NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1979 SESSION

CHAPTER 665
SENATE BILL 731

AN ACT TO AMEND G.S. 105-342 CONCERNING APPEALS OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANIES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 105-342(c) is rewritten to read as follows:
"(c)	Review of appraised valuations to be certified to local taxing units.
(1)	In the year in which a general reappraisal of real property is required to be conducted in a county under the provisions of G.S. 105-286(a), and in the third and seventh years following the effective date of a county's last general reappraisal of real property, any public service company whose property is subject to appraisal under this Article may petition the board of county commissioners in writing for a reduction in the assessment of the public service company's property by the county on the ground that there exists an inequitable difference between the level of assessment of locally appraised property and that of the public service company's property by the Department of Revenue. The request for reduction shall be filed with the board of commissioners not later than April 1 of the year for which it is made. The request shall set forth with particularity the alleged inequitable difference in levels of appraisal and shall include any sales/assessment ratio studies or other appraisal information which the public service company desires to be considered by the board of commissioners. Within 60 days of the receipt of the request for reduction, the board of commissioners shall give written notice of its decision to the public service company. The board may deny the request, approve the reduction as requested, or it may offer a lesser reduction. If the county and the public service company agree to a reduction, they shall so notify the Department of Revenue and, in accordance therewith, the Department shall adjust its allocation of the public service company's property to be certified to the county and the municipalities therein. The percentage of reduction agreed upon in the year of the appeal shall also be applied by the Department of Revenue in certifying the appraised valuations of the public service company's property to the county and municipalities for the years following the appeal and until another request for reduction is filed as herein provided or a general reappraisal of real property as required in G.S. 105-286(a) is conducted; provided, however, if a county performs a horizontal adjustment pursuant to G.S. 105-286(b) the percentage of reduction shall be reduced as is appropriate to eliminate any remaining portion of the inequitable difference previously determined. If the decision of the board of commissioners is not satisfactory to the public service company, it may, within 30 days of the decision, or if no decision is rendered, not later than July 1, file with the Property Tax Commission a written request for a hearing at which it may submit evidence of the alleged inequitable difference. A copy of the request for hearing shall also be mailed to the chairman of the board of commissioners of the county whose appraisals are at issue.
(2)	If a timely request for a hearing is made, the Property Tax Commission shall fix a place and date for the hearing and shall give notice thereof to the taxpayer and to the chairman of the board of commissioners of the county whose appraisals are at issue.
(3)	In any request for a hearing under this section, the public service company shall set forth with particularity the inequitable difference in appraisal levels alleged and shall include any sales/assessment ratio studies or other appraisal information available to it.
(4)	As used in this section, the phrase 'inequitable difference' means a difference in the level of appraisals of fifteen percent (15%) or more.
(5)	Notwithstanding a request for hearing, as provided in subdivision (1) above, the Department of Revenue shall certify the appraised valuations of the appealing public service company's property to the county and municipalities therein and the taxes levied thereon shall be paid when due. If the Property Tax Commission finds that an inequitable difference exists, it shall order a reduction in the appraised valuations of the public service company's property to be allocated to the county and the municipalities so as to eliminate the inequitable difference. The Commission shall then notify the county and the municipalities of the adjusted valuations by certified mail and the county and municipalities shall, within 30 days of the receipt of such notice, refund the difference between the amount of taxes paid by the company based on the certified valuations and the amount determined to be due based on the adjusted valuations. In certifying the appraised valuations of the public service company's property to the county and municipalities for the years following an appeal and until another request for hearing is filed as herein provided or a general reappraisal of real property as required in G.S. 105-286(a) is conducted, the Department of Revenue shall adjust the valuations in accordance with the percentage of reduction determined by the Property Tax Commission; provided, however, if a county performs a horizontal adjustment pursuant to G.S. 105-286(b) the percentage of reduction shall be reduced as is appropriate to eliminate any remaining portion of the inequitable difference previously determined.
(6)	The hearing provided in this section shall be conducted under the provisions of G.S. 105-342(d)."
Sec. 2.  This act shall become effective January 1, 1980, and shall not apply to appeals filed with the Property Tax Commission before January 1, 1980.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 28th day of May, 1979.