| (a) A school district is eligible for a property value adjustment if a major taxpayer fails to pay all or a portion of its ad valorem taxes because of a protest regarding the valuation of its property. (1) A taxpayer is considered "major" if the amount protested contributes 5.0% or more to the tax collections of the school district. (2) To be eligible for the adjustment, the district must have a Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate that equals or exceeds the M&O tax rate in the prior year. (b) The commissioner of education shall grant the adjustment at his or her discretion. If granted, the tax base of the eligible district shall be reduced by 100% of the protested value for the purpose of temporarily increasing the state aid payment to the district. (c) When the protest has been resolved, the district must submit the results of the settlement to the commissioner within 30 days. An appropriate form shall be supplied by the commissioner to be completed by the district documenting the results of the protest and verified by the signature of the chief appraiser. (d) Recovery of state aid overpayment or collection of insufficient recapture amounts due from the district as a result of the settlement shall be made by means of offsetting adjustments to current or subsequent year state aid or recapture amounts. These amounts must be repaid no later than two years after the year in which the adjustment was initially made. |
