Bill Text: IA HF430 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to areas established as fruit-tree or forest reservations for the purpose of a property tax exemption by requiring the erection or maintenance of partition fences to restrain livestock, and including effective date and applicability provisions.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-02 - Introduced, referred to Agriculture. H.J. 432. [HF430 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF430-Introduced.html

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House File 430 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  HANSON, GASKILL,
                                     HUNTER, STUTSMAN,
                                     MASCHER, BEARINGER,
                                     OURTH, KEARNS, SMITH,
                                     LENSING, WINCKLER,
                                     BROWN=POWERS, FORBES,
                                     and MOORE

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to areas established as fruit=tree or forest
  2    reservations for the purpose of a property tax exemption by
  3    requiring the erection or maintenance of partition fences
  4    to restrain livestock, and including effective date and
  5    applicability provisions.
  6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1989YH (11) 86
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 169C.6, Code 2015, is amended by adding
  1  2 the following new subsection:
  1  3    NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  The owner or owners of an area shall not
  1  4 be granted a property tax exemption as a fruit=tree or forest
  1  5 reservation under section 427C.12 for the period of a habitual
  1  6 trespass or during the period that an order issued under this
  1  7 section is outstanding.
  1  8    Sec. 2.  Section 350.4, Code 2015, is amended by adding the
  1  9 following new subsection:
  1 10    NEW SUBSECTION.  11.  To determine whether an area qualifies
  1 11 under chapter 427C as a fruit=tree or forest reservation
  1 12 eligible for a property tax exemption pursuant to section
  1 13 427C.12.
  1 14    Sec. 3.  Section 359A.8, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  1 15 follows:
  1 16    359A.8  Orders.
  1 17    1.  All orders and decisions made by the fence viewers shall
  1 18 be in writing, signed by at least two of them, and filed with
  1 19 the township clerk.
  1 20    2.  The owner or owners of an area shall not be granted a
  1 21 property tax exemption as a fruit=tree or forest reservation
  1 22 under section 427C.12 for the period that an order issued under
  1 23 this chapter is outstanding.
  1 24    Sec. 4.  Section 359A.22, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  1 25 follows:
  1 26    359A.22  Controversies Fence viewers == duties.
  1 27    1.  Upon the application of either owner, after notice is
  1 28 given as prescribed in this chapter, the fence viewers shall
  1 29 determine all controversies arising under sections 359A.18 to
  1 30 359A.21, inclusive, including the partition fences made sheep
  1 31 and swine tight.
  1 32    2.  Upon request by a county assessor or county conservation
  1 33 board pursuant to section 427C.12, subsection 2, the fence
  1 34 viewers shall determine whether the owner or owners of an area
  1 35 have participated in erecting and maintaining a partition fence
  2  1 as required in this chapter.
  2  2    Sec. 5.  Section 427C.10, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  2  3 follows:
  2  4    427C.10  Restraint of livestock and limitation on use.
  2  5    1.  Cattle, horses, mules, sheep, goats, ostriches, rheas,
  2  6 emus, and swine Livestock as defined in section 169C.1 shall
  2  7 not be permitted upon a fruit=tree or forest reservation.  The
  2  8 owner or owners of an area that may be or have been granted a
  2  9 property tax exemption as a fruit=tree or forest reservation
  2 10 under this chapter must participate in erecting and maintaining
  2 11 a partition fence as provided in section 427C.12.
  2 12    2.  Fruit=tree and forest reservations shall not be used for
  2 13 economic gain other than the gain from raising fruit or forest
  2 14 trees.
  2 15    Sec. 6.  Section 427C.12, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  2 16 follows:
  2 17    427C.12  Application == inspection == continuation of
  2 18 exemption == recapture of tax.
  2 19    1.  It shall be the duty of the The assessor to shall secure
  2 20 the facts relative to a fruit=tree and or forest reservations
  2 21  reservation by taking the sworn statement, or affirmation, of
  2 22 the owner or owners making application under this chapter; and
  2 23 to. The assessor shall make a special report to the county
  2 24 auditor of all areas established as fruit=tree and forest
  2 25  reservations made in the county under the provisions of this
  2 26 chapter.
