LCO \\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-R01-
HB.docx
1 of 8
General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7368
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E USE OF MASS APPRAISAL SOFTWARE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 12-62 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) As used in this chapter: 3
(1) "Assessor" means the person responsible for establishing 4
property assessments for purposes of a town's grand list and includes 5
a board of assessors; 6
(2) "Field review" means the process by which an assessor, a 7
member of an assessor's staff or person designated by an assessor 8
examines each parcel of real property in its neighborhood setting, 9
compares observable attributes to those listed on such parcel's 10
corresponding property record, makes any necessary corrections based 11
on such observation and verifies that such parcel's attributes are 12
accounted for in the valuation being developed for a revaluation; 13
(3) "Full inspection" or "fully inspect" means to measure or verify 14
the exterior dimensions of a building or structure and to enter and 15
examine the interior of such building or structure in order to observe 16
and record or verify the characteristics and conditions thereof, 17
provided permission to enter such interior is granted by the property 18 Substitute Bill No. 7368
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-
R01-HB.docx }
2 of 8
owner or an adult occupant; 19
(4) "Real property" means all the property described in section 12-20
64; 21
(5) "Revaluation" or "revalue" means to establish the present true 22
and actual value of all real property in a town as of a specific 23
assessment date; 24
(6) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 25
Management, or said secretary's designee; [and] 26
(7) "Town" means any town, consolidated town and city or 27
consolidated town and borough; [.] 28
(8) "System" means a computer-aided mass appraisal software 29
system used in connection with revaluation; 30
(9) "System provider" means a company that provides a system 31
pursuant to a contract with a town; and 32
(10) "Agent" means a revaluation company certified in accordance 33
with section 12-2b and designated pursuant to subsection (e) of this 34
section. 35
(b) (1) Commencing October 1, 2006, each town shall implement a 36
revaluation not later than the first day of October that follows, by five 37
years, the October first assessment date on which the town's previous 38
revaluation became effective, provided, a town that opted to defer a 39
revaluation, pursuant to section 12-62l, shall implement a revaluation 40
not later than the first day of October that follows, by five years, the 41
October first assessment date on which the town's deferred revaluation 42
became effective. The town shall use assessments derived from each 43
such revaluation for the purpose of levying property taxes for the 44
assessment year in which such revaluation is effective and for each 45
assessment year that follows until the ensuing revaluation becomes 46
effective. 47 Substitute Bill No. 7368
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-
R01-HB.docx }
3 of 8
(2) When conducting a revaluation, an assessor shall use generally 48
accepted mass appraisal methods which may include, but need not be 49
limited to, the market sales comparison approach to value, the cost 50
approach to value and the income approach to value. Prior to the 51
completion of each revaluation, the assessor shall conduct a field 52
review. Except in a town that has a single assessor, the members of the 53
board of assessors shall approve, by majority vote, all valuations 54
established for a revaluation. 55
(3) An assessor, member of an assessor's staff or person designated 56
by an assessor may, at any time, fully inspect any parcel of improved 57
real property in order to ascertain or verify the accuracy of data listed 58
on the assessor's property record for such parcel. Except as provided in 59
subdivision (4) of this subsection, the assessor shall fully inspect each 60
such parcel once in every ten assessment years, provided, if the full 61
inspection of any such parcel occurred in an assessment year 62
preceding that commencing October 1, 1996, the assessor shall fully 63
inspect such parcel not later than the first day of October of 2009, and 64
shall thereafter fully inspect such parcel in accordance with this 65
section. Nothing in this subsection shall require the assessor to fully 66
inspect all of a town's improved real property parcels in the same 67
assessment year and in no case shall an assessor be required to fully 68
inspect any such parcel more than once during every ten assessment 69
years. 70
(4) An assessor may, at any time during the period in which a full 71
inspection of each improved parcel of real property is required, send a 72
questionnaire to the owner of such parcel to (A) obtain information 73
concerning the property's acquisition, and (B) obtain verification of the 74
accuracy of data listed on the assessor's property record for such 75
parcel. An assessor shall develop and institute a quality assurance 76
program with respect to responses received to such questionnaires. If 77
satisfied with the results of said program concerning such 78
questionnaires, the assessor may fully inspect only those parcels of 79
improved real property for which satisfactory verification of data 80 Substitute Bill No. 7368
