Utah Constitution and Code

Friends and neighbors,
First I would like to thank those of you who have responded with your support. Without a few strokes of kindness every now and then I could not make it.What follows is some research done by Ron Mortensen that should help us all understand the bounds within which we must operate. He raises the interesting question,"Is what the County Assessor is doing even constitutionally legal? I know -- I know!A constitutionality legal battle is something we could not afford. But there are those among us who have pointed out that the original charter of the (dare I say the word or the acronym/) (ACLU) is/was
To provide legal protections against governmental abuse just such as what we are experiencing.As distasteful as much of what other nonsense they have litigated in the recent past, this just might fit in with their agenda. We must consider using every available tool we can collectively dream up in our fight.Have a great Labor Day weekend. D-Bell Utah Constitution and Code Here are relevant sections from the Utah Constitution and Code on property taxes and the initiative process. Also, information from the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel. Key points: 1. Assessment. Article XIII Section 2 of the Constitution requires that all property be "assessed at a uniform and equal rate in proportion to its
fair market value, to be ascertained as provided by law." However, state law requires that all property be assessed at least once every five years. My question is, doesn't the law violate the Constitution because at any given time only one-fifth of all property is assessed at a uniform and equal rate in proportion to its fair market value? For example, this year Bountiful and Huntsville may have been assessed at fair market value but all other property in Davis and Weber counties are valued at a fair market value that is 1 to 4 years or more older. How does that comply with the Constitution requirement that ALL property be assessed at a uniform and
equal rate in proportion to its fair market value? Can we challenge the current assessment law and practice on the basis that it violates the Constitution because ALL properties are notassessed (and taxed) on their fair market values each year? 2. Initiatives. According to the Utah Constitution and the initiative law,
only the state legislature can amend the Constitution with a vote of the people. An initiative cannot amend the Constitution. It can only pass a law that the legislature can change at a future
date. UTAH CONSTITUTION - PROPERTY TAX Article XIII, Section 2. [Property tax.] (1) So that each person and corporation pays a tax in proportion to the fair market value of his, her,
or its tangible property, all tangible property in the State that is not exempt under the laws of the United States or under this Constitution shall be: (a) assessed at a uniform and equal rate in proportion to its fair market value, to be ascertained as provided by law; and (b) taxed at a uniform and equal rate. (2) Each corporation and person in the State or doing business in the State is subject to taxation on the tangible property owned or used by the corporation or person within the boundaries of the State or local authority levying the tax. (3) The Legislature may provide by statute that land used for agricultural purposes be assessed based on its value for agricultural use. (4) The Legislature may by statute determine the manner and extent of taxing livestock. (5) The Legislature may by statute determine the manner and extent of taxing or exempting intangible property, except that any property tax on intangible property may not exceed .005 of its fair market value. If any intangible
property is taxed under the property tax, the income from that property may not also be taxed. (6) Tangible personal property required by law to be registered with the State before it is used on a public
highway or waterway, on public land, or in the air may be exempted from property tax by statute. If the Legislature exempts tangible personal property from property tax under this Subsection (6), it shall provide for the payment of uniform statewide fees or uniform
statewide rates of assessment or taxation on that property in lieu of the property tax. The fair market value of any property exempted under this Subsection (6) shall be considered part of the State tax base for determining the debt limitation
under Article XIV. UTAH CODE ON
INITIATIVES http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE20A/20A07.htm20A-7-10120A-7-101. Definitions. As used in this chapter: (1) "Budget officer" means: (a) for counties, the person designated as budget officer in Section 17-19-19; (b) for cities, the person designated as budget officer in Subsection 10-6-106(5); or (c) for towns, the town council. (2) "Certified" means that the county clerk has acknowledged a signature as being the signature of a registered voter. (3) "Circulation" means the process of submitting an initiative or referendum petition to legal voters for their signature. (4) "Final fiscal impact statement" means a financial statement prepared after voters approve an initiative that contains the information required by Subsection 20A-7-202.5(2) or 20A-7-502.5(2). (5) "Initial fiscal impact estimate" means a financial statement prepared according to the terms of Section 20A-7-202.5 or 20A-7-502.5 after the filing of an application for an initiative petition. (6) "Initiative" means a new law proposed for adoption by the public as provided in this chapter. NOTE: IT ONLY REFERS TO LAW, NOT TO CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT. (7) "Initiative packet" means a copy of the initiative petition, a copy of the proposed law, and the signature sheets, all of which have been bound together as a unit. (8) "Legal signatures" means the number of signatures of legal voters that: (a) meet the numerical requirements of this chapter; and (b) have been certified and verified as provided in this chapter. (9) "Legal voter" means a person who: (a) is registered to vote; or (b) becomes registered to vote before the county clerk certifies the signatures on an initiative or referendum petition. (10) (a) "Local law" includes an ordinance, resolution, master plan, and any comprehensive zoning regulations adopted by ordinance or resolution. (b) "Local law" does not include individual property zoning decisions. (11) "Local attorney" means the
county attorney, city attorney, or town attorney in whose jurisdiction a local initiative or referendum petition is circulated. (12) "Local clerk" means the county clerk, city recorder, or town clerk