  2 27    2.  The board of supervisors shall designate the county
  2 28 conservation board or the assessor who shall inspect the
  2 29 area for which an application is filed for An application to
  2 30 establish an area as a fruit=tree or forest reservation tax
  2 31 exemption before the application is accepted. Use of aerial
  2 32  shall not be accepted until all of the following applies:
  2 33    a.  The county assessor or the county conservation board,
  2 34 as designated by the county board of supervisors, inspects the
  2 35 area and determines that it complies with the requirements
  3  1 of this chapter.  Aerial photographs may be substituted for
  3  2 an on=site inspection when appropriate. The application can
  3  3 only be accepted if it Upon request by the county assessor or
  3  4 county conservation board, the fence viewers for the township
  3  5 where the area is located must report whether the area's owner
  3  6 or owners have participated in erecting and maintaining a
  3  7 partition fence as required in chapter 359A in order to prevent
  3  8 any livestock kept on adjacent land from trespassing onto the
  3  9 area pursuant to section 427C.10.  The fence viewers may enter
  3 10 onto the area or adjacent area in the same manner as if the
  3 11 owner or owners of the area had made a complaint under chapter
  3 12 359A.  The application shall not be accepted if the fence
  3 13 viewers determine any of the following apply:
  3 14    (1)  A partition fence has not been erected as required in
  3 15 section 359A.1A.
  3 16    (2)  A partition fence that has been erected is not a lawful
  3 17 fence as required in section 359A.18 or is not a tight fence as
  3 18 required in sections 359A.19 or 359A.20.
  3 19    (3)  An existing partition fence is not maintained or has
  3 20 not otherwise been kept in good repair throughout the year as
  3 21 required in chapter 359A.
  3 22    (4)  The fence viewers are determining a controversy
  3 23 regarding the erection or maintenance of a partition fence as
  3 24 provided in section 359A.22.
  3 25    (5)  An order has been issued by fence viewers against the
  3 26 owner or owners under section 359A.6 or an order has been
  3 27 issued by fence viewers or by a board of supervisors under
  3 28 section 169C.6.
  3 29    (6)  Livestock as described in section 427C.10 habitually
  3 30 trespass onto the area as described in section 169C.6.
  3 31    b.  The area meets the criteria established by the natural
  3 32 resource commission to be a fruit=tree or forest reservation.
  3 33 Once the
  3 34    3.  a.  Except as otherwise provided in paragraph "b", once
  3 35 an application has been accepted, the area shall continue to
  4  1 receive the tax exemption during each year in which the area is
  4  2 maintained as a fruit=tree or forest reservation without the
  4  3 owner or owners having to refile an application.
  4  4    b.  Upon evidence that the owner or owners of the area are
  4  5 not participating in erecting or maintaining a partition fence
  4  6 in order to prevent livestock from trespassing from adjacent
  4  7 land where such livestock are kept, the county assessor may
  4  8 require the owner or owners to refile the application in the
  4  9 succeeding year in the same manner as an initial application in
  4 10 subsection 2.  The county auditor may require that the owner or
  4 11 owners refile the application for each succeeding year until
  4 12 the fence viewers are satisfied that the requirements set forth
  4 13 in subsection 2 are being satisfied.
  4 14    4.  If all or part of the property area is sold or
  4 15 transferred, the seller shall notify the buyer that all, or
  4 16 part of, the property area is in established as a fruit=tree
  4 17 or forest reservation and subject to the recapture tax
  4 18 provisions of this section. The tax exemption shall continue
  4 19 to be granted for the remainder of the eight=year period for
  4 20 fruit=tree reservation and for the following years for forest
  4 21 reservation or until the property area no longer qualifies as a
  4 22 fruit=tree or forest reservation. The area may be inspected
  4 23 each year by the county conservation board or the assessor to
  4 24 determine if the area is maintained as a fruit=tree or forest
  4 25 reservation.
