Enrolled Copy H.B. 257
1 GREENBELT PROPERTY AMENDMENTS
2 2023 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Jason Kyle
5 Senate Sponsor: Ronald M. Winterton
6
7LONG TITLE
8General Description:
9 This bill modifies provisions of the Utah Farmland Assessment Act.
10Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 <requires a county or commission to waive the acreage requirement for agricultural
13assessment if the assessed property fails to meet the acreage requirement because of
14a qualified utility or governmental entity exercising eminent domain or threatening
15eminent domain; and
16 <makes technical and conforming changes.
17Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18 None
19Other Special Clauses:
20 None
21Utah Code Sections Affected:
22AMENDS:
23 59-2-503, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 322
24
25Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26 Section 1. Section 59-2-503 is amended to read:
27 59-2-503. Qualifications for agricultural use assessment.
28 (1) For general property tax purposes, land may be assessed on the basis of the value H.B. 257
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29that the land has for agricultural use if the land:
30 (a) is not less than five contiguous acres in area, except that land may be assessed on
31the basis of the value that the land has for agricultural use:
32 (i) if:
33 (A) the land is devoted to agricultural use in conjunction with other eligible acreage;
34and
35 (B) the land and the other eligible acreage described in Subsection (1)(a)(i)(A) have
36identical legal ownership; or
37 (ii) as provided under [Subsection] Subsections (4) and (5); and
38 (b) except as provided in Subsection [(5)] (6) or [(6)] (7):
39 (i) is actively devoted to agricultural use; and
40 (ii) has been actively devoted to agricultural use for at least two successive years
41immediately preceding the tax year for which the land is being assessed under this part.
42 (2) In determining whether land is actively devoted to agricultural use, production per
43acre for a given county or area and a given type of land shall be determined by using the first
44applicable of the following:
45 (a) production levels reported in the current publication of the Utah Agricultural
46Statistics;
47 (b) current crop budgets developed and published by Utah State University; and
48 (c) other acceptable standards of agricultural production designated by the commission
49by rule adopted in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking
50Act.
51 (3) Land may be assessed on the basis of the land's agricultural value if the land:
52 (a) is subject to the privilege tax imposed by Section 59-4-101;
53 (b) is owned by the state or any of the state's political subdivisions; and
54 (c) meets the requirements of Subsection (1).
55 (4) Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(a), the commission or a county board of Enrolled Copy H.B. 257
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56equalization may grant a waiver of the acreage limitation for land upon:
57 (a) appeal by the owner; and
58 (b) submission of proof that[: (i)] 80% or more of the owner's, purchaser's, or lessee's
59income is derived from agricultural products produced on the property in question[; or].
60 [(ii) (A) the failure to meet the acreage requirement arose solely as a result of an
61acquisition by a governmental entity by:]
62 [(I) eminent domain; or]
63 [(II) the threat or imminence of an eminent domain proceeding;]
64 [(B) the land is actively devoted to agricultural use; and]
65 [(C) no change occurs in the ownership of the land.]
66 (5) Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(a), the commission or a county board of
67equalization shall grant a waiver of the acreage limitation for land upon:
68 (a) appeal by the owner; and
69 (b) submission of proof that:
70 (i) the failure to meet the acreage requirement arose solely as a result of an acquisition
71by a public utility or a governmental entity by:
72 (A) eminent domain; or
73 (B) the threat or imminence of an eminent domain proceeding; and
74 (ii) the land is actively devoted to agricultural use.
75 [(5)] (6) (a) The commission or a county board of equalization may grant a waiver of
76the requirement that the land is actively devoted to agricultural use for the tax year for which
77the land is being assessed under this part upon:
78 (i) appeal by the owner; and
79 (ii) submission of proof that:
80 (A) the land was assessed on the basis of agricultural use for at least two years
81immediately preceding that tax year; and
82 (B) the failure to meet the agricultural production requirements for that tax year was H.B. 257
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83due to no fault or act of the owner, purchaser, or lessee.
84 (b) As used in Subsection [(5)(a)] (6)(a), "fault" does not include:
85 (i) intentional planting of crops or trees which, because of the maturation period, do
86not give the owner, purchaser, or lessee a reasonable opportunity to satisfy the production
87levels required for land actively devoted to agricultural use; or
88 (ii) implementation of a bona fide range improvement program, crop rotation program,
89or other similar accepted cultural practices which do not give the owner, purchaser, or lessee a
90reasonable opportunity to satisfy the production levels required for land actively devoted to
91agricultural use.
92 [(6)] (7) Land that otherwise qualifies for assessment under this part qualifies for
93assessment under this part in the first year the land resumes being actively devoted to
94agricultural use if:
95 (a) the land becomes ineligible for assessment under this part only as a result of a split
96estate mineral rights owner exercising the right to extract a mineral; and
97 (b) the land qualified for assessment under this part in the year immediately preceding
98the year the land became ineligible for assessment under this part only as a result of a split
99estate mineral rights owner exercising the right to extract a mineral.
100 [(7)] (8) Land that otherwise qualifies under Subsection (1) to be assessed on the basis
101of the value that the land has for agricultural use does not lose that qualification by becoming
102subject to a forest stewardship plan developed under Section 65A-8a-106 under which the land
103is subject to a temporary period of limited use or nonuse.