HB 141: PUBLIC RECREATION LAND SPECIAL VALUATION

An Act Relating To Taxation; Providing For A Special Method Of Valuation For Land Used Primarily For Public Recreational Purposes; Prescribing A Penalty.

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MILD HB 141
PUBLIC RECREATION LAND SPECIAL VALUATION

Legislative URL:

HB 141 on nmlegis.gov

Emergency Clause:

No

Germane:

N/A

Location:

HJC

Action:

HPREF [3] HGEIC/HJC-HGEIC [9] ref HWMC- - HGEIC/HJC/HWMC-HGEIC- w/o rec-HJC [11] w/drn - ref HGEIC/HWMC/HJC-HWMC [28] w/o rec/a-HJC API.

Issue(s):

Recreation

Related Legislators

Bill Sponsor:

Patricia Lundstrom

Related Documents

Downloads:

Introduced
HGEIC Committee Report
HWMC Committee Report
Fiscal Impact Report

Summary

This bill provides for a special method of valuation for land used primarily for public recreational purposes. A new section of the Property Tax Code provides that land shall be classified and valued as recreational property for property taxation purposes if:

(1)      it is used primarily for public recreational use;

(2)      it is deemed recreational property by a governing body (the Legislature or the elected body of a county or municipality);

(3)      it is made available to the public for recreational use at no charge pursuant to an agreement between the owner of the land and the state or a local government; and

(4)      the owner of the land has applied to the county assessor for classification as recreational property.

TRD must adopt rules for implementing the new provisions, determining whether land is used primarily for recreational purposes, and determining the value of land classified as recreational property.

If land classified as recreational property changes so that any of the requirements for classification as recreational property are no longer met, the landowner must report the change to the county assessor. A person who fails to make such a report is liable for a civil penalty in an amount equal to the greater of $25.00 or 25 percent of the difference between the amount in property tax owed and the amount in property tax paid on the property.

On March 3rd the House Ways and Means Committee amended HB 141 to:

• provide that recreational property will be valued the same as land used primarily for agricultural purposes; and
• to require, as a precondition for valuation of land as recreational property, that in one or more of the preceding three years, it was classified as land used primarily for agricultural purposes.

A potential benefit of this bill might be an increase in privately owned land made available to the public for recreational uses. A concern might be that the HWMC amendment imposes a significant restriction, limiting the properties to which the bill may apply.