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. 294
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BRATTIN.
1418S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 137.115, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to property
taxes.
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Section A. Section 137.115, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1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 con trary 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, town 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 such that the amount 16
by which the revenue generated by taxes levied on such 17
personal property is substantially equal to one hundred 18 SB 294 2
percent of the growth in revenue generated by real property 19
assessment growth. Annual reductions shall be made pursuant 20
to this subdivision until December 31, 2074. Thereafter, 21
the percentage of true value in money at which personal 22
property is assessed shall be equal to the percentage in 23
effect on December 31, 2074; 24
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this 25
subsection shall not be construed to relieve a political 26
subdivision from adjustments to property tax levies as 27
required by section 137.073; 28
(3) For the purposes of sub division (1) of this 29
subsection, "real property assessment growth" shall mean the 30
growth in revenue from increases in the total assessed 31
valuation of all real property in a political subdivision 32
over the revenue generated from the assessed valuation of 33
such real property from the previous calendar year. Real 34
property assessment growth shall not include any revenue in 35
excess of the percent increase in the consumer price index, 36
as described in subsection 2 of section 137.073; 37
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) 38
to (3) of this subsection to the contrary, for the purposes 39
of the tax levied pursuant to Article III, Section 38(b) of 40
the Missouri Constitution, all personal property shall be 41
assessed at thirty-three and one-third percent of its true 42
value in money as of January first of each calendar year; 43
(5) Subject to appropriations, a political subdivision 44
that receives total real and personal property tax revenues 45
below the allowable amount for such political subdiv ision in 46
such calendar year due to the provisions of subdivisions (1) 47
to (4) of this subsection shall receive reimbursement from 48
the state in an amount equal to the amount that such 49
revenues are below the total allowable amount of property 50 SB 294 3
tax revenues for such political subdivision in such calendar 51
year. 52
2. The assessor shall annually assess all real 53
property, including any new construction and improvements to 54
real property, and possessory interests in real property at 55
the percent of its tru e value in money set in subsection [5] 56
6 of this section. The true value in money of any 57
possessory interest in real property in subclass (3), where 58
such real property is on or lies within the ultimate airport 59
boundary as shown by a federal airport la yout plan, as 60
defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of a commercial airport having a 61
FAR Part 139 certification and owned by a political 62
subdivision, shall be the otherwise applicable true value in 63
money of any such possessory interest in real property, less 64
the total dollar amount of costs paid by a party, other than 65
the political subdivision, towards any new construction or 66
improvements on such real property completed after January 67
1, 2008, and which are included in the above -mentioned 68
possessory interest, re gardless of the year in which such 69
costs were incurred or whether such costs were considered in 70
any prior year. The assessor shall annually assess all real 71
property in the following manner: new assessed values shall 72
be determined as of January first o f each odd-numbered year 73
and shall be entered in the assessor's books; those same 74
assessed values shall apply in the following even -numbered 75
year, except for new construction and property improvements 76
which shall be valued as though they had been compl eted as 77
of January first of the preceding odd -numbered year. The 78
assessor may call at the office, place of doing business, or 79
residence of each person required by this chapter to list 80
property, and require the person to make a correct statement 81
of all taxable tangible personal property owned by the 82 SB 294 4
person or under his or her care, charge or management, 83
taxable in the county. On or before January first of each 84
even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a 85
two-year assessment maintena nce plan to the county governing 86
body and the state tax commission for their respective 87
approval or modification. The county governing body shall 88
approve and forward such plan or its alternative to the plan 89
to the state tax commission by February firs t. If the 90
county governing body fails to forward the plan or its 91
alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by 92
February first, the assessor's plan shall be considered 93
approved by the county governing body. If the state tax 94
commission fails to approve a plan and if the state tax 95
commission and the assessor and the governing body of the 96
county involved are unable to resolve the differences, in 97
order to receive state cost -share funds outlined in section 98
137.750, the county or the assessor s hall petition the 99
administrative hearing commission, by May first, to decide 100
all matters in dispute regarding the assessment maintenance 101
plan. Upon agreement of the parties, the matter may be 102
stayed while the parties proceed with mediation or 103
arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final 104
decision of the administrative hearing commission shall be 105
subject to judicial review in the circuit court of the 106
county involved. In the event a valuation of subclass (1) 107
real property within any c ounty with a charter form of 108
government, or within a city not within a county, is made by 109
a computer, computer -assisted method or a computer program, 110
the burden of proof, supported by clear, convincing and 111
cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, sha ll be on the 112
assessor at any hearing or appeal. In any such county, 113
unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a 114 SB 294 5
presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, 115
computer-assisted method or a computer program. Such 116
evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the 117
following: 118