  4 26    5.  If the area is not maintained or is used for economic
  4 27 gain other than as a fruit=tree reservation during any year of
  4 28 the eight=year exemption period and any year of the following
  4 29 five years or as a forest reservation during any year for which
  4 30 the exemption is granted and any of the five years following
  4 31 those exemption years, the assessor shall assess the property
  4 32  area for taxation at its fair market value as of January 1
  4 33 of that year and in addition the area shall be subject to a
  4 34 recapture tax. However, the area shall not be subject to the
  4 35 recapture tax if the owner, including one possessing under
  5  1 a contract of sale, and the owner's direct antecedents or
  5  2 descendants have owned the area for more than ten years. The
  5  3 tax shall be computed by multiplying the consolidated levy for
  5  4 each of those years, if any, of the five preceding years for
  5  5 which the area received the exemption for fruit=tree or forest
  5  6 reservation times multiplied by the assessed value of the area
  5  7 that would have been taxed but for the tax exemption. This tax
  5  8 shall be entered against the property on the tax list for the
  5  9 current year and shall constitute a lien against the property
  5 10 in the same manner as a lien for property taxes. The tax when
  5 11 collected shall be apportioned in the manner provided for the
  5 12 apportionment of the property taxes for the applicable tax
  5 13 year.
  5 14    Sec. 7.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect January 1,
  5 15 2016.
  5 16    Sec. 8.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to property taxes
  5 17 due and payable in fiscal years beginning on or after July 1,
  5 18 2016.
  5 19                           EXPLANATION
  5 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  5 21 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  5 22    BILL'S PROVISIONS.  This bill requires that the owner of
  5 23 land seeking to have the area classified as a fruit=tree or
  5 24 forest reservation (reservation) exempt from property taxes
  5 25 participate in erecting and maintaining a partition fence that
  5 26 borders adjacent land, if the owner of the adjacent land keeps
  5 27 livestock there.  The county assessor or county conservation
  5 28 board, as designated by the county board of supervisors, may
  5 29 request an inspection performed by the appropriate township
  5 30 trustees acting as fence viewers.  The fence viewers must
  5 31 determine whether any partition fence is required to be erected
  5 32 to keep livestock from trespassing onto the area, that any
  5 33 erected fence complies with Iowa's fence law (Code chapter
  5 34 359A), and that the livestock are not habitually trespassing
  5 35 onto the area (Code chapter 169C).  After the tax exemption
  6  1 is granted, the fence viewers may be requested to make a new
  6  2 inspection to determine whether the exemption should continue
  6  3 in a subsequent year. The bill takes effect January 1, 2016,
  6  4 and applies to property taxes due and payable for fiscal years
  6  5 beginning on or after July 1, 2016.
  6  6    BACKGROUND == RESERVATIONS.  A fruit=tree or forest
  6  7 reservation is granted a 100 percent exemption from property
  6  8 taxation.  However, it cannot be used to keep livestock and
  6  9 cannot be used for economic gain (Code section 427C.10).  It
  6 10 also must meet the criteria established by the natural resource
  6 11 commission (Code section 427C.12).  A fruit=tree reservation
  6 12 must not be less than one and not more than 10 acres and a
  6 13 forest reservation cannot be less than two acres (Code section
  6 14 427C.2).  A fruit=tree reservation may be exempt from property
  6 15 taxes for eight years (Code section 427C.7). There is not a
  6 16 time limitation for a forest reservation exemption.
  6 17    BACKGROUND == IOWA FENCE LAW AND LIVESTOCK TRESPASS.  An
  6 18 owner of land must participate in erecting and maintaining a
  6 19 partition fence or contribute to its erection or maintenance,
  6 20 upon receiving a written request by the owner of adjacent land
  6 21 (Code section 359A.1A).  There are a number of different types
  6 22 of fences, including a lawful fence (Code section 359A.18) and
  6 23 a tight fence (Code sections 359A.19 and 359A.20) designed to
  6 24 keep livestock from trespassing onto neighboring land.  Fence
  6 25 viewers may intervene by deciding controversies (Code section
  6 26 359A.3) and may issue orders to erect or maintain a partition
  6 27 fence (Code sections 359A.6 and 359A.8).  Special remedies are
  6 28 available to neighbors suffering from the habitual trespass of
  6 29 livestock (Code section 169C.6).  In order for trespass to be
  6 30 considered habitual, livestock must stray onto neighboring land
  6 31 on three or more separate occasions within a 12=month period.
       LSB 1989YH (11) 86
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