in whose jurisdiction a local initiative or referendum petition is circulated. (13) "Local legislative body" means the legislative body of a county, city, or town. (14) "Measure" means an initiative or referendum. (15) "Referendum" means a law passed by the Legislature or by a local legislative body that is being submitted to the voters for
their approval or rejection. (16) "Referendum packet" means a copy of the referendum petition, a copy of the law being submitted to the voters for their approval or rejection,
and the signature sheets, all of which have been bound together as a unit. (17) "Signature sheets" means sheets in the form required by this chapter that are used to collect signatures in support of an
initiative or referendum. (18) "Sponsors" means the legal voters who support the initiative or referendum and who sign the application for petition copies. UTAH CONSTITUTION - AMENDMENT PROCESS http://le.utah.gov/~code/const/htm/CO_16002.htm Article XXIII, Section 1. [Amendments: proposal,
election.] Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in either house of the Legislature, and if two-thirds of all the members elected to each of the two houses, shall vote in favor
thereof, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their respective journals with the yeas and nays taken thereon; and the Legislature shall cause the same to be published in at least one newspaper in every county of the state, where a newspaper is
published, for two months immediately preceding the next general election, at which time the said amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection, and if a majority of the electors
voting thereon shall approve the same, such amendment or amendments shall become part of this Constitution. The revision or amendment of an entire article or the addition of a
new article to this Constitution may be proposed as a single amendment and may be submitted to the electors as a single question or proposition. Such amendment may relate to one subject, or any number of subjects, and may modify, or
repeal provisions contained in other articles of the Constitution, if such provisions are germane to the subject matter of the article being revised, amended or being proposed as a new article. OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH AND GENERAL COUNSEL The following comes from the legislatures on-line town meeting (http://www.utahsitevisit.com/townmeeting/index.html) towards the bottom of the page) Note from the Moderator: What follows is additional technical information provided by our staff in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
Depending on the language of the proposed initiative, a law could be enacted in the following way(s): 1. Through the regular legislative law process (for example, the Legislature might be able to pass a law capping the tax rate); or 2. The public might be able initiate the same law through the initiative process, which, in short, would require the following: a. Supporters would need to draft a law and make an application with the Lt. Governor to start the initiative. b. The supporters would need to gather registered voters' signatures equal to 10% of the number of people who last voted for the office of governor in the prior election and assure that the total
also includes 10% of the those that voted for governor in each of at least 26 of the State Senate Districts. c. Initiatives can only
be heard at a regular general election (November, even years), so the signatures would need to be collected and submitted to the Lt. Governor before June 15, 2008 However, if the proposed initiative largely mirrored Proposition 13, it would most likely require a constitutional amendment. There is no provision for popular revision of the Utah Constitution so a bill would need to pass the Legislature and then be approved by the voters. The Utah Constitution requires that all property be assessed at fair market value, but also allows the Legislature to exempt up to 45 percent of the value of a primary residence from the
property tax. Therefore, a primary residence is only taxed at 55 percent of value while commercial and business properties are taxed at 100 percent of value. posted by The Utah State Legislature at 11:45 AM 1 Comments UTAH CODE ON PROPERTY TAX http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE59/htm/59_02004.htm 59-2-103. Rate of assessment of property -- Residential
property. (1) All tangible taxable property located within the state shall be assessed and taxed at a uniform and equal rate on the basis of its fair market value, as valued on January 1, unless otherwise
provided by law. (2) Subject to Subsections (3) and (4), beginning on January 1, 1995, the fair market value of residential property located within the state shall be reduced by 45%, representing a residential exemption allowed under Utah Constitution Article XIII, Section 2. (3) No more than one acre of land per residential unit may qualify for the residential exemption. (4) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(b)(ii), beginning on January 1, 2005, the residential exemption in Subsection (2) is limited to one primary residence per household. (b) An owner of multiple residential properties located within the state is allowed a residential exemption under Subsection (2) for: (i) subject to Subsection (4)(a), the primary residence of the owner; and (ii) each residential property that is the primary residence of a tenant. 59-2-303.1. Mandatory cyclical appraisals. (1) Beginning January 1, 1994, each county assessor shall annually update property values of property as provided in Section 59-2-301 based on a systematic review of current market data. In addition, the county assessor shall complete a detailed review of property characteristics for each property at least once every five years. (a) The commission shall take corrective action if the commission determines
that: (i) a county assessor has not satisfactorily followed the current mass appraisal standards, as provided by law; (ii) the
sales-assessment ratio, coefficients of dispersion, or other statistical measures of appraisal performance related to the studies required by Section 59-2-704 are not within the standards provided by law; or
(iii) the county assessor has failed to comply with the requirements of Subsection (1). (b) For purposes of this section, "corrective action" includes: (i) factoring pursuant to Section 59-2-704; (ii) notifying the state auditor that the county failed to comply with the requirements of this section; or (iii) filing a petition for a court order requiring a county to take action. (2) (a) By July 1, 1993, each county assessor shall prepare a five-year plan to comply with the requirements of Subsection (1). (b) The plan shall be available in the county assessor's office for review by the public upon request. (c) The plan shall be annually reviewed and revised as necessary.