value and shall be expressed in base-year values.

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

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and assessment changes shall be expressed in dollar amounts

that reflect what the values would be in the base year.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days June 1,

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2012, or immediately, whichever is later.