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-
R01-HB.docx }
4 of 8
listed on the assessor's property record has not been obtained and is 81
otherwise unavailable. The full inspection requirement in subdivision 82
(3) of this subsection shall not apply to any parcel of improved real 83
property for which the assessor obtains satisfactory verification of data 84
listed on the assessor's property record. 85
(c) The following shall be available for public inspection in the 86
assessor's office, in the manner provided for access to public records in 87
subsection (a) of section 1-210, not later than the date written notices of 88
real property valuations are mailed in accordance with subsection (f) 89
of this section: (1) Any criteria, guidelines, price schedules or statement 90
of procedures used in such revaluation by the assessor or by any 91
revaluation company that the assessor designates to perform mass 92
appraisal or field review functions, all of which shall continue to be 93
available for public inspection until the town's next revaluation 94
becomes effective; and (2) a compilation of all real property sales in 95
each neighborhood for the twelve months preceding the date on which 96
each revaluation is effective, the selling prices of which are 97
representative of the fair market values of the properties sold, which 98
compilation shall continue to be available for public inspection for a 99
period of not less than twelve months immediately following a 100
revaluation's effective date. If the assessor changes any property 101
valuation as determined by the revaluation company, the assessor 102
shall document, in writing, the reason for such change and shall 103
append such written explanation to the property card for the real 104
estate parcel whose revaluation was changed. Nothing in this 105
subsection shall be construed to permit the assessor to post a plan or 106
drawing of a dwelling unit of a residential property's interior on the 107
Internet or to otherwise publish such plan or drawing. 108
(d) (1) The chief executive officer of a town shall notify the Secretary 109
of the Office of Policy and Management that the town is effecting a 110
revaluation by sending a written notice to the secretary not later than 111
thirty days after the date on which such town's assessor signs a grand 112
list that reflects assessments of real property derived from a 113 Substitute Bill No. 7368
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-
R01-HB.docx }
5 of 8
revaluation. Any town that fails to effect a revaluation for the 114
assessment date required by this section shall be subject to a penalty 115
effective for the fiscal year commencing on the first day of July 116
following such assessment date, and continuing for each successive 117
fiscal year in which the town fails to levy taxes on the basis of such 118
revaluation, provided the secretary shall not impose such penalty with 119
respect to any assessment year in which the provisions of subsection 120
(b) of section 12-117 are applicable. Such penalty shall be the forfeit of 121
the amount otherwise allocable to such town pursuant to section 7-536, 122
and the loss of fifty per cent of the amount of the grant that is payable 123
to such town pursuant to sections 3-55i, 3-55j and 3-55k. Upon 124
imposing said penalty, the secretary shall notify the chief executive 125
officer of the amount of the town's forfeiture for said fiscal year and 126
that the secretary's certification to the State Comptroller for the 127
payments of such grant in said year shall reflect the required 128
reduction. 129
(2) The secretary may waive such penalty if, in the secretary's 130
opinion, there appears to be reasonable cause for the town not having 131
implemented a revaluation for the required assessment date, provided 132
the chief executive officer of the town submits a written request for 133
such waiver. Reasonable cause shall include: (A) An extraordinary 134
circumstance or an act of God, (B) the failure on the part of any 135
revaluation company to complete its contractual duties in a time and 136
manner allowing for the implementation of such revaluation, and 137
provided the town imposed the sanctions for such failure provided in 138
a contract executed with said company, (C) the assessor's death or 139
incapacitation during the conduct of a revaluation, which results in a 140
delay of its implementation, or (D) an order by the superior court for 141
the judicial district in which the town is located postponing such 142
revaluation, or the potential for such an order with respect to a 143
proceeding brought before said court. The chief executive officer shall 144
submit such written request to the secretary not earlier than thirty 145
business days after the date on which the assessor signs a grand list 146
that does not reflect real property assessments based on values 147 Substitute Bill No. 7368
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-
R01-HB.docx }
6 of 8
established for such required revaluation, and not later than thirty 148
days preceding the July first commencement date of the fiscal year in 149
which said penalty is applicable. Such request shall include the reason 150
for the failure of the town to comply with the provisions of subsection 151
(b) of this section. The chief executive officer of such town shall 152
promptly provide any additional information regarding such failure 153
