Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 260
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/16/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Finance and Tax (Flores) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
    6  194.011, Florida Statutes, is amended, present paragraph (g) of
    7  that subsection is redesignated as paragraph (h), a new
    8  paragraph (g) is added to that subsection, and paragraph (b) of
    9  subsection (4) of that section is amended, to read:
   10         194.011 Assessment notice; objections to assessments.—
   11         (3) A petition to the value adjustment board must be in
   12  substantially the form prescribed by the department.
   13  Notwithstanding s. 195.022, a county officer may not refuse to
   14  accept a form provided by the department for this purpose if the
   15  taxpayer chooses to use it. A petition to the value adjustment
   16  board shall describe the property by parcel number and shall be
   17  filed as follows:
   18         (a) The clerk of the value adjustment board and the
   19  property appraiser shall have available and shall distribute
   20  forms prescribed by the Department of Revenue on which the
   21  petition shall be made. Such petition shall be sworn to by the
   22  petitioner.
   23         (g) An owner of multiple tangible personal property
   24  accounts may file with the value adjustment board a single joint
   25  petition if the property appraiser determines that the tangible
   26  personal property accounts are substantially similar in nature.
   27         (4)
   28         (b) No later than 7 days before the hearing, if the
   29  petitioner has provided the information required under paragraph
   30  (a), and if requested in writing by the petitioner, the property
   31  appraiser shall provide to the petitioner a list of evidence to
   32  be presented at the hearing, together with copies of all
   33  documentation to be considered by the value adjustment board and
   34  a summary of evidence to be presented by witnesses. The evidence
   35  list must contain the property appraiser’s property record card
   36  if provided by the clerk. Failure of the property appraiser to
   37  timely comply with the requirements of this paragraph shall
   38  result in a rescheduling of the hearing.
   39         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 194.013, Florida
   40  Statutes, is amended to read:
   41         194.013 Filing fees for petitions; disposition; waiver.—
   42         (1) If so required by resolution of the value adjustment
   43  board, a petition filed pursuant to s. 194.011 shall be
   44  accompanied by a filing fee to be paid to the clerk of the value
   45  adjustment board in an amount determined by the board not to
   46  exceed $15 for each separate parcel of property, real or
   47  personal, covered by the petition and subject to appeal.
   48  However, no such filing fee may not be required with respect to
   49  an appeal from the disapproval of homestead exemption under s.
   50  196.151 or from the denial of tax deferral under s. 197.2425.
   51  Only a single filing fee shall be charged under this section as
   52  to any particular parcel of real property or tangible personal
   53  property account despite the existence of multiple issues and
   54  hearings pertaining to such parcel. For joint petitions filed
   55  pursuant to s. 194.011(3)(e), or (f), or (g), a single filing
   56  fee shall be charged. Such fee shall be calculated as the cost
   57  of the special magistrate for the time involved in hearing the
   58  joint petition and shall not exceed $5 per parcel of real
   59  property or tangible property account. Such Said fee is to be
   60  proportionately paid by affected parcel owners.
   61         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
   62  made by this act to section 194.011, Florida Statutes, in
   63  references thereto, paragraph (a) of subsection (6) and
   64  subsection (8) of section 196.011, Florida Statutes, are
   65  reenacted to read:
   66         196.011 Annual application required for exemption.—
   67         (6)(a) Once an original application for tax exemption has
   68  been granted, in each succeeding year on or before February 1,
   69  the property appraiser shall mail a renewal application to the
   70  applicant, and the property appraiser shall accept from each
   71  such applicant a renewal application on a form prescribed by the
   72  Department of Revenue. Such renewal application shall be
   73  accepted as evidence of exemption by the property appraiser
   74  unless he or she denies the application. Upon denial, the
   75  property appraiser shall serve, on or before July 1 of each
   76  year, a notice setting forth the grounds for denial on the
   77  applicant by first-class mail. Any applicant objecting to such
   78  denial may file a petition as provided for in s. 194.011(3).
   79         (8) Any applicant who is qualified to receive any exemption
   80  under subsection (1) and who fails to file an application by
   81  March 1, must file an application for the exemption with the
   82  property appraiser on or before the 25th day following the
   83  mailing by the property appraiser of the notices required under
   84  s. 194.011(1). Upon receipt of sufficient evidence, as
   85  determined by the property appraiser, demonstrating the
   86  applicant was unable to apply for the exemption in a timely
   87  manner or otherwise demonstrating extenuating circumstances
   88  judged by the property appraiser to warrant granting the
   89  exemption, the property appraiser may grant the exemption. If
   90  the applicant fails to produce sufficient evidence demonstrating
   91  the applicant was unable to apply for the exemption in a timely
   92  manner or otherwise demonstrating extenuating circumstances as
   93  judged by the property appraiser, the applicant may file,
   94  pursuant to s. 194.011(3), a petition with the value adjustment
   95  board requesting that the exemption be granted. Such petition
   96  must be filed during the taxable year on or before the 25th day
   97  following the mailing of the notice by the property appraiser as
   98  provided in s. 194.011(1). Notwithstanding the provisions of s.
   99  194.013, such person must pay a nonrefundable fee of $15 upon
  100  filing the petition. Upon reviewing the petition, if the person
  101  is qualified to receive the exemption and demonstrates
  102  particular extenuating circumstances judged by the value
  103  adjustment board to warrant granting the exemption, the value
  104  adjustment board may grant the exemption for the current year.
  105         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
  106  
  107  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  108  And the title is amended as follows:
  109         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  110  and insert:
  111                        A bill to be entitled                      
  112         An act relating to value adjustment board proceedings;
  113         amending s. 194.011, F.S.; requiring the clerk of the
  114         value adjustment board to have available and
  115         distribute specified forms; authorizing the owner of
  116         multiple tangible personal property accounts to file a
  117         single joint petition with the value adjustment board
  118         under certain circumstances; requiring the property
  119         appraiser to include the property record card in an
  120         evidence list for a value adjustment board hearing
  121         under certain circumstances; amending s. 194.013,
  122         F.S.; providing that only a single filing fee may be
  123         charged for specified petitions to the value
  124         adjustment board with respect to real property or
  125         tangible personal property accounts; reenacting s.
  126         196.011(6)(a) and (8), F.S., relating to applications
  127         for certain tax exemptions, to incorporate the
  128         amendment made to s. 194.011, F.S., in references
  129         thereto; providing an effective date.