HOUSE BILL 141

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Patricia A. Lundstrom

AN ACT

RELATING TO TAXATION; PROVIDING FOR A SPECIAL METHOD OF VALUATION FOR LAND USED PRIMARILY FOR PUBLIC RECREATIONAL PURPOSES; PRESCRIBING A PENALTY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Property Tax Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] SPECIAL METHOD OF VALUATION--LAND USED PRIMARILY FOR PUBLIC RECREATION PURPOSES.--

          A. Land classified as recreational property that is subject to valuation for property taxation purposes shall be valued in accordance with the provisions of this section. Land shall be classified as recreational property if:

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

                (2) it is deemed recreational property by a governing body;

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

                (4) the owner of the land has applied to the county assessor in the manner provided in Subsection E of this section.

          B. If, in the previous tax year, a property was classified as recreational property, the property shall be presumed to be recreational property. 

          C. The department shall promulgate rules for implementing the provisions of this section, determining whether land is used primarily for recreational purposes and determining the value of land classified as recreational property. The rules shall:

                (1) specify procedures for the classification of land as recreational property and the declassification of land as recreational property; and

                (2) provide for the periodic review by the department of the value of recreational property.

          D. All improvements, other than those specified in Section 7-36-15 NMSA 1978, on land classified as recreational property shall be valued separately for property taxation purposes. The value of those improvements shall be added to the value of the recreational property.

          E. To obtain as it applies to land the classification of recreational property, the owner of the land shall apply to the county assessor. Application shall be made under oath, shall be in a form and contain the information required by department rules and shall be made no later than thirty days after the date of mailing by the assessor of the notice of valuation.

          F. If land classified as recreational property changes so that a provision of Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection A of this section is no longer met, the owner of that land shall report the change to the county assessor before March 1 of the tax year immediately following the year in which the change occurs. The report shall be made on a form prescribed by department rules.

          G. A person who fails to make a report in accordance with the provisions of Subsection F of this section is liable for a civil penalty in an amount equal to the greater of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or twenty-five percent of the difference between the amount in property tax owed and the amount in property tax paid on the property.

          H. For the purposes of this section, "governing body" means the legislature or the elected body of a county or municipality having jurisdiction over the land subject to classification as recreational property."

     SECTION 2. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act apply to the 2016 and subsequent property tax years.

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