FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 759
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BROWN (26).
2991S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 138.430, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to erroneous
property classifications.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 138.430, RSMo, i s repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 138.430, 2
to read as follows:3
138.430. 1. Every owner of real property or tangible 1
personal property shall have the right to appeal from the 2
local boards of equalizatio n to the state tax commission 3
under rules prescribed by the state tax commission, within 4
the time prescribed in this chapter or thirty days following 5
the final action of the local board of equalization, 6
whichever date later occurs, concerning all quest ions and 7
disputes involving the assessment against such property, the 8
correct valuation to be placed on such property, the method 9
or formula used in determining the valuation of such 10
property, or the assignment of a discriminatory assessment 11
to such property. The commission shall investigate all such 12
appeals and shall correct any assessment or valuation which 13
is shown to be unlawful, unfair, improper, arbitrary or 14
capricious. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the 15
commission may seek review as provided in chapter 536. 16
2. In order to investigate such appeals, the 17
commission may inquire of the owner of the property or of 18 SB 759 2
any other party to the appeal regarding any matter or issue 19
relevant to the valuation, subclassification or assessme nt 20
of the property. The commission may make its decision 21
regarding the assessment or valuation of the property based 22
solely upon its inquiry and any evidence presented by the 23
parties to the commission, or based solely upon evidence 24
presented by the parties to the commission. 25
3. Every owner of real property or tangible personal 26
property shall have the right to appeal to the circuit court 27
of the county in which the collector maintains his office 28
from the decision of the local board of equalizat ion not 29
later than thirty days after the final decision of the board 30
of equalization concerning all questions and disputes 31
involving the exclusion or exemption of such property from 32
assessment or from the tax rolls pursuant to the 33
Constitution of the United States or the constitution or 34
laws of this state, or of the taxable situs of such 35
property. The appeal shall be as a trial de novo in the 36
manner prescribed for nonjury civil proceedings. Upon the 37
timely filing of the appeal, the clerk of the c ircuit court 38
shall send to the county collector to whom the taxes on the 39
property involved would be due a notice that an appeal 40
seeking exemption has been filed, which notice shall contain 41
the name of the taxpayer, the case number assigned by the 42
court, and the parcel or locator number of the property 43
being appealed. The notice to the collector shall state 44
that the taxes in dispute are to be impounded in accordance 45
with subsection 2 of section 139.031. 46
4. Upon the timely filing of an appeal t o the state 47
tax commission as provided in this section, or the transfer 48
of an appeal to the commission in accordance with subsection 49
5 of this section, the commission shall send to the county 50 SB 759 3
collector to whom the taxes on the property involved would 51
be due a notice that an appeal has been filed or transferred 52
as the case may be, which notice shall contain the name of 53
the taxpayer filing the appeal, the appeal number assigned 54
by the commission, the parcel or locator number of the 55
property being appealed, the assessed value by the board of 56
equalization and the assessed value proposed by the 57
taxpayer, if such values have been provided to the 58
commission when the appeal is filed. The notice to the 59
collector shall state that the taxes in dispute are to be 60
impounded in accordance with subsection 2 of section 61
139.031. Notice to the collector of an appeal filed in an 62
odd-numbered year shall also serve as notice to the 63
collector to impound taxes for the following even -numbered 64
year if no decision h as been rendered in the appeal. The 65
state tax commission shall notify the collector once a 66
decision has been rendered in an appeal. 67
5. If the circuit court, after review of the appeal, 68
finds that the appeal is not a proper subject for the appeal 69
to the circuit court as provided in subsection 3 of this 70
section, it shall transfer the appeal to the state tax 71
commission for consideration. 72
6. (1) If an assessor classifies real property under 73
a classification that is contrary to or in conflic t with a 74
determination by the state tax commission or a court of 75
competent jurisdiction of said property, the taxpayer shall 76
be awarded costs of appeal and reasonable attorney's fees on 77
a challenge of the assessor's determination , and such costs 78
and fees shall be included in any decision or order by the 79
state tax commission or court of competent jurisdiction that 80
finds in favor of a taxpayer . 81 SB 759 4
(2) Any taxpayer not receiving the costs and fees 82
allowed pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsecti on as a 83
result of any decision made on or after January 1, 2024, 84
shall have a cause of action to recover any such costs and 85
fees, and shall recover all costs and reasonable attorney's 86
fees related to initiating such cause of action in a court 87
of competent jurisdiction, and shall also be entitled to 88
recover damages in an amount equal to ten percent of the 89
original assessed value of the property that was erroneously 90
classified. 91