EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 171
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
1374S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 137.115, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to personal
property assessments.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 137.115, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 137.115, 2
to read as follows:3
137.115. 1. All other laws to the contrary 1
notwithstanding, the assessor or the assessor's deputies in 2
all counties of this state including the City of St. Louis 3
shall annually make a list of all real and tangible personal 4
property taxable in the assessor's city, county, to wn or 5
district. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 of 6
this section and section 137.078, the assessor shall 7
annually assess all personal property at thirty -three and 8
one-third percent of its true value in money as of January 9
first of each calendar year. Beginning January 1, 2026, all 10
personal property shall be annually assessed at a percent of 11
its true value in money as of January first of each calendar 12
year as follows: 13
(1) A political subdivision shall annually reduce the 14
percentage of true value in money at which personal property 15
is assessed pursuant to this subsection by three and one - 16
third percent. For all tax years beginning on or after 17
January 1, 2036, all personal property shall be annually 18 SB 171 2
assessed at three-tenths of a percent of its true value in 19
money as of January first of each calendar year; 20
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this 21
subsection shall not be construed to relieve a political 22
subdivision from adjustments to property tax levies as 23
required by section 137.073; 24
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) 25
and (2) of this section to the contrary, for the purposes of 26
the tax levied pursuant to Article III, Section 38(b) of the 27
Missouri Constitution, all personal property shall be 28
assessed at thirty-three and one-third percent of its true 29
value in money as of January first of each calendar year. 30
2. The assessor shall annually assess all real 31
property, including any new construction and improvements to 32
real property, and possessory interests in real property at 33
the percent of its true value in money set in subsection [5] 34
6 of this section. The true value in money of any 35
possessory interest in real property in subclass (3), where 36
such real property is on or lies withi n the ultimate airport 37
boundary as shown by a federal airport layout plan, as 38
defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of a commercial airport having a 39
FAR Part 139 certification and owned by a political 40
subdivision, shall be the otherwise applicable true value in 41
money of any such possessory interest in real property, less 42
the total dollar amount of costs paid by a party, other than 43
the political subdivision, towards any new construction or 44
improvements on such real property completed after January 45
1, 2008, and which are included in the above -mentioned 46
possessory interest, regardless of the year in which such 47
costs were incurred or whether such costs were considered in 48
any prior year. The assessor shall annually assess all real 49
property in the following manne r: new assessed values shall 50 SB 171 3
be determined as of January first of each odd -numbered year 51
and shall be entered in the assessor's books; those same 52
assessed values shall apply in the following even -numbered 53
year, except for new construction and property improvements 54
which shall be valued as though they had been completed as 55
of January first of the preceding odd -numbered year. The 56
assessor may call at the office, place of doing business, or 57
residence of each person required by this chapter to list 58
property, and require the person to make a correct statement 59
of all taxable tangible personal property owned by the 60
person or under his or her care, charge or management, 61
taxable in the county. On or before January first of each 62
even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a 63
two-year assessment maintenance plan to the county governing 64
body and the state tax commission for their respective 65
approval or modification. The county governing body shall 66
approve and forward such plan or its alte rnative to the plan 67
to the state tax commission by February first. If the 68
county governing body fails to forward the plan or its 69
alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by 70
February first, the assessor's plan shall be considered 71
approved by the county governing body. If the state tax 72
commission fails to approve a plan and if the state tax 73
commission and the assessor and the governing body of the 74
county involved are unable to resolve the differences, in 75
order to receive state cost -share funds outlined in section 76
137.750, the county or the assessor shall petition the 77
administrative hearing commission, by May first, to decide 78
all matters in dispute regarding the assessment maintenance 79
plan. Upon agreement of the parties, the matter ma y be 80
stayed while the parties proceed with mediation or 81
arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final 82 SB 171 4
decision of the administrative hearing commission shall be 83
subject to judicial review in the circuit court of the 84
county involved. In the event a valuation of subclass (1) 85
real property within any county with a charter form of 86
government, or within a city not within a county, is made by 87
a computer, computer -assisted method or a computer program, 88
the burden of proof, supported by clea r, convincing and 89
cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, shall be on the 90
assessor at any hearing or appeal. In any such county, 91
unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a 92
presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, 93
computer-assisted method or a computer program. Such 94
evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the 95
following: 96
(1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal 97
of the property by generally accepted appraisal techniques; 98
and 99
(2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three 100
comparable properties and the address or location thereof. 101
As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means 102
that: 103
(a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the 104
