SB 400-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
10/03
SENATE BILL 400-FN
AN ACT relative to assessment of the land use change tax.
SPONSORS: Sen. DeVries, Dist 18; Rep. Theberge, Coos 4; Rep. Cooney, Graf 7; Rep. Patten, Carr 4
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill removes the requirement that the land use change tax shall be due and payable when a site under current use no longer conforms by reason of size.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2859
10/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to assessment of the land use change tax.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Repeal. RSA 79-A:7, IV(c), relative to assessment of land use change tax on a site which no longer conforms by reason of size for current use assessment, is repealed.
2 Land Use Change Tax; Assessment. Amend RSA 79-A:7, V to read as follows:
V. The amount of land which has changed to a use which does not qualify for current use assessment and on which the land use change tax shall be assessed in the circumstances delineated in RSA 79-A:7, IV shall be according to rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A by the chairman of the board, based upon the recommendation of the board. [Except in the case of land which has changed to a use which does not qualify for current use assessment due to size,] Only the number of acres on which an actual physical change has taken place shall become subject to the land use change tax, and land not physically changed shall remain under current use assessment, except as follows:
(a) When a road is constructed or other utilities installed pursuant to a development plan which has received all necessary local, state, or federal approvals, [all] only lots or building sites upon which actual construction has begun, including roads and utilities, [shown on the plan and served by such road or utilities] shall be considered changed in use, [with the exception of any lot or site, or combination of adjacent lots or sites shown thereon which are under the same ownership, and large enough to remain qualified for current use assessment;] provided, however, that if any physical changes are made to the land prior to the issuance of any required local, state, or federal permit or approval, or if such changes otherwise violate any local, state, or federal law, ordinance, or rule, the local assessing officials may delay the assessment of the land use change tax until any and all required permits or approvals have been secured, or illegal actions remedied, and may base the land use change tax assessed under RSA 79-A:7 upon the land’s full and true value at that later time.
(b) When land is required to remain undeveloped to satisfy density, setback, or other local, state, or federal requirements as part of the approval of a plan of a contiguous development area, such land shall be considered changed to a use which does not qualify for current use assessment at the time any portion of such development area is physically changed to a non-qualifying use. However, application of the land use change tax to such development area shall continue to be in accordance with subparagraph (a).
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
LBAO
10-2859
01/13/10
SB 400-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to assessment of the land use change tax.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire Municipal Association and the Department of Revenue Administration state this bill may decrease local revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state and county revenue or on state, county, and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The New Hampshire Municipal Association and the Department of Revenue Administration state this bill allows parcels of land under a minimum size as determined by the current use board (currently 10 acres) to remain under current use assessment, by removing the requirement that land use be considered changed and the land use change tax be assessed when the site no longer conforms to that minimum size criteria. The Association also states the bill modifies current law in reference to certain development plans involving road construction or utility installation to require that only lots or building sites upon which construction has actually begun should be assessed the land use change tax. The Association states this bill represents a potential narrowing of the instances when the land use change tax is assessed, so it estimates that local revenue may decrease. For the years 2004 through 2008, the Association states the average statewide land use change tax, as reported on the forms used to certify property taxes, was approximately $6.1 million, so the possible reduction in revenue would be some percentage of that amount, depending on the number of transactions affected by the bill. The Association states it does not have data about the number of parcels, acreage, or assessments impacted by the bill’s provisions to compute the specific amount of loss due to the proposed legislation.