As Introduced

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
S. B. No. 52


Senator Coley 

A BILL
To amend sections 307.699, 3735.67, 5715.19, 5715.27, 1
and 5717.01 of the Revised Code to permit property 2
tax complaints to be initiated only by the 3
property owner.4


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 307.699, 3735.67, 5715.19, 5715.27, 5
and 5717.01 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:6

       Sec. 307.699.  (A) As used in this section:7

       (1) "Sports facility" has the same meaning as in section 8
307.696 of the Revised Code.9

       (2) "Residual cash" has the same meaning as in division 10
(B)(5) of section 5709.081 of the Revised Code.11

       (B) Any political subdivision or subdivisions or any 12
corporation that owns a sports facility that is both constructed 13
under section 307.696 of the Revised Code and includes property 14
exempt from taxation under division (B) of section 5709.081 of the 15
Revised Code, shall make an annual service payment in lieu of 16
taxes on the exempt property for each tax year beginning with the 17
first tax year in which the facility or part thereof is used by a 18
major league professional athletic team for its home schedule. The 19
amount of the service payment for a tax year shall be determined 20
by the county auditor under division (D) of this section.21

       (C) On or before the first day of September each year, the 22
owner of property to which this section applies shall file both of 23
the following with the county auditor:24

       (1) A return in the same form as under section 5711.02 of the 25
Revised Code listing all its exempt tangible personal property as 26
of the first day of August of that year;27

       (2) An audited financial statement certified by the owner and 28
reflecting the actual receipts, revenue, expenses, expenditures, 29
net income, and residual cash derived from the property during the 30
most recently ended calendar year.31

       For the purposes of this section, the county auditor shall 32
determine the true value of the real and tangible personal 33
property owned by the political subdivision or subdivisions or the 34
corporation and included in the sports facility, including the 35
taxable portion thereof, by capitalizing at an appropriate rate 36
the net income of the owner derived from that property. The 37
auditor shall use the net income as certified in the owner's 38
financial statement, unless hethe auditor determines that the 39
amount so certified is inaccurate, in which event hethe auditor40
shall determine the accurate amount of net income to be 41
capitalized. The county auditor shall compute net income before 42
debt service, and shall not include any revenue from county taxes 43
as defined in division (A)(1) of section 307.696 of the Revised 44
Code. The true value so determined shall be allocated between real 45
and tangible personal property and assessed for the purposes of 46
this section at the appropriate percentages provided by law for 47
determining taxable values.48

       Using information reported or determined under this division, 49
the county auditor shall determine the amount of putative taxes 50
for the property for that tax year. As used in this section, 51
"putative taxes" means the greater of one million dollars or the 52
amount of property taxes that would have been charged and payable 53
if all the real and tangible personal property owned by the 54
political subdivision or subdivisions or the corporation and 55
included in the sports facility was subject to taxation.56

       (D) On or before the date that is sixty days before the date 57
that the first payment of real property taxes are due without 58
penalty under Chapter 323. of the Revised Code each tax year, the 59
county auditor shall determine the amount of service payments for 60
that tax year for property to which this section applies in the 61
following manner:62

       (1) The county auditor shall deduct from the amount of 63
putative taxes under division (C) of this section any taxes 64
assessed against the taxable portion of the sports facility owned 65
by any of the entities in division (B)(1) of section 5709.081 of 66
the Revised Code, any amounts paid by a municipal corporation 67
under section 5709.082 of the Revised Code as a result of the 68
exempt property, and any amounts available in the construction 69
payments account established under division (G)(1) of this section 70
as are required to make the total deductions under this division 71
equal to one million dollars.72

       (2) The county auditor shall fix the amount of the service 73
payments for a tax year at the amount of the putative taxes minus 74
deductions under division (D)(1) of this section. However, any 75
amount of service payments required because the putative taxes 76
exceed one million dollars shall not exceed the amount of residual 77
cash of the owner of the exempt property as reported in division 78
(C) of this section that would otherwise accrue to the political 79
subdivision or subdivisions pursuant to division (B)(5) of section 80
5709.081 of the Revised Code if no service payments were imposed 81
under this section.82

