VETOES

would require them also to look into the circumstances in which
the property achieved its zoning and the current and past
ownership of the property. In addition, relief to this class of
property owners will lead to similar demands for relief through
changes in the assessment process from other groups of property
owners who find their property values to have dramatically
increased due to external factors largely beyond their control.
The result of creating this and other subclasses of property can
only be detrimental to the efficiency and equity of our statewide
assessment program.

I understand that several counties currently have the authority
to defer a portion of the property taxes of homeowners whose
assessments have increased in the circumstances contemplated by
Senate Bill 617. This places the responsibility for providing
tax relief with the local governing body where it properly
belongs. Not only does the local government initiate the change
in zoning classification, but it also suffers the principal loss
of revenues. Further, the revenues are eventually recaptured
when the property leaves the immediate family or is actually put
to the higher intensity use allowed by the new zoning. The
General Assembly may wish to consider granting authority to all
subdivisions in the State to defer the higher property taxes in
these circumstances.

Senate Bill 617 also includes technical defects and ambiguities
that make its enactment undesirable. The special assessment
would apply to the entire property on which the residence is
located even if it is several hundred acres or more. The
applicability of the bill to higher density residential
rezonings, such as for townhouses or condominiums, is unclear.
The penalty provisions may be inequitable, both on their impact
on owners who use the property for residential purposes for less
than 3 years after the rezoning, and in calculating the penalty
if tax rates or assessments are adjusted prior to the recapture
date.

For those reasons, I have decided to veto Senate Bill 617.

Sincerely,

William Donald Schaefer

Governor

Senate Bill No. 617

AN ACT concerning

Property Tax Credit Assessment - Rezoned Residential Property

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