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An Act To Amend the Process of Resolving Property Tax Abatement Disputes
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §841, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 133, §1, is amended to read:
 
1. Error or mistake.   The assessors, either upon written application filed within 185 days from commitment stating the grounds for an abatement or on their own initiative within one year from commitment, may make such reasonable abatement as they consider proper to correct any illegality, error or irregularity in assessment, provided thatas long as the taxpayer has complied with section 706.
 
The municipal officers, either upon written application filed after one year but within 3 years from commitment stating the grounds for an abatement or on their own initiative within that time period, may make such reasonable abatement as they consider proper to correct any illegality, error or irregularity in assessment, providedas long as the taxpayer has complied with section 706. TheExcept as provided in section 842-A, the municipal officers may not grant an abatement to correct an error in the valuation of property.
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §842, as amended by PL 2001, c. 396, §16, is further amended to read:
§ 842.Notice of decision
The assessors or municipal officers shall give to any person applying to them for an abatement of taxes notice in writing of their decision upon the application within 10 days after they take final action thereon. The notice of decision must state the specific reasons for a denial of the abatement and that the applicant has 60 days from the date the notice is received to appeal the decision or, if the request for an abatement is based on an error in the valuation of the property, to obtain 2 appraisals as described in section 842-A. It must also identify the board or agency designated by law to hear the appeal. If the assessors or municipal officers, before whom an application in writing for the abatement of a tax is pending, fail to give written notice of their decision within 60 days from the date of filing of the application, the application is deemed to have been denied, and the applicant may appeal as provided in sections 843 and 844, unless the applicant has in writing consented to further delay. Denial in this manner is final action for the purposes of notification under this section but failure to send notice of decision does not affect the applicant's right of appeal. This section does not apply to applications for abatement made under section 841, subsection 2.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §842-A  is enacted to read:
§ 842-A. Use of appraisals to prove value
A person whose application for abatement has been denied pursuant to section 842, when the abatement was sought because of an error in the valuation of the property, may, instead of directly appealing the denial, provide alternative proof of valuation as described in this section.
 
1.  Appraisals.     A person may obtain 2 appraisals of the property for which the abatement is requested. Each appraisal must be performed by a real estate appraiser licensed pursuant to Title 32, chapter 124.
 
2.  Sixty-day time limit.     Within 60 days after receipt of the notice of the decision or after the application for abatement is deemed to have been denied pursuant to section 842, the person shall forward the appraisals under subsection 1 to the assessors or municipal officers who considered the original application for abatement.
 
3.  Average of appraisals to prove value; appeal.     The assessors or municipal officers shall either accept the average of the 2 appraisals performed pursuant to subsection 1 for purposes of granting an application for abatement or file an appeal pursuant to subsection 4.
 
4.  Appeal.     The decision of the assessors or municipal officers to not accept the average of the appraisals must be appealed by the assessors or municipal officers pursuant to section 843. An appeal brought pursuant to this subsection is limited to the validity of the appraisals.
Nothing in this section precludes a person from appealing the original denial of the application for abatement under section 842 without following the procedures described in this section.
Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §843, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1995, c. 262, §4, is further amended to read:
 
1. Municipalities.   If a municipality has adopted a board of assessment review and the assessors or the municipal officers refuse to make the abatement asked for, or if the assessors or municipal officers reject the average of the appraisals performed pursuant to section 842-A, subsection 1, the applicant may apply in writing to the board of assessment review within 60 days after notice of the decision from which the appeal is being taken or after the application is deemed to have been denied, and, if the board thinks the applicant is over-assessed, the applicant is granted such reasonable abatement as the board thinks proper. An appeal brought pursuant to section 842-A, subsection 3 is limited to a determination of the validity of the appraisals. Except with regard to nonresidential property or properties with an equalized municipal valuation of $1,000,000 or greater either separately or in the aggregate, either party may appeal from the decision of the board of assessment review directly to the Superior Court, in accordance with Rule 80B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. If the board of assessment review fails to give written notice of its decision within 60 days of the date the application is filed, unless the applicant agrees in writing to further delay, the application is deemed denied and the applicant may appeal to the Superior Court as if there had been a written denial.
Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §843, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 396, §17, is further amended to read:
 
2. Primary assessing areas.   If a primary assessing area has adopted a board of assessment review and the assessors or municipal officers refuse to make the abatement asked for, or if the assessors or municipal officers reject the average of the appraisals performed pursuant to section 842, subsection 1, the applicant may apply in writing to the board of assessment review within 60 days after notice of the decision from which the appeal is being taken or after the application is deemed to have been denied, and if the board thinks the applicant is over-assessed, the applicant is granted such reasonable abatement as the board thinks proper. An appeal brought pursuant to section 842-A, subsection 3 is limited to a determination of the validity of the appraisals. Except with regard to nonresidential property or properties with an equalized municipal valuation of $1,000,000 or greater, either separately or in the aggregate, either party may appeal the decision of the board of assessment review directly to the Superior Court, in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. If the board of assessment review fails to give written notice of its decision within 60 days of the date the application was filed, unless the applicant agrees in writing to further delay, the application is deemed denied and the applicant may appeal to the Superior Court as if there had been a written denial.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the real property tax abatement process by:
1. Requiring the notice of decision of a denial of an application for abatement to contain the specific reasons for the denial; and
2. Allowing a person whose abatement based on the valuation of property is denied to obtain, prior to appealing the denial, 2 appraisals of the property for which the abatement is requested and submit these as proof of value to the assessors or municipal officers who denied the abatement application. The assessors or municipal officers may either accept the average of the appraisals as proof of value and allow the abatement or deny the abatement and file an appeal with the Superior Court or board of assessment review; the scope of the appeal is limited to the validity of the appraisals.