       (3) If the exempt property is an improvement under division 83
(C)(2) of section 5709.081 of the Revised Code, the county auditor 84
shall determine the percentage which such improvement constitutes 85
of the total sports facility and shall substitute for the 86
one-million-dollar amount, wherever it appears in this section, an 87
amount equal to such percentage multiplied by one million dollars. 88
The percentage shall be determined by dividing the reproduction 89
cost new of the improvement by the reproduction cost new of the 90
total sports facility including the improvement, owned by any of 91
the entities under division (B)(1) of section 5709.081 of the 92
Revised Code.93

       (E) On or before the date that is sixty days before the date 94
that the first payment of real property taxes are due without 95
penalty under Chapter 323. of the Revised Code each tax year, the 96
county auditor shall certify and send notice by certified mail to 97
the owner of the property of the amount and the calculation of the 98
service payments charged that tax year, including the separate 99
valuations determined for the real and tangible personal property, 100
the capitalization rate used, the separate deductions allowed 101
under division (D) of this section, and any claimed inaccuracies 102
in net income determined under division (C) of this section.103

       The service payments for a tax year shall be charged and 104
collected in the same manner as real property taxes for that tax 105
year. Revenue collected as service payments shall be distributed 106
to the taxing districts that would have received property tax 107
revenue from the exempt property if it was not exempt, for the tax 108
year for which the payments are made, in the same proportions as 109
property taxes are distributed. However, if the sum of the 110
deductions allowed under division (D) of this section and the 111
service payments exceeds one million dollars, any service payments 112
in excess of one million dollars shall first be paid to the 113
municipal corporation to reimburse it for the payments made under 114
section 5709.082 of the Revised Code from the inception of such 115
payments. Any such payments to the municipal corporation shall be 116
deducted from the municipal payments account established under 117
division (G)(2) of this section.118

       (F) The owner of property exempt from taxation under section 119
5709.081 of the Revised Code or persons and political subdivisions 120
entitled to file complaints under section 5715.19 of the Revised 121
Codeany of the taxing districts may appeal the determination of 122
the annual service payments required by this section to the board 123
of revision in the county in which the exempt property is located 124
within the time period for filing complaints under section 5715.19 125
of the Revised Code. The appeal shall be taken by filing a 126
complaint with that board which need not be on the form prescribed 127
for other complaints filed under section 5715.19 of the Revised 128
Code but which shall include an identification of the exempt 129
property, a copy of the auditor's certification to the owner, a 130
calculation of the service payments claimed to be correct and a 131
statement of the errors in the auditor's determination. Upon 132
receipt of such complaint, the board of revision shall notify the 133
county auditor of the county in which the exempt property is 134
located, who shall, within thirty days of such notice, certify to 135
the board of revision a transcript of the record of the 136
proceedings of the county auditor pertaining to the determination 137
of the annual service payments. Any complaint filed under this 138
section shall be regarded as a complaint for the purposes of 139
divisions (B), (C), (E), (F), (G), and (H) of section 5715.19 of 140
the Revised Code. The board of revision shall order the hearing of 141
evidence and shall determine the amount of service payments due 142
and payable pursuant to this section.143

       (G) The county auditor of the county in which the exempt 144
property is located shall establish the following two accounts:145

       (1) A construction payments account to which shall be posted 146
all payments made by a municipal corporation pursuant to section 147
5709.082 of the Revised Code on account of such property derived 148
from persons employed at the site of the sports facility in the 149
construction of the facility. Deductions shall be made from such 150
account as provided in division (D) of this section until the 151
amounts so posted are exhausted;.152

       (2) A municipal payments reimbursement account to which shall 153
be posted all payments made by a municipal corporation pursuant to 154
section 5709.082 of the Revised Code on account of such property 155
including those posted under division (G)(1) of this section. 156
Deductions shall be made from the municipal payments reimbursement 157
account for reimbursements to the municipal corporation made under 158
division (E) of this section until the amounts posted are 159
exhausted.160

