Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB01556 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	LCO No. 7053 1 of 8
4	4
5	5	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1556
6	6	January Session, 2025
7	7	LCO No. 7053
8	8
9	9
10	10	Referred to Committee on FINANCE, REVENUE AND
11	11	BONDING
12	12
13	13
14	14	Introduced by:
15	15	(FIN)
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19	19
20	20	AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT APPEALS BOARD FOR
21	21	PROPERTY VALUATION.
22	22	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
23	23	Assembly convened:
24	24
25	25	Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a 1
26	26	Connecticut appeals board for property valuation, which shall be within 2
27	27	the Office of Policy and Management for administrative purposes only, 3
28	28	to hear appeals upon the application of any person claiming to be 4
29	29	aggrieved by an action of a municipal assessor with respect to the 5
30	30	assessment list for the assessment year commencing October 1, 2025, or 6
31	31	any assessment year thereafter. 7
32	32	(b) (1) The Connecticut appeals board for property valuation shall 8
33	33	consist of five members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and 9
34	34	consent of both houses of the General Assembly. Four of the members 10
35	35	shall each have not less than ten years' experience related to the 11
36	36	appraisal or assessment of real and personal property, with at least three 12
37	37	years of such experience immediately preceding such appointment 13
38	38	having been attained primarily in the state. One member, appointed by 14
39	39	Raised Bill No. 1556
40	40
41	41
42	42
43	43	LCO No. 7053 2 of 8
44	44
45	45	the Governor as the chairperson of said board, shall be a member of the 15
46	46	bar of the state who has engaged in the practice of law for not less than 16
47	47	ten years and has substantial experience, as determined by the 17
48	48	Governor, related to the appraisal or assessment of real and personal 18
49	49	property. The Governor shall not appoint more than three members of 19
50	50	the same political party as the Governor to said board. 20
51	51	(2) All initial appointments to said board shall be made not later than 21
52	52	September 1, 2025. (A) The initial terms of two members, one of whom 22
53	53	shall be the chairperson of said board, shall terminate on September 1, 23
54	54	2031, regardless of when the initial appointments were made, (B) the 24
55	55	initial terms of two members shall terminate on September 1, 2030, 25
56	56	regardless of when the initial appointments were made, and (C) the 26
57	57	initial term of one member shall terminate on September 1, 2029, 27
58	58	regardless of when the initial appointment was made. Subsequent terms 28
59	59	shall be for six years. Any vacancy shall be filled by the Governor. Any 29
60	60	vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the 30
61	61	balance of the unexpired term. Three members of the board shall 31
62	62	constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business of said board. 32
63	63	(3) The members of said board shall serve on a full-time basis and 33
64	64	shall receive an annual salary equivalent to ninety per cent of the annual 34
65	65	salary of a judge of the Superior Court under section 51-47 of the general 35
66	66	statutes, except that the chairperson of said board shall receive an 36
67	67	annual salary equal to the annual salary of a judge of the Superior Court 37
68	68	under said section. 38
69	69	(4) No member of said board shall, during the term of such member's 39
70	70	appointment, (A) act as an attorney, an assessor, an appraiser, an 40
71	71	accountant or a counselor in any matter related directly or indirectly to 41
72	72	the substance of a matter before said board, any court in the state or any 42
73	73	municipal assessor in the state, or (B) participate in any action of said 43
74	74	board related to any matter with respect to which such member has 44
75	75	previously participated in any manner as an attorney, an assessor, an 45
76	76	appraiser, an accountant or a counselor. 46
77	77	Raised Bill No. 1556
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81	LCO No. 7053 3 of 8
82	82
83	83	(5) Any member of said board may be removed upon (A) the 47
84	84	recommendation of the Governor, subject to approval by a majority vote 48
85	85	of each house of the General Assembly, or (B) the recommendation of 49
86	86	any member of the General Assembly, subject to approval by a vote of 50
87	87	at least two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly. 51
88	88	(6) (A) Prior to said board accepting any applications under 52
89	89	subsection (c) of this section, the chairperson of said board shall notify 53
90	90	the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management of the date said 54
91	91	board will begin accepting such applications. The secretary shall certify 55
92	92	such date and notify the chief executive officer of each municipality of 56
93	93	such date. 57
94	94	(B) All boards of assessment appeals shall continue to operate until 58
95	95	such certified date and any matter pending before any such board shall 59
96	96	be transferred to the Connecticut appeals board for property valuation, 60
97	97	provided any decision made by a board of assessment appeals prior to 61
98	98	such certified date shall be valid. 62
99	99	(c) (1) Any person, including any lessee of real property whose lease 63
100	100	has been recorded as provided in section 47-19 of the general statutes 64
101	101	and who is bound under the terms of such lease to pay property taxes 65
102	102	on such property, claiming to be aggrieved by an action of a municipal 66
103	103	assessor with respect to the assessment list for the assessment year 67
104	104	commencing October 1, 2025, or any assessment year thereafter, may 68
105	105	make application, not later than two months after the date of such 69
106	106	action, in the nature of an appeal therefrom to the Connecticut appeals 70
