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Public Act 096-0122
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| SB0207 Enrolled |
LRB096 04809 RCE 14873 b |
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AN ACT concerning revenue, which may be cited as the |
Homestead Assessment Transparency Act.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing |
Section 12-30 and by adding Sections 6-60 and 9-213 as follows:
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(35 ILCS 200/6-60 new)
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Sec. 6-60. Rules and procedures. The board of review in |
every county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants must make |
available to the public a detailed description of the rules and |
procedures for hearings before the board. This description must |
include an explanation of any applicable burdens of proof, |
rules of evidence, timelines, and any other procedures that |
will allow the taxpayer to effectively present his or her case |
before the board. If a county Internet website exists, the |
rules and procedures must also be published on that website.
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(35 ILCS 200/9-213 new)
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Sec. 9-213. Explanation of equalization factors. The chief |
county assessment officer in every county with less than |
3,000,000 inhabitants must provide a plain-English explanation |
of all township, county, and State equalization factors, |
including the rationale and methods used to determine the |
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equalizations. If a county Internet website exists, this |
explanation must be published thereon, otherwise it must be |
available to the public upon request at the office of the chief |
county assessment officer.
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(35 ILCS 200/12-30)
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Sec. 12-30. Mailed notice of changed assessments; counties |
of less than
3,000,000. |
(a) In every county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, |
in addition to
the publication of the list of assessments in |
each year of a general assessment
and of the list of property |
for which assessments have been added or changed,
as provided |
above, a notice shall be mailed by the chief county assessment
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officer to each taxpayer whose assessment has been changed |
since the last
preceding assessment, using the address as it |
appears on the assessor's
records, except in the case of |
changes caused by a change in the county
equalization factor by |
the Department or in the case of changes resulting
from |
equalization by the chief county assessment officer supervisor |
of assessments under Section 9-210,
during any year such change |
is made. The notice may, but need not be, sent by a
township |
assessor. |
(b) The notice sent under this Section shall include the |
following: |
(1) The previous year's assessed value after board of |
review equalization. |
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(2) Current assessed value and the date of that |
valuation. |
(3) The percentage change from the previous assessed |
value to the current assessed value. |
(4) The full fair market value (as indicated by |
dividing the current assessed value by the median level of |
assessment in the assessment district as determined by the |
most recent 3 year assessment to sales ratio study adjusted |
to take into account any changes in assessment levels since |
the data for the studies were collected). |
(5) A statement advising the taxpayer that assessments |
of property, other than farm land and coal, are required by |
law to be assessed at 33 1/3% of fair market value. |
(6) The name, address, phone number, office hours, and, |
if one exists, the website address of the assessor. |
(7) Where practicable, the notice shall include the |
reason for any increase in the property's valuation. |
(8) The name and price per copy by mail of the |
newspaper in which the list of assessments will be |
published and the scheduled publication date. |
(9) A statement advising the taxpayer of the steps to |
follow if the taxpayer believes the full fair market value |
of the property is incorrect or believes the assessment is |
not uniform with other comparable properties in the same |
neighborhood. The statement shall also (i) advise all |
taxpayers to contact the township assessor's office, in |
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those counties under township organization, first to |
review the assessment, (ii) advise all taxpayers to file an |
appeal with the board of review if not satisfied with the |
assessor review, and (iii) give the phone number to call |
for a copy of the board of review rules. |
(10) A statement advising the taxpayer that there is a |
deadline date for filing an appeal with the board of review |
and indicating that deadline date (30 days following the |
scheduled publication date). |
(11) A brief explanation of the relationship between |
the assessment and the tax bill (including an explanation |
of the equalization factors) and an explanation that the |
assessment stated for the preceding year is the assessment |
after equalization by the board of review in the preceding |
year. |
(12) In bold type, a notice of possible eligibility for |
the
various homestead exemptions as provided in Section |
15-165
through Section 15-175 and Section 15-180. |
(c) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b) of |
this Section, in every county with less than 3,000,000 |
inhabitants, where the chief county assessment officer |
maintains and controls an electronic database containing the |
physical characteristics of the property, the notice shall |
include the following: |
(1) The physical characteristics of the taxpayer's |
property that are available from that database; or |
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(2) A statement advising the taxpayer that detailed |
property characteristics are available on the county |
website and the URL address of that website. |
(d) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b) of |
this Section, in every county with less than 3,000,000 |
inhabitants, where the chief county assessment officer does not |
maintain and control an electronic database containing the |
physical characteristics of the property, and where one or more |
townships in the county maintain and control an electronic |
database containing the physical characteristics of the |
property and some or all of the database is available on a |
website that is maintained and controlled by the township, the |
notice shall include a statement advising the taxpayer that |
detailed property characteristics are available on the |
township website and the URL address of that website. |
(e) Except as provided in this Section, the form and manner |
of
providing the information and explanations required to be in |
the notice shall
be prescribed by the Department. |
The notice shall include the median level of assessment in
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the assessment district (as determined by the most recent 3 |
year assessment to
sales ratio study adjusted to take into |
account any changes in assessment
levels since the data for the |
studies were collected), the previous year's
assessed value |
after board of review equalization, current assessed value and,
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in bold type, a notice of possible eligibility for a homestead |
improvement
exemption as provided in Section 15-180.
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The notice shall include a statement in substantially the |
following form:
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"NOTICE TO TAXPAYER
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Your property is to be assessed at the median level of |
assessment for
your assessment district. You may check the |
accuracy of your assessment
by dividing your assessment by the |
median level of assessment for your
assessment district. If the |
resulting value is greater than the estimated fair
cash value |
of your property, you may be over-assessed. If the resulting |
value
is less than the estimated fair cash value of your |
property, you may be
under-assessed. You may appeal your |
assessment to the Board of Review in the
manner described |
elsewhere in this notice."
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The notice shall contain a brief explanation of the |
relationship between the
assessment and the tax bill (including |
an explanation of the equalization
factors) and an explanation |
that the assessment stated for the preceding year
is the |
assessment after equalization by the board of review in the |
preceding
year, and shall set forth the procedures and time |
limits for appealing
assessments and that assessments of |
property, other than farm land and coal,
are required by law to |
be 33 1/3% of value. Where practicable, the notice
shall |
include the reason for any increase in the property's |
valuation. The
notice must also state the name and price per |
copy by mail of the newspaper in
which the list of assessments |
will be published. The form and manner of
providing the |