       Sec. 3735.67.  (A) The owner of real property located in a 161
community reinvestment area and eligible for exemption from 162
taxation under a resolution adopted pursuant to section 3735.66 of 163
the Revised Code may file an application for an exemption from 164
real property taxation of a percentage of the assessed valuation 165
of a new structure or remodeling, completed after the effective 166
date of the resolution adopted pursuant to section 3735.66 of the 167
Revised Code, with the housing officer designated pursuant to 168
section 3735.66 of the Revised Code for the community reinvestment 169
area in which the property is located. If any part of the new 170
structure or remodeling that would be exempted is of real property 171
to be used for commercial or industrial purposes, the legislative 172
authority and the owner of the property shall enter into a written 173
agreement pursuant to section 3735.671 of the Revised Code prior 174
to commencement of construction or remodeling; if such an 175
agreement is subject to approval by the board of education of the 176
school district within the territory of which the property is or 177
will be located, the agreement shall not be formally approved by 178
the legislative authority until the board of education approves 179
the agreement in the manner prescribed by that section.180

       (B) The housing officer shall verify the construction of the 181
new structure or the cost of the remodeling and the facts asserted 182
in the application. The housing officer shall determine whether 183
the construction or the cost of the remodeling meets the 184
requirements for an exemption under this section. In cases 185
involving a structure of historical or architectural significance, 186
the housing officer shall not determine whether the remodeling 187
meets the requirements for a tax exemption unless the 188
appropriateness of the remodeling has been certified, in writing, 189
by the society, association, agency, or legislative authority that 190
has designated the structure or by any organization or person 191
authorized, in writing, by such society, association, agency, or 192
legislative authority to certify the appropriateness of the 193
remodeling.194

       (C) If the construction or remodeling meets the requirements 195
for exemption, the housing officer shall forward the application 196
to the county auditor with a certification as to the division of 197
this section under which the exemption is granted, and the period 198
and percentage of the exemption as determined by the legislative 199
authority pursuant to that division. If the construction or 200
remodeling is of commercial or industrial property and the 201
legislative authority is not required to certify a copy of a 202
resolution under section 3735.671 of the Revised Code, the housing 203
officer shall comply with the notice requirements prescribed under 204
section 5709.83 of the Revised Code, unless the board has adopted 205
a resolution under that section waiving its right to receive such 206
a notice.207

       (D) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, the 208
tax exemption shall first apply in the year the construction or 209
remodeling would first be taxable but for this section. In the 210
case of remodeling that qualifies for exemption, a percentage, not 211
to exceed one hundred per cent, of the amount by which the 212
remodeling increased the assessed value of the structure shall be 213
exempted from real property taxation. In the case of construction 214
of a structure that qualifies for exemption, a percentage, not to 215
exceed one hundred per cent, of the assessed value of the 216
structure shall be exempted from real property taxation. In either 217
case, the percentage shall be the percentage set forth in the 218
agreement if the structure or remodeling is to be used for 219
commercial or industrial purposes, or the percentage set forth in 220
the resolution describing the community reinvestment area if the 221
structure or remodeling is to be used for residential purposes.222

       The construction of new structures and the remodeling of 223
existing structures are hereby declared to be a public purpose for 224
which exemptions from real property taxation may be granted for 225
the following periods:226

       (1) For every dwelling containing not more than two family 227
units located within the same community reinvestment area and upon 228
which the cost of remodeling is at least two thousand five hundred 229
dollars, a period to be determined by the legislative authority 230
adopting the resolution describing the community reinvestment area 231
where the dwelling is located, but not exceeding ten years unless 232
extended pursuant to division (D)(3) of this section;233

       (2) For every dwelling containing more than two units and 234
commercial or industrial properties, located within the same 235
community reinvestment area, upon which the cost of remodeling is 236
at least five thousand dollars, a period to be determined by the 237
legislative authority adopting the resolution, but not exceeding 238
twelve years unless extended pursuant to division (D)(3) of this 239
section;240

       (3) The period of exemption for a dwelling described in 241
division (D)(1) or (2) of this section may be extended by a 242
legislative authority for up to an additional ten years if the 243
dwelling is a structure of historical or architectural 244
significance, is a certified historic structure that has been 245
subject to federal tax treatment under 26 U.S.C. 47 and 170(h), 246
and units within the structure have been leased to individual 247
tenants for five consecutive years;248

       (4) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, for 249
construction of every dwelling, and commercial or industrial 250
structure located within the same community reinvestment area, a 251
period to be determined by the legislative authority adopting the 252
resolution, but not exceeding fifteen years.253

