Bill Text: OR HB4067 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to exclusion from central assessment for data centers located in enterprise zones; prescribing an effective date.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-05 - In committee upon adjournment. [HB4067 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2012-HB4067-Introduced.html


     76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2012 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 22

                         House Bill 4067

Sponsored by Representative MCLANE; Representatives BAILEY,
  BARNHART, BERGER, BREWER, BUCKLEY, CAMERON, CONGER, DOHERTY,
  ESQUIVEL, FREEMAN, GARRETT, GELSER, GILLIAM, HANNA, HOYLE,
  HUFFMAN, HUNT, JOHNSON, KENNEMER, KOMP, KOTEK, KRIEGER,
  MATTHEWS, OLSON, PARRISH, READ, ROBLAN, SCHAUFLER, SHEEHAN,
  SPRENGER, THATCHER, WAND, WHISNANT, WINGARD, WITT, Senators
  ATKINSON, BEYER, DEVLIN, EDWARDS, FERRIOLI, GIROD, HASS,
  JOHNSON, MONNES ANDERSON, MORSE, TELFER, WHITSETT, WINTERS
  (Presession filed.)

                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Excludes company owning or leasing data center in enterprise
zone from central assessment during period of enterprise zone
exemption.
  Extends exclusion from central assessment after expiration of
exemption if company continues to comply with certain provisions
of enterprise zone agreement.
  Takes effect on 91st day following adjournment sine die.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to exclusion from central assessment for data centers
  located in enterprise zones; creating new provisions; amending
  ORS 308.515; and prescribing an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 308.515 is amended to read:
  308.515. (1) The Department of Revenue shall make an annual
assessment of any property that has a situs in this state and
that, except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, is
used or held for future use by any company in performing or
maintaining any of the following businesses or services or in
selling any of the following commodities, whether in domestic or
interstate commerce or in any combination of domestic and
interstate commerce, and whether mutually or for hire, sale or
consumption by other persons:
  (a) Railroad transportation;
  (b) Railroad switching and terminal;
  (c) Electric rail transportation;
  (d) Private railcar transportation;
  (e) Air transportation;
  (f) Water transportation upon inland water of the State of
Oregon;
  (g) Air or railway express;
  (h) Communication;
  (i) Heating;
  (j) Gas;
  (k) Electricity;
  (L) Pipeline;
  (m) Toll bridge; or
  (n) Private railcars of all companies not otherwise listed in
this subsection, if the private railcars are rented, leased or
used in railroad transportation for hire.
  (2) The assessment described in subsection (1) of this section
shall be made on an assessment roll that is prepared by the
division of the department charged with property tax
administration.
  (3) There may not be assessed under subsection (1) of this
section:
  (a) Any property used by or for water transportation companies
whose watercraft ply exclusively on the high seas, or between the
high seas and inland water ports or terminals, or any combination
thereof.
  (b) Any property used by or for water transportation companies
exclusively for hire by other persons for booming and rafting,
dredging, log or marine salvage, ship berthing, maintenance,
sludge removal, cleaning or repair, marine or water-based
construction, or guide service.
  (c) Any property used by or for interstate ferries or by or for
water transportation companies as ferries operating directly
across interstate rivers.
  (d) Any property of the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation.
  (e) Any aircraft that is required to be registered under ORS
837.040 for all or any part of the calendar year and that is not
used to provide scheduled passenger service.
  (4) Any corporation included within subsection (1) of this
section, to the extent that it actively engages in any business
or service not described therein or not incidental to any
business or service or sale of a commodity described therein, may
not to that extent be deemed a corporation whose properties are
assessed under ORS 308.505 to 308.665.
    { - (5) A company is not a company described in subsection
(1) of this section to the extent that the company furnishes
undiluted liquefied or industrial gas in bottles, tanks or
similar containers. - }
    { - (6) A company is not an electric company under subsection
(1) of this section if: - }
    { - (a) The company generates electricity primarily for the
company's own use, but makes incidental sales of the company's
surplus electricity; or - }
    { - (b)(A) The company's generating facility is primarily
fueled by wood waste or other biomass fuel; - }
    { - (B) The generating facility has a maximum capacity of 20
megawatts; and - }
    { - (C) The company, if selling the generated electricity,
does so only directly to an electric utility for the utility's
distribution to utility customers. - }
    { - (7) - }   { + (5) + } The department shall assess
property owned, leased or occupied by a legal entity not yet
engaged in a business, service or sale of a commodity that is
described in subsection (1) of this section if the property is
intended for operation or use in the business, service or sale of
the commodity.
    { - (8) As used in this section, 'electric utility' has the
meaning given that term in ORS 758.505. - }
  SECTION 2.  { + Section 3 of this 2012 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS 308.505 to 308.665. + }
  SECTION 3.  { + (1) A company is not a company described in ORS
308.515 (1) to the extent that the company furnishes undiluted
liquefied or industrial gas in bottles, tanks or similar
containers.
  (2) A company is not a company described in ORS 308.515 (1) if:
  (a) The company generates electricity primarily for the
company's own use and makes no more than incidental sales of the
company's surplus electricity to other persons; or
  (b)(A) The company's generating facility is primarily fueled by
wood waste or other biomass fuel;
  (B) The generating facility has a maximum capacity of 20
megawatts; and