property valuation; and 105
(b) Such properties are not more than one mile from 106
the site of the disputed property, except where no similar 107
properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, 108
the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such 109
property shall be within five hundred square feet in size of 110
the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in 111
age, floor plan, number of rooms, and other relevant 112
characteristics. 113 SB 171 5
[2.] 3. Assessors in each county of this state and the 114
City of St. Louis may s end personal property assessment 115
forms through the mail. 116
[3.] 4. The following items of personal property shall 117
each constitute separate subclasses of tangible personal 118
property and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes 119
of taxation at the following percentages of their true value 120
in money: 121
(1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an 122
unmanufactured condition, one -half of one percent; 123
(2) Livestock, twelve percent; 124
(3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 125
(4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration 126
as and are registered as historic motor vehicles pursuant to 127
section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty -five 128
years old and which are used solely for noncommercial 129
purposes and are operated less than two hundred hours per 130
year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five 131
percent; 132
(5) Poultry, twelve percent; and 133
(6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and 134
tools and equipment used in retooling for the purpose of 135
introducing new product lines or used for making 136
improvements to existing products by any company which is 137
located in a state enterprise zone and which is identified 138
by any standard industrial classification number cited in 139
subdivision (7) of section 135.200, tw enty-five percent. 140
[4.] 5. The person listing the property shall enter a 141
true and correct statement of the property, in a printed 142
blank prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being 143
filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to 144 SB 171 6
as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be 145
delivered to the assessor. 146
[5.] 6. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such 147
subclasses are established in Section 4(b) of Article X of 148
the Missouri Constitution and defined in secti on 137.016, 149
shall be assessed at the following percentages of true value: 150
(a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen 151
percent; 152
(b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; 153
and 154
(c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty -two 155
percent. 156
(2) A taxpayer may apply to the county assessor, or, 157
if not located within a county, then the assessor of such 158
city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real 159
property if the use or purpose of such real property is 160
changed after such property is assessed under the provisions 161
of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such 162
property shall be reclassified, he or she shall determine 163
the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage 164
of the tax year that such property was classified in each 165
subclassification. 166
[6.] 7. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 167
700.010, which are actually used as dwelling units shall be 168
assessed at the same percentage of true value as residential 169
real property for the pu rpose of taxation. The percentage 170
of assessment of true value for such manufactured homes 171
shall be the same as for residential real property. If the 172
county collector cannot identify or find the manufactured 173
home when attempting to attach the manufact ured home for 174
payment of taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the 175
county collector may request the county commission to have 176 SB 171 7
the manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such 177
request shall be granted within thirty days after the 178
request is made; however, the removal from the tax books 179
does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it 180
is later identified or found. For purposes of this section, 181
a manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental 182
park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 183
manufactured home owner shall be considered personal 184
property. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home 185
located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 186
may be considered real property. 187
[7.] 8. Each manufactured home assessed shall be 188
considered a parcel for the purpose of reimbursement 189
pursuant to section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is 190
deemed to be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of 191
section 442.015 and assessed as a real ty improvement to the 192
existing real estate parcel. 193
[8.] 9. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the 194
assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the 195
personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 196
owner unless the manufactu red home is deemed to be real 197
estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015, in 198
which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment 199
of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the 200
existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real 201
property tax statement of the real estate owner. 202
[9.] 10. The assessor of each county and each city not 203
within a county shall use the trade -in value published in 204
the October issue of the National Automobile Dealers' 205
Association Official Used Car Guide, or its successor 206
publication, as the recommended guide of information for 207
determining the true value of motor vehicles described in 208 SB 171 8
such publication. The assessor shall not use a value that 209
is greater than the average trade -in value in determining 210
the true value of the motor vehicle without performing a 211
physical inspection of the motor vehicle. For vehicles two 212
years old or newer from a vehicle's model year, the assessor 213
may use a value other than average without performing a 214
physical inspection of the motor vehicle. In the absence of 215
a listing for a particular motor vehicle in such 216
