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First Substitute S.B. 139
Senator Pete Suazo proposes to substitute the following bill:
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PROPERTY TAX - FARMLAND ASSESSMENT
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ACT AMENDMENTS
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2000 GENERAL SESSION
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STATE OF UTAH
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Sponsor: Pete Suazo
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AN ACT RELATING TO REVENUE AND TAXATION; AMENDING THE
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT AS AGRICULTURAL LAND; AMENDING THE
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REQUIREMENTS FOR ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY BY A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY;
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AND MAKING TECHNICAL CHANGES.
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This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
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AMENDS:
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59-2-503, as last amended by Chapter 235, Laws of Utah 1992
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59-2-511, as last amended by Chapter 359, Laws of Utah 1999
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1.
Section
59-2-503
is amended to read:
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59-2-503. Qualifications for agricultural use valuation.
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(1) For general property tax purposes, land may be assessed based on the value which the
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land has for agricultural use if the land:
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(a) is not less than five contiguous acres in area, except where devoted to agricultural use
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in conjunction with other eligible acreage or as provided under Subsection (4);
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(b) is actively devoted to agricultural use; and
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(c) has been actively devoted to agricultural use for at least two successive years
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immediately preceding the tax year in issue.
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(2) (a) For the purpose of Subsection (1), "actively devoted to agricultural use" means that
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the land produces in excess of 50% of the average agricultural production per acre for the given
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type of land and the given county or area.
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(b) For the purpose of determining production levels for a given county or area and a given
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type of land the first applicable of the following established authorities shall be used:
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(i) production levels reported in the current publication of the Utah Agricultural Statistics;
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(ii) current crop budgets developed and published by Utah State University; and
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(iii) other acceptable standards of agricultural production designated by the commission
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by rule adopted in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
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(3) Land may also be assessed based on its agricultural value if the land is:
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(a) subject to the privilege tax imposed by Section
59-4-101
;
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(b) owned by the state or any of its political subdivisions; and
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(c) meets the requirements of Subsection (1).
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(4) The commission may grant a waiver of the acreage limitation upon appeal by the owner
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and submission of proof that:
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(a) 80% or more of the owner's, purchaser's, or lessee's income is derived from agricultural
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products produced on the property in question[.]; or
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(b) (i) the failure to meet the acreage requirement arose solely as a result of an acquisition
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by a governmental entity by eminent domain or the threat or imminence of an eminent domain
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proceeding;
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(ii) the land is actively devoted to agricultural use as defined in Subsection (2); and
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(iii) no change occurs in the ownership of the land.
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(5) The commission may grant a waiver of the agricultural production requirements for
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the tax year in issue upon appeal by the owner and submission of proof that:
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(a) the land was valued on the basis of agricultural use for at least two years immediately
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preceding that tax year; and
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(b) the failure to meet the agricultural production requirements for that tax year was due
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to no fault or act of the owner, purchaser, or lessee.
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(6) As used in Subsection (5)(b), "fault" does not include any of the following:
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(a) intentional planting of crops or trees which, because of the maturation period do not
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give the owner, purchaser, or lessee a reasonable opportunity to satisfy the production level
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requirement; or
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(b) implementation of a bona-fide range improvement program, crop rotation program, or
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other similar accepted cultural practices which do not give the owner, purchaser, or lessee a
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reasonable opportunity to satisfy the production level requirement.
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Section 2.
Section
59-2-511
is amended to read:
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59-2-511. Acquisition of property by governmental entity -- Requirements.
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(1) For purposes of this section, "governmental entity" means:
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(a) the United States;
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(b) the state;
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(c) a political subdivision of the state, including:
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(i) a county;
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(ii) a city;
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(iii) a town;
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(iv) a school district; or
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(v) a special district; or
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(d) an entity created by the state or the United States, including:
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(i) an agency;
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(ii) a board;
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(iii) a bureau;
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(iv) a commission;
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(v) a committee;
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(vi) a department;
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(vii) a division;
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(viii) an institution;
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(ix) an instrumentality; or
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(x) an office.
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(2) (a) Except as provided in Subsections (3) and (4), property acquired by a governmental
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entity is subject to the rollback tax imposed by this part if:
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(i) prior to the governmental entity acquiring the property, the property is:
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(A) valued under this part;
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(B) assessed under this part; and
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(C) taxed under this part; and
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(ii) after the governmental entity acquires the property, the property is not actively devoted
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to agricultural use.
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(b) If property is subject to the rollback tax under Subsection (2)(a):
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(i) the owner of record shall pay the rollback tax imposed by this part before title may pass;
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and
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(ii) prior to the governmental entity acquiring the property, the governmental entity shall:
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(A) provide notice of the sale to the county assessor of the county in which the property
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is located; and
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(B) receive a clearance from the county assessor of the county in which the property is
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located stating that:
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(I) rollback taxes have been paid; or
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(II) the property is not subject to rollback taxes imposed by this part.
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(c) A person dedicating a public right-of-way to a governmental entity shall pay the
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rollback tax imposed by this part if:
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(i) a portion of the public right-of-way is located within a subdivision as defined in Section
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10-9-103
; or
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(ii) in exchange for the dedication, the person dedicating the public right-of-way receives:
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(A) money; or
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(B) other consideration.
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(3) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4), property acquired by a governmental entity
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is not subject to the rollback tax imposed by this part, but is subject to a one-time in lieu fee
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payment as provided in Subsection (3)(b), if:
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(i) the governmental entity acquires the property by eminent domain;
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(ii) (A) the property is under the threat or imminence of eminent domain proceedings; and
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(B) the governmental entity provides written notice of the proceedings to the owner of
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record; or
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(iii) the property is donated to the governmental entity.
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(b) (i) If a governmental entity acquires property under Subsection (3)(a)(iii), the
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governmental entity shall make a one-time in lieu fee payment:
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(A) to the county assessor of the county in which the property is located; and
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(B) in an amount equal to the amount of rollback tax calculated under Section
59-2-506
.
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(ii) If a governmental entity acquires property under Subsection (3)(a)(i) or (3)(a)(ii), the
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governmental entity shall make a one-time in lieu fee payment:
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(A) to the county assessor of the county in which the property is located; and
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(B) (I) if the land remaining after the acquisition is five acres or more when used in
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conjunction with other qualifying acreage, then in an amount equal to the rollback tax under
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Section
59-2-506
on the land acquired by the governmental entity; or
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(II) if the land remaining after the acquisition is less than five acres when used in
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conjunction with other qualifying acreage, then in an amount equal to the rollback tax under
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Section
59-2-506
on the land acquired by the governmental entity and the remaining,
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non-qualifying land.
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[(ii)] (c) A county receiving an in lieu fee payment under Subsection (3)(b)[(i)] shall
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distribute the revenues generated by the payment:
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[(A)] (i) to the taxing entities in which the property is located; and
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[(B)] (ii) in the same proportion as the revenue from real property taxes is distributed.
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(4) Except as provided in Section
59-2-506
, if a governmental entity acquires property and
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converts the property into a conservation easement under Section
59-2-506
:
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(a) the property is not subject to the rollback tax imposed by this part; and
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(b) the governmental entity acquiring the property is not required to make an in lieu fee
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payment under Subsection (3)(b).
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