  (C) The company, if selling the generated electricity, does so
only directly to an electric utility, as defined in ORS 758.505,
for the electric utility's distribution to utility customers.
  (3) A company that is the owner or lessee of a data center is
not a company described in ORS 308.515 (1) if:
  (a) The company has entered into a written tax abatement
agreement, or is entitled by assignment or succession to the
benefits of a tax abatement agreement entered into, with the
sponsors of an enterprise zone, pursuant to ORS 285C.050 to
285C.250 or 285C.400 to 285C.420; and
  (b) The original cost of construction and installation of the
real and tangible personal property of all data centers owned,
leased or used by the company in Oregon, and all additions to the
property, exceeds the original cost of construction and
installation of all other real and tangible personal property
owned or leased by the company in Oregon.
  (4)(a) Property of a company described in subsection (3) of
this section may not be assessed under ORS 308.505 to 308.665
during the term of an exemption granted pursuant to an agreement
described in subsection (3)(a) of this section or during the term
of any statutorily authorized extensions of the exemption,
waivers or periods of in lieu payments.
  (b) Property of a company described in subsection (3) of this
section or its assignees or successors may not be assessed under
ORS 308.505 to 308.665 after expiration of an exemption granted
pursuant to ORS 285C.050 to 285C.250 or 285C.400 to 285C.420
during each consecutive property tax year in which the company or
its assignees or successors continue to satisfy the provisions of
an agreement described in subsection (3)(a) of this section in
effect immediately before the expiration relating to employment
of a minimum number of employees, minimum levels of annual
average employee compensation and the minimum cost of property
constituting the data center.
  (c)(A) During a period in which a company may not be assessed
under ORS 308.505 to 308.665 pursuant to this subsection, the
Department of Revenue may require the company to file annual
statements pursuant to ORS 308.520 and 308.525.
  (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, a
company may not be required to report intangible property within
or without Oregon.
  (C) An annual statement filed pursuant to this paragraph may
not be interpreted as an admission or acknowledgment that the
company is subject to assessment under ORS 308.505 to 308.665.
  (D) For purposes of the notations required under ORS 285C.175
(7) and 285C.409 (3), the county assessor shall record the real
market value, the assessed value and the amount of potential
additional taxes as determined without regard to ORS 308.505 to
308.665.
  (5) If a company described in subsection (3) of this section
owns or leases a data center in more than one county in this
state, each data center must satisfy all applicable requirements
under subsections (3) and (4) of this section.
  (6)(a) As used in this section:
  (A) 'Data center' means an online service data center or an
independent data center.
  (B) 'Independent data center' means real and personal property
consisting of buildings or structures specifically designed or
modified to house networked computers and data and transaction
processing equipment and related infrastructure support
equipment, including, without limitation, power and cooling
equipment, used primarily to provide, as a service to persons
other than the company operating the independent data center,
data and transaction processing services, outsource information
technology services and computer equipment colocation services.
  (C) 'Online service data center' means real and personal
property consisting of buildings or structures specifically
designed or modified to house networked computers and data and
transaction processing equipment and related infrastructure
support equipment, including, without limitation, power and
cooling equipment, used primarily to provide, to a single user,
including the user's affiliates, customers, lessees, vendors and
other persons authorized by the user, data and transaction
processing services.
  (b) For purposes of this subsection, the primary use of
property is based on the relative proportion of the original cost
of property used for all purposes. + }
  SECTION 4.  { + Section 3 of this 2012 Act applies to:
  (1)(a) Property tax years beginning on or after July 1, 2011;
and
  (b) Property tax years beginning before July 1, 2011, with
respect to property for which a correction is made to the
assessment roll after July 1, 2011.
  (2) A company described in section 3 (3) of this 2012 Act that:
  (a) Is a party, assignee or successor to an agreement described
in section 3 (3)(a) of this 2012 Act entered into pursuant to ORS
285C.160 or 285C.403 (3)(c) on or after January 1, 2009; and
  (b) Did not use or hold for future use any property that was
assessed under ORS 308.505 to 308.665 on any assessment and tax
roll for a property tax year beginning before July 1, 2011. + }
  SECTION 5.  { + For property tax years beginning before July 1,
2012:
  (1) If tax on any value that is exempt from property taxation
by operation of section 3 (3) and (4) of this 2012 Act has not
been paid, the tax and any interest are abated.
  (2) If tax on any exempt value described in subsection (1) of
this section has been paid, the tax collector shall notify the
governing body of the county of the refund required under section
3 (3) and (4) of this 2012 Act. Upon receipt of notice from the
tax collector, the governing body shall cause a refund of the tax
and any fee and interest paid to be made from the refund reserve
account, if the county has established a refund reserve account
under ORS 311.807, or from the unsegregated tax collections
account described in ORS 311.385. The refund under this
subsection shall be made without interest. The county assessor
and the tax collector shall make the necessary corrections in the
records of their offices. + }
  SECTION 6.  { + This 2012 Act takes effect on the 91st day
after the date on which the 2012 regular session of the
Seventy-sixth Legislative Assembly adjourns sine die. + }
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