Amendment H-8254 to HF 2672
Relating to forest and fruit-tree reservation tax exemptions, including county participation and minimum size requirements for forest reservations
Failed · March 28, 2024Vote: 36 yeas, 57 naysStrike everything: replaces the whole bill
Filed March 27, 2024 in the House by
What it changes
AI summary This amendment replaces the entire bill with a new version that focuses on inspection rules and creating a task force. It allows inspectors to use aerial photographs instead of on-site visits and permits the collection of fees from owners to cover inspection costs. It also requires the Department of Natural Resources to form a task force to study the program and submit recommendations to the general assembly by November 1, 2024.1
Read the amendment’s wording
- By striking everything after the enacting clause and inserting: “Section
- Section 427C.12, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: 427C.12 Application —— inspection —— continuation of exemption —— recapture of tax. It shall be the duty of the assessor or the county conservation board to secure the facts relative to fruit-tree and forest reservations by taking the sworn statement, or affirmation, of the owner or owners making application under this chapter ; to make an inspection of each forest and fruit-tree reservation once every three calendar years to confirm compliance with the requirements of a forest or fruit-tree reservation; and to make special report to the county auditor of all reservations made in the county under the provisions of this chapter . The board of supervisors shall designate the county conservation board or the assessor who shall inspect the area for which an application is filed for a fruit-tree or forest reservation tax exemption before the application is accepted. Use of aerial photographs may be substituted for on-site inspection when appropriate. The application can only be accepted if it meets the criteria established by the natural resource commission to be a fruit-tree or forest reservation. Once the application has been accepted, the area shall continue to receive the tax exemption during each year in which the area is maintained as a fruit-tree or forest reservation without the owner having to refile. If the property is sold or transferred, the seller shall notify the buyer that all, or part of, the property is in fruit-tree or forest reservation and subject to the recapture tax provisions of this section . The tax exemption shall continue to be granted for the remainder of the eight-year period for fruit-tree reservation and for the following years for forest reservation or until the property no longer qualifies as a fruit-tree or forest reservation. The area may shall be inspected each year once every three calendar years by the county conservation board or the assessor to determine if the area is maintained as a fruit-tree or forest reservation. The assessor or the county conservation board may collect a fee from the owner of the area for the cost of the initial inspections and subsequent inspections. If the area is not maintained or is used for economic gain other than as a fruit-tree reservation during any year of the eight-year exemption period and any year of the following five years or as a forest reservation during any year for which the exemption is granted and any of the five years following those exemption years, the assessor shall assess the property for taxation at its fair market value as of January 1 of that year and in addition the area shall be subject to a recapture tax. However, the area shall not be subject to the recapture tax if the owner, including one possessing under a contract of sale, and the owner’s direct antecedents or descendants have owned the area for more than ten years. The tax shall be computed by multiplying the consolidated levy for each of those years, if any, of the five preceding years for which the area received the exemption for fruit-tree or forest reservation times the assessed value of the area that would have been taxed but for the tax exemption. This tax shall be entered against the property on the tax list for the current year and shall constitute a lien against the property in the same manner as a lien for property taxes. The tax when collected shall be apportioned in the manner provided for the apportionment of the property taxes for the applicable tax year. Sec.
- DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES —— FOREST RESERVE PROGRAM TASK FORCE.
- The department of natural resources shall convene a task force to meet during the 2024 legislative interim to examine the role of the forest and fruit-tree reservation program in implementing the state forest plan and achieving forest conservation goals.
- Task force membership shall consist of a representative from each of the following: a. Iowa state association of counties. b. Iowa league of cities. c. Iowa wood industry association. d. Coalition for Iowa woodlands and trees. e. Iowa state association of assessors. f. Association of county conservation boards. g. Iowa farm bureau federation.
- The task force shall create a report with its findings that shall include recommendations for modifications to the forest and fruit-tree program and shall submit the report to the general assembly no later than November 1,
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- Title page, by striking lines 1 through 3 and inserting “An Act relating to forest and fruit-tree reservations, including compliance inspections and creating a forest reserve program task force.”