107	107	board for property valuation. The application shall be accompanied by 71
108	108	a citation to the municipality to appear before said board and a filing fee 72
109	109	to be determined pursuant to regulations adopted in accordance with 73
110	110	the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes. 74
111	111	(2) Any such appeal from the action of a municipal assessor shall be 75
112	112	an original proceeding and heard de novo by said board. Such appeal 76
113	113	shall not be limited to the arguments, issues and evidence presented to 77
114	114	Raised Bill No. 1556
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116	116
117	117
118	118	LCO No. 7053 4 of 8
119	119
120	120	the municipal assessor or such assessor's designee. 78
121	121	(3) The pendency of such application shall not suspend an action by 79
122	122	the municipality to collect not more than seventy-five per cent of the tax 80
123	123	assessed. 81
124	124	(A) If, during the pendency of such application, a new assessment 82
125	125	year begins, the applicant may amend such application as to any matter 83
126	126	therein, including an appeal related to such new assessment year, that 84
127	127	is affected by the inception of such new year and such applicant need 85
128	128	not appear before the municipal assessor to make such amendment 86
129	129	effective. 87
130	130	(B) If, during the pendency of such application, it appears to said 88
131	131	board that any portion of the action of the municipal assessor that is 89
132	132	being appealed is not affected by the issues raised in such appeal, said 90
133	133	board may, on a motion or on its own motion, render a judgment 91
134	134	directing compliance by the taxpayer with that portion not affected by 92
135	135	such appeal. 93
136	136	(d) The Connecticut appeals board for property valuation shall, upon 94
137	137	receipt of an application under subsection (c) of this section, hold a 95
138	138	hearing on such application. Notice of the hearing shall be provided to 96
139	139	the applicant and the municipal assessor, by certified mail or, with the 97
140	140	consent of the applicant, by electronic mail, not later than twenty-one 98
141	141	days before such hearing. Whenever the application is related to 99
142	142	property for which the assessed value is less than one million dollars or 100
143	143	that is a real estate parcel used exclusively for a single-family residential 101
144	144	dwelling, the chairperson of said board may assign such application to 102
145	145	a single member of the board for purposes of the hearing. Upon 103
146	146	completion of the hearing, the assigned member shall submit findings 104
147	147	and determinations related to such application to the entire membership 105
148	148	of said board for its consideration. All hearings of said board shall be 106
149	149	held in the city of Hartford, except that hearings may be held at other 107
150	150	locations in the state at the discretion of said board. Hearings may be 108
151	151	Raised Bill No. 1556
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154	154
155	155	LCO No. 7053 5 of 8
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157	157	conducted by telephonic, video or other conferencing platforms, with 109
158	158	the consent of the applicant. 110
159	159	(e) The Connecticut appeals board for property valuation shall issue 111
160	160	a decision affirming, modifying or reversing the action of the municipal 112
161	161	assessor not later than ninety days after the hearing and shall send a 113
162	162	copy of such decision to the applicant and the municipal assessor by 114
163	163	certified mail or, with the consent of the applicant, by electronic mail. 115
164	164	Such decision shall include said board's findings and conclusions of law. 116
165	165	If said board determines during a hearing that any taxable property has 117
166	166	been omitted from the grand list by a municipal assessor, said board 118
167	167	may add such taxable property to the grand list of such municipality in 119
168	168	accordance with the provisions of section 12-115 of the general statutes, 120
169	169	as amended by this act. 121
170	170	(f) Any party aggrieved by a decision of the Connecticut appeals 122
171	171	board for property valuation may appeal in accordance with the 123
172	172	provisions of section 2 of this act. 124
173	173	(g) The Connecticut appeals board for property valuation shall not 125
174	174	consider any application filed by any person that has an application 126
175	175	filed with the Superior Court concerning the action of a board of tax 127
176	176	review or board of assessment appeals with respect to the assessment 128
177	177	list for any assessment year commencing prior to October 1, 2025, so 129
178	178	long as the application filed with the Superior Court remains pending, 130
179	179	if the application filed with said board is based on essentially the same 131
180	180	facts and questions of law as are contained in the application before the 132
181	181	Superior Court. 133
182	182	(h) The Connecticut appeals board for property valuation shall 134
183	183	provide any information concerning applications filed with and 135
184	184	hearings conducted by said board that the Secretary of the Office of 136
185	185	Policy and Management requires to carry out the secretary's duties 137
186	186	under chapter 203 of the general statutes. 138
187	187	(i) The Connecticut appeals board for property valuation shall adopt 139
188	188	Raised Bill No. 1556
189	189
190	190
191	191
192	192	LCO No. 7053 6 of 8
193	193
194	194	regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the 140
195	195	general statutes, to establish requirements for the operational processes 141
196	196	of said board, including the commencement of proceedings, prehearing 142
197	197	conferences, motion practice, required discovery, the conduct of 143
198	198	hearings, the treatment of and penalties for frivolous applications, the 144
