Committee advances plan to create 12 regional assessment districts; municipalities to jointly hire reappraisal firms

Kirby Keaton, legislative counsel for the committee, presented draft 2.1 on regionalized reappraisals and said the bill would create 12 regional assessment districts, based on counties, and require member municipalities to jointly contract with third‑party firms to conduct full mass reappraisals every six years.

The language preserves a legislative-intent section and directs the Department of Taxes and Property Valuation and Review (PVR) to issue guidance, while moving the central responsibility for organizing reappraisals away from the state and onto member municipalities. Keaton said the bill would leave appeals unchanged: ‘‘There’s no difference in the appeal structure in this. . . . Current law for appeals stays the same here,’’ referring to local grievance and Board of Civil Authority (BCA) processes followed by appeals to PVR or to court.

Committee members immediately debated how much discretion the director of PVR should have and whether PVR should convene or municipalities should self-organize. Representative Wazowski asked whether PVR would be the convening authority; Keaton replied the draft gives PVR…