(1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal 119
of the property by generally accepted appraisal techniques; 120
and 121
(2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three 122
comparable properties and the address or location thereof. 123
As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means 124
that: 125
(a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the 126
property valuation; and 127
(b) Such properties are not more than one mile from 128
the site of the disputed property, except where no similar 129
properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, 130
the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such 131
property shall be within five hundred square feet in size of 132
the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in 133
age, floor plan, number of rooms, and other relevant 134
characteristics. 135
[2.] 3. Assessors in each county of this state and the 136
City of St. Louis may send personal property assessment 137
forms through the mail. 138
[3.] 4. The following items of personal property shall 139
each constitute separate subclasses of tangible personal 140
property and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes 141
of taxation at the following percentages of their true value 142
in money: 143
(1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an 144
unmanufactured condition, one -half of one percent; 145
(2) Livestock, twelve percent; 146 SB 294 6
(3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 147
(4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration 148
as and are registered a s historic motor vehicles pursuant to 149
section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty -five 150
years old and which are used solely for noncommercial 151
purposes and are operated less than two hundred hours per 152
year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five 153
percent; 154
(5) Poultry, twelve percent; and 155
(6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and 156
tools and equipment used in retooling for the purpose of 157
introducing new product lines or used for making 158
improvements to existing products by any company which is 159
located in a state enterprise zone and which is identified 160
by any standard industrial classification number cited in 161
subdivision (7) of section 135.200, twenty -five percent. 162
[4.] 5. The person listing the property shall enter a 163
true and correct statement of the property, in a printed 164
blank prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being 165
filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to 166
as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be 167
delivered to the assessor. 168
[5.] 6. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such 169
subclasses are established in Section 4(b) of Article X of 170
the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, 171
shall be assessed at the following percentages of tr ue value: 172
(a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen 173
percent; 174
(b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; 175
and 176
(c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty -two 177
percent. 178 SB 294 7
(2) A taxpayer may apply to the county asses sor, or, 179
if not located within a county, then the assessor of such 180
city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real 181
property if the use or purpose of such real property is 182
changed after such property is assessed under the provisions 183
of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such 184
property shall be reclassified, he or she shall determine 185
the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage 186
of the tax year that such property was classified in each 187
subclassification. 188
[6.] 7. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 189
700.010, which are actually used as dwelling units shall be 190
assessed at the same percentage of true value as residential 191
real property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage 192
of assessment of true value f or such manufactured homes 193
shall be the same as for residential real property. If the 194
county collector cannot identify or find the manufactured 195
home when attempting to attach the manufactured home for 196
payment of taxes owed by the manufactured home own er, the 197
county collector may request the county commission to have 198
the manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such 199
request shall be granted within thirty days after the 200
request is made; however, the removal from the tax books 201
does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it 202
is later identified or found. For purposes of this section, 203
a manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental 204
park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 205
manufactured home owner shall be considered personal 206
property. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home 207
located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 208
may be considered real property. 209 SB 294 8
[7.] 8. Each manufactured home assessed shall be 210
considered a parcel for the purpose of reimbursement 211
pursuant to section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is 212
deemed to be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of 213
section 442.015 and assessed as a realty improvement to the 214
existing real estate parcel. 215
[8.] 9. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the 216
assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the 217
personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 218
owner unless the manufactured home is deemed to be real 219
estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015, in 220
which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment 221
of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the 222
existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real 223
property tax statement of the real estate owner. 224
[9.] 10. The assessor of each county and each city not 225
within a county shall use the trade -in value published in 226
the October issue of the National Automobile Dealers' 227
Association Official Used Car Guide, or its successor 228
publication, as the recommende d guide of information for 229
determining the true value of motor vehicles described in 230
such publication. The assessor shall not use a value that 231
is greater than the average trade -in value in determining 232
the true value of the motor vehicle without perfor ming a 233
physical inspection of the motor vehicle. For vehicles two 234
years old or newer from a vehicle's model year, the assessor 235