199	199	fee to be charged, if any, for filing an application and any other matters 145
200	200	said board deems necessary to implement the provisions of this section. 146
201	201	Said board may waive any filing fee established pursuant to this 147
202	202	subsection for good cause. 148
203	203	(j) Commencing in calendar year 2027 and annually thereafter, the 149
204	204	Connecticut appeals board for property valuation shall submit a report, 150
205	205	in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 151
206	206	to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 152
207	207	cognizance of matters relating to local governments and finance, 153
208	208	revenue and bonding, setting forth, for the preceding calendar year, the 154
209	209	number of applications received by said board, the municipalities for 155
210	210	which such applications were filed, the number of hearings held by said 156
211	211	board, the number of decisions issued by said board and the outcomes 157
212	212	of such decisions and any other information said board deems relevant 158
213	213	to its duties. 159
214	214	Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective upon the date certified by the Secretary of the 160
215	215	Office of Policy and Management that the Connecticut appeals board for 161
216	216	property valuation will begin accepting applications) (a) Any person, 162
217	217	including any lessee of real property whose lease has been recorded as 163
218	218	provided in section 47-19 of the general statutes and who is bound 164
219	219	under the terms of such lease to pay property taxes on such property, 165
220	220	claiming to be aggrieved by an action of a municipal assessor may make 166
221	221	application, not later than two months after the date of the mailing of 167
222	222	notice of such action, in the nature of an appeal therefrom to the superior 168
223	223	court for the judicial district in which such municipality is situated, 169
224	224	which shall be accompanied by a citation to such municipality to appear 170
225	225	before such court. Such citation shall be signed by the same authority 171
226	226	and such appeal shall be returnable at the same time and served and 172
227	227	Raised Bill No. 1556
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229	229
230	230
231	231	LCO No. 7053 7 of 8
232	232
233	233	returned in the same manner as is required in case of a summons in a 173
234	234	civil action. The authority issuing the citation shall take from the 174
235	235	applicant a bond or recognizance to such municipality, with surety, to 175
236	236	prosecute the application to effect and to comply with and conform to 176
237	237	the orders and decrees of the court in the premises. Any such application 177
238	238	shall be a preferred case, to be heard, unless good cause appears to the 178
239	239	contrary, at the first session, by the court or by a committee appointed 179
240	240	by the court. The pendency of such application shall not suspend an 180
241	241	action by such municipality to collect not more than seventy-five per 181
242	242	cent of the tax so assessed or not more than ninety per cent of such tax 182
243	243	with respect to any real property for which the assessed value is five 183
244	244	hundred thousand dollars or more, and upon which such appeal is 184
245	245	taken. If, during the pendency of such appeal, a new assessment year 185
246	246	begins, the applicant may amend the application as to any matter 186
247	247	therein, including an appeal for such new year, that is affected by the 187
248	248	inception of such new year and such applicant need not appear before 188
249	249	the municipal assessor to make such amendment effective. 189
250	250	(b) The court shall have power to grant such relief as to justice and 190
251	251	equity appertains, upon such terms and in such manner and form as 191
252	252	appear equitable and, if the application appears to have been made 192
253	253	without probable cause, may tax double or triple costs, as the case 193
254	254	appears to demand. Costs may be taxed upon all such applications at 194
255	255	the discretion of the court. If the assessment made by the municipal 195
256	256	assessor is reduced by the court, the applicant shall be reimbursed by 196
257	257	the municipality for any overpayment of taxes, together with interest 197
258	258	and any costs awarded by the court or, at the applicant's option, shall be 198
259	259	granted a tax credit for such overpayment, interest and any costs 199
260	260	awarded by the court. Upon motion, the court shall, in the event of such 200
261	261	overpayment, enter judgment in favor of such applicant and against 201
262	262	such municipality for the whole amount of such overpayment, less any 202
263	263	lien recording fees incurred under sections 7-34a and 12-176 of the 203
264	264	general statutes, together with interest and any costs awarded by the 204
265	265	court. The amount to which the assessment is so reduced shall be the 205
266	266	Raised Bill No. 1556
267	267
268	268
269	269
270	270	LCO No. 7053 8 of 8
271	271
272	272	assessed value of such property on the grand lists for succeeding years 206
273	273	until the municipal assessor finds that the value of the applicant's 207
274	274	property has increased or decreased. 208
275	275	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
276	276	sections:
277	277
278	278	Section 1 from passage New section
279	279	Sec. 2 upon the date certified by
280	280	the Secretary of the Office
281	281	of Policy and Management
282	282	that the Connecticut
283	283	appeals board for property
284	284	valuation will begin
285	285	accepting applications
286	286	New section
287	287
288	288	Statement of Purpose:
289	289	To establish the Connecticut appeals board for property valuation to
290	290	hear property tax appeals in lieu of boards of assessment appeals.
291	291
292	292	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
293	293	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
294	294	underlined.]
295	295