MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                      1095

assessed for agricultural use and when the tax on such contingent
assessment shall be paid, to authorize counties to allow lands to
be put in reservation as open spaces and give special assessment
and taxation considerations for these reserved lands, and to estab-
lish an Agricultural Assessment Commission to hear appeals on
the assessment or non assessment of lands for agricultural use,
and generally dealing with the agricultural use assessment laws of
Maryland. TO PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER OF ASSESS-
MENT OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS AND PLANNED DE-
VELOPMENTS OF LANDS, FOR THE TAXES DUE ON SUCH
ASSESSMENTS, AND RELATING GENERALLY TO AS-
SESSMENT AND TAXATION OF AGRICULTURAL AND
PLANNED DEVELOPMENT LANDS IN THIS STATE.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 19 (b) of Article 81 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1965 Replacement Volume), title "Revenue and Taxes," subtitle
"Method of Assessment," be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted
with amendments; that new Section 19 (f) be and it is hereby added
to said Article, title, and subtitle of said Code, to follow immediately

after Section 19 (e); and that new Section 256A be and it is hereby

added to said Article and title of said Code, subtitle "Appeals," to

follow immediately after Section 256 thereof, and AND ALL to read
as follows:

19 (b).

(1) Lands which are actively devoted to farm or agricultural use
and are either unzoned or zoned for agricultural use shall be assessed

on the basis of such use, and such use, and shall not be assessed as if subdivided,

it being the intent of the General Assembly that the assessment of
farm land shall be maintained at levels compatible with the continued
use of such land for farming and shall not be adversely affected by
neighboring land uses of a more intensive nature.

(2) Lands which are actively devoted to farm or agricultural use
that are zoned or otherwise identified for a more intensive use by a

local zoning agency or in a master plan as provided for in Article

66B of this Code, shall be taxed under an assessment on the basis of
the agricultural use. A deferred assessment based on fair market
value shall also be recorded on such lands. This deferred assessment

shall be subject to the same notice and appeal requirement as the

agricultural use assessment.

Upon the filing of a subdivision plat or the sale of a lot from a

subdivision plat, whether or not it is recorded, or the conversion of

a portion of the land to a non-agricultural use, the agricultural use

assessment shall terminate on that portion of the land subdivided or

sold, and a tax shall become due on that portion equal to the dif-

ference between the agricultural assessment tax paid during the

period the deferred assessment is recorded and a tax based on the

total defered assessment recorded, except that in no event shall

this tax exceed the total difference of the taxes paid on that portion

for the immediately previous three years and a tax based on the

deferred assessment recorded for these three years or five percent

of the current market value of that portion, whichever is the lesser.

The tax shall be collected by the county treasurer or tax collector's

office and the proceeds shall be distributed to the government of the

county in which the land is located.