PRINTER'S NO. 1621
No. 1257 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY CONTI, HELFRICK, BRIGHTBILL, TOMLINSON, AFFLERBACH
AND KASUNIC, FEBRUARY 2, 1998
REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS, FEBRUARY 2, 1998
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 19, 1974 (P.L.973, No.319),
2 entitled "An act prescribing the procedure under which an
3 owner may have land devoted to agricultural use, agricultural
4 reserve use, or forest reserve use, valued for tax purposes
5 at the value it has for such uses, and providing for
6 reassessment and certain interest payments when such land is
7 applied to other uses and making editorial changes," adding a
8 definition; and providing for the valuation of land used for
9 wildlife preservation.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. Section 2 of the act of December 19, 1974
13 (P.L.973, No.319), known as the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest
14 Land Assessment Act of 1974, is amended by adding a definition
15 to read:
16 Section 2. Definitions.--As used in this act, the following
17 words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in
18 this section unless the context obviously otherwise requires:
19 * * *
20 "Wildlife Preserve." Land suitable and maintained for
21 wildlife habitat.
1 Section 2. Section 3 of the act is amended to read:
2 Section 3. Land Devoted to Agricultural Use, Agricultural
3 Reserve, and/or Forest Reserve, Woodlots and Wildlife
4 Preserve.--(a) For general property tax purposes, the value of
5 land which is presently devoted to agricultural use,
6 agricultural reserve, and/or forest reserve and, when authorized
7 by the governing body of the county in which the land is
8 situated, land used for wildlife preservation shall on
9 application of the owner and approval thereof as hereinafter
10 provided be that value which such land has for its particular
11 use if it also meets the following conditions:
12 (1) Land presently devoted to agricultural use: Such land
13 was devoted to agricultural use the preceding three years and is
14 not less than ten contiguous acres in area or has an anticipated
15 yearly gross income of two thousand dollars ($2,000).
16 (2) Land presently devoted to agricultural reserve: Such
17 land is not less than ten contiguous acres in area.
18 (3) Land presently devoted to forest reserve: Such land is
19 not less than ten contiguous acres in area.
20 (3.1) Land presently devoted to wildlife preserve: Such land
21 is not less than ten contiguous acres in area.
22 (4) The contiguous tract of land for which application is
23 made is not less than the entire contiguous area used by the
24 owner for agricultural or forest reserve purposes.
25 (b) The assessor when determining the value of land in
26 agricultural use, agricultural reserve use, [or] forest reserve
27 use, or wildlife preserve use shall, in arriving at the value of
28 such land for its particular use, consider available evidence of
29 such lands' capability for its particular use as derived from
30 the soil survey at the Pennsylvania State University, the
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1 National Cooperative Soil Survey, the United States Census of
2 Agricultural Categories of land use classes, and evidence of the
3 capability of land devoted to such use.
4 (c) Farm woodlots, contiguous to, and held by the same
5 ownership as other agricultural land is not required to conform
6 to the ten acre minimum forest reserve requirement.
7 Section 3. Section 4 of the act, amended May 9, 1984
8 (P.L.234, No.51), is amended to read:
9 Section 4. Applications for Preferential Assessments.--(a)
10 The county board for assessment appeals shall have the
11 responsibility to accept and process applications for
12 preferential assessments as prescribed by this act.
13 (b) Each owner of agricultural land, agricultural reserve
14 [and/or], forest reserve and/or wildlife preserve, desiring
15 preferential use assessment under this act, shall make
16 application to the county board of assessment appeals of the
17 county in which the land is located. Such application must be
18 submitted on or before June first of the year immediately
19 preceding the tax year. Preferential assessment shall continue
20 under the initial application until land use change takes place.
21 (c) There shall be uniform application forms for
22 preferential assessment in all counties. Such application forms
23 shall be developed by the Department of Agriculture. In addition
24 to the information which the Department of Agriculture shall
25 deem appropriate, the following statement shall be included:
26 "The applicant for preferential assessment hereby agrees, if
27 his application is approved for preferential assessment, to
28 submit thirty days notice to the county assessor of a proposed
29 change in use of the land, a split-off of a portion of the land,
30 or a conveyance of the land."
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1 (d) The approved application for preferential assessment
2 shall be recorded by the county board for assessment appeals in
3 the office of the recorder of deeds for the county in a
4 preferential assessment docket. A breach of the preferential
5 assessment shall also be recorded by the county board for
6 assessment appeals in the office of the recorder of deeds. The
7 recorder shall charge a fee for the recordings in accordance
8 with the acts relating to the imposition of fees by recorders of
9 deeds. The fee for recording the breach of the preferential
10 assessment shall be added onto the total of the roll-back taxes
11 due and shall be paid by the owner of the property.
12 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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