may use a value other than average without performing a 236
physical inspection of the motor vehicle. In the absence of 237
a listing for a particular motor vehicle in such 238
publication, the assessor shall use such information or 239
publications which in the assessor's judgment will fairly 240
estimate the true value in money of the motor vehicle. 241 SB 294 9
[10.] 11. Before the assessor may i ncrease the 242
assessed valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real 243
property by more than fifteen percent since the last 244
assessment, excluding increases due to new construction or 245
improvements, the assessor shall conduct a physical 246
inspection of such pr operty. 247
[11.] 12. If a physical inspection is required, 248
pursuant to subsection [10] 11 of this section, the assessor 249
shall notify the property owner of that fact in writing and 250
shall provide the owner clear written notice of the owner's 251
rights relating to the physical inspection. If a physical 252
inspection is required, the property owner may request that 253
an interior inspection be performed during the physical 254
inspection. The owner shall have no less than thirty days 255
to notify the assessor of a request for an interior physical 256
inspection. 257
[12.] 13. A physical inspection, as required by 258
subsection [10] 11 of this section, shall include, but not 259
be limited to, an on -site personal observation and review of 260
all exterior portions of the lan d and any buildings and 261
improvements to which the inspector has or may reasonably 262
and lawfully gain external access, and shall include an 263
observation and review of the interior of any buildings or 264
improvements on the property upon the timely request of the 265
owner pursuant to subsection [11] 12 of this section. Mere 266
observation of the property via a drive -by inspection or the 267
like shall not be considered sufficient to constitute a 268
physical inspection as required by this section. 269
[13.] 14. A county or city collector may accept credit 270
cards as proper form of payment of outstanding property tax 271
or license due. No county or city collector may charge 272
surcharge for payment by credit card which exceeds the fee 273 SB 294 10
or surcharge charged by the credit ca rd bank, processor, or 274
issuer for its service. A county or city collector may 275
accept payment by electronic transfers of funds in payment 276
of any tax or license and charge the person making such 277
payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the 278
bank, processor, or issuer of such electronic payment. 279
[14.] 15. Any county or city not within a county in 280
this state may, by an affirmative vote of the governing body 281
of such county, opt out of the provisions of this section 282
and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by 283
house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general assembly, 284
second regular session and section 137.073 as modified by 285
house committee substitute for senate substitute for senate 286
committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety-second 287
general assembly, second regular session, for the next year 288
of the general reassessment, prior to January first of any 289
year. No county or city not within a county shall exercise 290
this opt-out provision after implementing the provisi ons of 291
this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 292
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general 293
assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as 294
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 295
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 296
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a 297
year of general reassessment. For the purposes of applying 298
the provisions of this subsection, a political subdivision 299
contained within two or more counties where at least one of 300
such counties has opted out and at least one of such 301
counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate 302
as in effect prior to the enactment of house bill no. 1150 303
of the ninety-first general assembly, secon d regular 304
session. A governing body of a city not within a county or 305 SB 294 11
a county that has opted out under the provisions of this 306
subsection may choose to implement the provisions of this 307
section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 308
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general 309
assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as 310
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 311
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 312
ninety-second general assembly , second regular session, for 313
the next year of general reassessment, by an affirmative 314
vote of the governing body prior to December thirty -first of 315
any year. 316
[15.] 16. The governing body of any city of the third 317
classification with more than twen ty-six thousand three 318
hundred but fewer than twenty -six thousand seven hundred 319
inhabitants located in any county that has exercised its 320
authority to opt out under subsection [14] 15 of this 321
section may levy separate and differing tax rates for real 322
and personal property only if such city bills and collects 323
its own property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the 324
billing and collection of such separate and differing tax 325
rates. Such separate and differing rates shall not exceed 326
such city's tax rate ceiling. 327
[16.] 17. Any portion of real property that is 328
available as reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for 329
minerals for purposes of excavation for future use or sale 330
to others that has not been bonded and permitted under 331
chapter 444 shall be assessed based upon how the real 332
property is currently being used. Any information provided 333
to a county assessor, state tax commission, state agency, or 334
political subdivision responsible for the administration of 335
tax policies shall, in the perf ormance of its duties, make 336
available all books, records, and information requested, 337 SB 294 12
except such books, records, and information as are by law 338
declared confidential in nature, including individually 339
identifiable information regarding a specific taxpaye r or 340
taxpayer's mine property. For purposes of this subsection, 341
"mine property" shall mean all real property that is in use 342
or readily available as a reserve for strip, surface, or 343
coal mining for minerals for purposes of excavation for 344
current or future use or sale to others that has been bonded 345
and permitted under chapter 444. 346