publication, the assessor shall use such information or 217
publications which in the assessor's judgment will fairly 218
estimate the true value in mone y of the motor vehicle. 219
[10.] 11. Before the assessor may increase the 220
assessed valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real 221
property by more than fifteen percent since the last 222
assessment, excluding increases due to new construction or 223
improvements, the assessor shall conduct a physical 224
inspection of such property. 225
[11.] 12. If a physical inspection is required, 226
pursuant to subsection [10] 11 of this section, the assessor 227
shall notify the property owner of that fact in writing and 228
shall provide the owner clear written notice of the owner's 229
rights relating to the physical inspection. If a physical 230
inspection is required, the property owner may request that 231
an interior inspection be performed during the physical 232
inspection. The owner shall have no less than thirty days 233
to notify the assessor of a request for an interior physical 234
inspection. 235
[12.] 13. A physical inspection, as required by 236
subsection [10] 11 of this section, shall include, but not 237
be limited to, an on -site personal observation and review of 238
all exterior portions of the land and any buildings and 239
improvements to which the inspector has or may reasonably 240 SB 171 9
and lawfully gain external access, and shall include an 241
observation and review of the interior of any buil dings or 242
improvements on the property upon the timely request of the 243
owner pursuant to subsection 11 of this section. Mere 244
observation of the property via a drive -by inspection or the 245
like shall not be considered sufficient to constitute a 246
physical inspection as required by this section. 247
[13.] 14. A county or city collector may accept credit 248
cards as proper form of payment of outstanding property tax 249
or license due. No county or city collector may charge 250
surcharge for payment by credit card which exceeds the fee 251
or surcharge charged by the credit card bank, processor, or 252
issuer for its service. A county or city collector may 253
accept payment by electronic transfers of funds in payment 254
of any tax or license and charge the person making such 255
payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the 256
bank, processor, or issuer of such electronic payment. 257
[14.] 15. Any county or city not within a county in 258
this state may, by an affirmative vote of the governing body 259
of such county, opt out of the provisions of this section 260
and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by 261
house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general assembly, 262
second regular session and section 137.073 as modified by 263
house committee substitute for senate sub stitute for senate 264
committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety -second 265
general assembly, second regular session, for the next year 266
of the general reassessment, prior to January first of any 267
year. No county or city not within a county shall exe rcise 268
this opt-out provision after implementing the provisions of 269
this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 270
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general 271
assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as 272 SB 171 10
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 273
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 274
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a 275
year of general reassessment. For the purposes of applying 276
the provisions of this s ubsection, a political subdivision 277
contained within two or more counties where at least one of 278
such counties has opted out and at least one of such 279
counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate 280
as in effect prior to the enactment of hous e bill no. 1150 281
of the ninety-first general assembly, second regular 282
session. A governing body of a city not within a county or 283
a county that has opted out under the provisions of this 284
subsection may choose to implement the provisions of this 285
section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 286
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general 287
assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as 288
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 289
for senate committee substit ute for senate bill no. 960, 290
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, for 291
the next year of general reassessment, by an affirmative 292
vote of the governing body prior to December thirty -first of 293
any year. 294
[15.] 16. The governing body of any city of the third 295
classification with more than twenty -six thousand three 296
hundred but fewer than twenty -six thousand seven hundred 297
inhabitants located in any county that has exercised its 298
authority to opt out under subsection [14] 15 of this 299
section may levy separate and differing tax rates for real 300
and personal property only if such city bills and collects 301
its own property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the 302
billing and collection of such separate and differing tax 303 SB 171 11
rates. Such separate and differing rates shall not exceed 304
such city's tax rate ceiling. 305
[16.] 17. Any portion of real property that is 306
available as reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for 307
minerals for purposes of excavation for future use or sale 308
to others that has not been bonded and permitted under 309
chapter 444 shall be assessed based upon how the real 310
property is currently being used. Any information provided 311
to a county assessor, state tax commission, state agency, or 312
political subdivision responsibl e for the administration of 313
tax policies shall, in the performance of its duties, make 314
available all books, records, and information requested, 315
except such books, records, and information as are by law 316
declared confidential in nature, including individ ually 317
identifiable information regarding a specific taxpayer or 318
taxpayer's mine property. For purposes of this subsection, 319
"mine property" shall mean all real property that is in use 320
or readily available as a reserve for strip, surface, or 321
coal mining for minerals for purposes of excavation for 322
current or future use or sale to others that has been bonded 323
and permitted under chapter 444. 324