that the secretary may require. Not later than sixty days after receiving 154
such request and any such additional information, the secretary shall 155
notify the chief executive officer of the secretary's decision to grant or 156
deny the waiver requested, provided the secretary may delay a 157
decision regarding a waiver related to a potential court order until not 158
later than sixty days after the date such court renders the decision. The 159
secretary shall not grant a penalty waiver under the provisions of this 160
subsection with respect to consecutive years unless the General 161
Assembly approves such action. 162
(e) (1) When conducting a revaluation, an assessor may designate a 163
revaluation company certified in accordance with section 12-2b to 164
perform property data collection, analysis of such data and any mass 165
appraisal valuation or field review functions, pursuant to a method or 166
methods the assessor approves, and may require such company to 167
prepare and mail the valuation notices required by subsection (f) of 168
this section, provided nothing in this subsection shall relieve any 169
assessor of any other requirement relating to such revaluation imposed 170
by any provisions of the general statutes, any public or special act, the 171
provisions of any municipal charter that are not inconsistent with the 172
requirements of this section, or any regulations adopted pursuant to 173
subsection (g) of this section. 174
(2) Each system provider shall provide any agent access, at no cost, 175
to the system maintained by such provider, including, but not limited 176
to, all data and databases in the system used by the town such agent 177
has contracted with or been designated by, in the electronic format 178
utilized by the town and in a form that is not encrypted. 179
(f) Not earlier than the assessment date that is the effective date of a 180 Substitute Bill No. 7368
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-
R01-HB.docx }
7 of 8
revaluation and not later than the tenth calendar day immediately 181
following the date on which the grand list for said assessment date is 182
signed, the assessor shall mail a written notice to the last-known 183
address of the owner of each parcel of real property that was revalued. 184
Such notice shall include the valuation of such parcel as of said 185
assessment date and the valuation of such parcel in the last-preceding 186
assessment year, and shall provide information describing the 187
property owner's rights to appeal the valuation established for said 188
assessment date, including the manner in which an appeal may be 189
filed with the board of assessment appeals. 190
(g) The secretary shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the 191
provisions of chapter 54, which an assessor shall use when conducting 192
a revaluation. Such regulations shall include (1) provisions governing 193
the management of the revaluation process, including, but not limited 194
to, the method of compiling and maintaining property records, 195
documenting the assessment year during which a full inspection of 196
each parcel of improved real property occurs, and the method of 197
determining real property sales data in support of the mass appraisal 198
process, and (2) provisions establishing criteria for measuring the level 199
and uniformity of assessments generated from a revaluation, provided 200
such criteria shall be applicable to different classes of real property 201
with respect to which a sufficient number of property sales exist. 202
Certification of compliance with not less than one of said regulatory 203
provisions shall be required for each revaluation and the assessor shall, 204
not later than the date on which the grand list reflecting assessments of 205
real property derived from a revaluation is signed, certify to the 206
secretary and the chief executive officer, in writing, that the 207
revaluation was conducted in accordance with said regulatory 208
requirement. Any town effecting a revaluation with respect to which 209
an assessor is unable to certify such compliance shall be subject to the 210
penalty provided in subsection (d) of this section. In the event the 211
assessor designates a revaluation company to perform mass appraisal 212
valuation or field review functions with respect to a revaluation, the 213
assessor and the employee of said company responsible for such 214 Substitute Bill No. 7368
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07368-
R01-HB.docx }
8 of 8
function or functions shall jointly sign such certification. The assessor 215
shall retain a copy of such certification and any data in support thereof 216
in the assessor's office. The provisions of subsection (c) of this section 217
concerning the public inspection of criteria, guidelines, price schedules 218
or statement of procedures used in a revaluation shall be applicable to 219
such certification and supporting data. 220
(h) This section shall require the revaluation of real property (1) 221
designated within the 1983 Settlement boundary and taken into trust 222
by the federal government for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation 223
before June 8, 1999, or (2) taken into trust by the federal government 224
for the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. 225
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 12-62
PD Joint Favorable Subst.