2001 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 55 – Property tax, agric land, nursery

HOUSE BILL NO. 55

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Daily Data Tracking History



H0055...............................................................by DEAL
PROPERTY TAX - AGRICULTURAL LAND - Amends existing law to further define
"land actively devoted to agriculture" to include land producing nursery
stock.
                                                                        
01/08    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
    Rpt prt - to Rev/Tax
01/18    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
01/19    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
01/22    3rd rdg - PASSED - 61-1-8
      AYES -- Barraclough, Barrett, Bedke, Bieter, Black, Boe, Bolz,
      Bradford, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Chase, Collins, Crow, Cuddy,
      Deal, Denney, Ellis, Ellsworth, Eskridge, Gould, Hammond, Harwood,
      Henbest, Higgins, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones, Kellogg, Kendell, Kunz,
      Lake, Langford, Loertscher, Mader, Marley, McKague, Montgomery,
      Mortensen, Moss, Moyle, Pearce, Pomeroy, Raybould, Ridinger, Roberts,
      Robison, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman, Shepherd, Smith, Smylie, Stevenson,
      Stone, Swan, Tilman, Trail, Wheeler, Wood, Young, Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- Stevenson
      Absent and excused -- Bell, Clark, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner,
      Hadley, Meyer, Pischner
    Floor Sponsor - Deal
    Title apvd - to Senate
01/23    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Loc Gov
01/30    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
01/31    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/06    3rd rdg - PASSED - 31-0-3(1 vacant)
      AYES -- Andreason, Boatright, Branch(Bartlett), Brandt, Bunderson,
      Burtenshaw, Cameron, Danielson, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin,
      Frasure, Geddes, Goedde, Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough,
      King-Barrutia, Lodge, Richardson, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen,
      Stegner, Stennett, Thorne, Wheeler, Whitworth, Williams,
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Lee, Noh, Risch
      Vacant -- Dist. #4
    Floor Sponsor -- Keough
    Title apvd - to House
02/07    To enrol
02/08    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
02/09    Pres signed
02/12    To Governor
02/16    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 12
         Effective: 01/01/01

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
 Fifty-sixth Legislature                  First Regular Session - 2001
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 55
                                                                        
                                          BY DEAL
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO LAND ACTIVELY DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE FOR TAXATION PURPOSES; AMEND-
  3        ING SECTION 63-604, IDAHO CODE, TO FURTHER DEFINE "LAND  ACTIVELY  DEVOTED
  4        TO  AGRICULTURE" TO INCLUDE LAND PRODUCING NURSERY STOCK AND TO MAKE TECH-
  5        NICAL CORRECTIONS; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING RETROACTIVE APPLI-
  6        CATION.
                                                                        
  7     Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  8        SECTION 1.  That Section 63-604, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
  9    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
 10        63-604.  LAND  ACTIVELY  DEVOTED  TO AGRICULTURE DEFINED. (1) For property
 11    tax purposes, land which is actively devoted to  agriculture  as  part  of  an
 12    agricultural  enterprise shall be eligible for appraisal, assessment and taxa-
 13    tion as agricultural property each year it meets one (1) or more of  the  fol-
 14    lowing qualifications:
 15        (a)  The  total  area  of  such land, including the homesite, is more than
 16        five (5) contiguous acres, and is actively devoted  to  agriculture  which
 17        means:
 18             (i)   It  is  used  to produce field crops including, but not limited
 19             to, grains, feed crops, fruits and vegetables; or
 20             (ii)  It is used to produce  nursery  stock  as  defined  in  section
 21             22-2302(11), Idaho Code; or
 22             (iii) It is used by the owner for the grazing of livestock to be sold
 23             as  part of a net profit-making enterprise, or is leased by the owner
 24             to a bona fide lessee for grazing purposes; or
 25             (iiiv)  It is in a cropland retirement or rotation program.
 26        (b)  The area of such land is five (5) acres or less  and  such  land  has
 27        been  actively  devoted  to  agriculture  within the meaning of subsection
 28        (1)(a) of this section during the last three (3) growing seasons; and
 29             (i)  It agriculturally produces for  sale  or  home  consumption  the
 30             equivalent  of  fifteen  percent (15%) or more of the owners' or les-
 31             sees' annual gross income; or
 32             (ii) It agriculturally produced gross  revenues  in  the  immediately
 33             preceding  year  of  one  thousand dollars ($1,000) or more. When the
 34             area of land is five (5) acres or less, such land shall  be  presumed
 35             to  be nonagricultural land until it is established that the require-
 36             ments of this subsection have been met.
 37        (2)  Land shall not be classified or valued as agricultural land which  is
 38    part of a platted subdivision with stated restrictions prohibiting its use for
 39    agricultural purposes, whether within or without a city.
 40        (3)  Land  utilized  for the grazing of a horse or other animals kept pri-
 41    marily for personal use or pleasure rather than as part of a bona fide profit-
 42    making agricultural enterprise shall not be considered to  be  land  which  is
 43    actively devoted to agriculture.
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1        (4)  Land actively devoted to agriculture, having previously qualified for
  2    exemption under this section in the preceding year, or which would have quali-
  3    fied  under this section during the current year, shall not lose such qualifi-
  4    cation due to the owner's or lessee's absence in the current year by reason of
  5    active military service in a designated combat zone, as defined in section 112
  6    of the iInternal rRevenue cCode. If an owner fails to timely apply for  exemp-
  7    tion  as  required in this section solely by reason of active duty in a desig-
  8    nated combat zone, as defined in section 112 of the iInternal rRevenue  cCode,
  9    and  the  land  would otherwise qualify for exemption under this section, then
 10    the board of county commissioners of the county in  which  the  land  actively
 11    devoted  to  agriculture is located shall refund property taxes, if previously
 12    paid, in an amount equal to the exemption which would otherwise have applied.
                                                                        
 13        SECTION 2.  An emergency existing  therefor,  which  emergency  is  hereby
 14    declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
 15    passage and approval, and retroactively to January 1, 2001.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact




                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
                             RS 10578


The purpose of this proposed legislation is to update and clarify
the definition for "land actively devoted to agriculture" for
property tax purposes to include land producing nursery stock.

Modern technology and new agricultural practices create a definite
need to update the existing law as it pertains to defining
agricultural use and having land classified as actively devoted to
agriculture.





                          FISCAL NOTE
None.





CONTACT:
Name:   Representative Bill Deal
Phone:  332-1000




STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE             H 55