S 0489 General Bill, By Washington
 A Bill to amend Section 12-43-300, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina,
 1976, relating to property tax reassessment notices and appeals, so as to
 extend the time for filing appeals in reassessment years from within thirty
 days of the date of the mailing of the reassessment notice to January
 fifteenth next succeeding the mailing of the notice.

   01/16/91  Senate Introduced and read first time
   01/16/91  Senate Referred to Committee on Finance

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 12-43-300, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT NOTICES AND APPEALS, SO AS TO EXTEND THE TIME FOR FILING APPEALS IN REASSESSMENT YEARS FROM WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE DATE OF THE MAILING OF THE REASSESSMENT NOTICE TO JANUARY FIFTEENTH NEXT SUCCEEDING THE MAILING OF THE NOTICE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 12-43-300(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 381 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"(A) Whenever When the market value estimate of any property is fixed by the assessor at a sum greater by one thousand dollars or more than the amount returned by the owner or his agent, or whenever when any property is valued and assessed for taxation which has not been returned or assessed previously, the assessor shall, on or before July first, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, in the year in which the valuation and assessment is made, shall give written notice thereof to the owner of the property or his agent. In reassessment years, the written reassessment notice to owners or agents must be given by July first. If there is no timely written notice, the prior year's assessed value must be the basis for assessment for the current taxable year. The notice must include the prior market value, the total market value estimate, the value estimate if applicable, the assessment ratio, the total new assessment, the percentage changes over the prior market value, if there is no change in use or physical characteristics of the property, number of acres or lots, location of property, tax map, appeal procedure, and other pertinent ownership and legal description data required by the South Carolina Tax Commission. The notice may be served upon the owner or his agent personally or by mailing it to the owner or his agent at his last known place of residence which may be determined from the most recent listing in the applicable telephone directory, South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation Motor Vehicle Registration List, county treasurer's records, or official notice from the property owner or his agent. The owner or his agent, if he objects to the valuation and assessment, shall serve written notice of his objection upon the assessor within thirty days of the date of the mailing of the notice no later than January fifteenth next succeeding the mailing of the notice. In years when there is no notice of appraisal because of a less than one thousand dollar change or no change in the appraised or assessed value, the owner or agent has until March first to serve written notice of objection upon the assessor of the appraised or assessed value. In those years, failure to serve written notice of objection by March first constitutes a waiver of the owner's right of appeal for that tax year and the assessor is not required to review any request filed after March first. The assessor shall then schedule a conference with the owner or agent within twenty days of receipt of the notice. If the assessor requests it, the owner, within thirty days after the conference, shall complete and return to the assessor the form as may be approved by the commission relating to the owner's property and the reasons for his objection. Within thirty days after the conference, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the assessor shall mail written notice of his action upon the objection to the owner. The owner or agent, if still aggrieved by the valuation and assessment, may appeal from the action to the Board of Assessment Appeals by giving written notice of the appeal and the grounds thereof to the assessor within thirty days from the date of the mailing of the notice. The assessor shall notify promptly the Board of Assessment Appeals of the appeal."

SECTION 2. Upon approval by the Governor, this act is effective for tax years beginning after 1990.