       (E) Any person, board, or officer authorized by section 254
5715.19 of the Revised Code to file complaints with the county 255
board of revision, the board of county commissioners, the 256
prosecuting attorney or treasurer of the county, the board of 257
township trustees of any township with territory in the county, 258
the board of education of any school district with any territory 259
in the county, or the mayor or legislative authority of a 260
municipal corporation with any territory in the county, may file a 261
complaint with the housing officer challenging the continued 262
exemption of any property granted an exemption under this section. 263
A complaint against exemption shall be filed prior to the 264
thirty-first day of December of the tax year for which taxation of 265
the property is requested. The housing officer shall determine 266
whether the property continues to meet the requirements for 267
exemption and shall certify the housing officer's findings to the 268
complainant. If the housing officer determines that the property 269
does not meet the requirements for exemption, the housing officer 270
shall notify the county auditor, who shall correct the tax list 271
and duplicate accordingly.272

       (F) The owner of a dwelling constructed in a community 273
reinvestment area may file an application for an exemption after 274
the year the construction first became subject to taxation. The 275
application shall be processed in accordance with the procedures 276
prescribed under this section and shall be granted if the 277
construction that is the subject of the application otherwise 278
meets the requirements for an exemption under this section. If 279
approved, the exemption sought in the application first applies in 280
the year the application is filed. An exemption approved pursuant 281
to this division continues only for those years remaining in the 282
period described in division (D)(4) of this section. No exemption 283
may be claimed for any year in that period that precedes the year 284
in which the application is filed.285

       Sec. 5715.19.  (A) As used in this section, "member" has the 286
same meaning as in section 1705.01 of the Revised Code.287

       (1) Subject to division (A)(2) of this section, a complaint 288
against any of the following determinations for the current tax 289
year shall be filed with the county auditor on or before the 290
thirty-first day of March of the ensuing tax year or the date of 291
closing of the collection for the first half of real and public 292
utility property taxes for the current tax year, whichever is 293
later:294

       (a) Any classification made under section 5713.041 of the 295
Revised Code;296

       (b) Any determination made under section 5713.32 or 5713.35 297
of the Revised Code;298

       (c) Any recoupment charge levied under section 5713.35 of the 299
Revised Code;300

       (d) The determination of the total valuation or assessment of 301
any parcel that appears on the tax list, except parcels assessed 302
by the tax commissioner pursuant to section 5727.06 of the Revised 303
Code;304

       (e) The determination of the total valuation of any parcel 305
that appears on the agricultural land tax list, except parcels 306
assessed by the tax commissioner pursuant to section 5727.06 of 307
the Revised Code;308

       (f) Any determination made under division (A) of section 309
319.302 of the Revised Code.310

        If such a complaint is filed by mail or certified mail, the 311
date of the United States postmark placed on the envelope or 312
sender's receipt by the postal service shall be treated as the 313
date of filing. A private meter postmark on an envelope is not a 314
valid postmark for purposes of establishing the filing date.315

        Any person owning taxable real property in the county or in a 316
taxing district with territory in the county; such a person's 317
spouse; an individual who is retained by such a person and who 318
holds a designation from a professional assessment organization, 319
such as the institute for professionals in taxation, the national 320
council of property taxation, or the international association of 321
assessing officers; a public accountant who holds a permit under 322
section 4701.10 of the Revised Code, a general or residential real 323
estate appraiser licensed or certified under Chapter 4763. of the 324
Revised Code, or a real estate broker licensed under Chapter 4735. 325
of the Revised Code, who is retained by such a person; if the 326
person is a firm, company, association, partnership, limited 327
liability company, or corporation, an officer, a salaried 328
employee, a partner, or a member of that person; or, if the person 329
is a trust, a trustee of the trust; the board of county 330
commissioners; the prosecuting attorney or treasurer of the 331
county; the board of township trustees of any township with 332
territory within the county; the board of education of any school 333
district with any territory in the county; or the mayor or 334
legislative authority of any municipal corporation with any 335
territory in the county may file such a complaint regarding any 336
such determination affecting any real property owned by the person337
in the county, except that a person owning taxable real property 338
in another county may file such a complaint only with regard to 339
any such determination affecting real property in the county that 340
is located in the same taxing district as that person's real 341
property is located. The county auditor shall present to the 342
county board of revision all complaints filed with the auditor.343

       (2) As used in division (A)(2) of this section, "interim 344
period" means, for each county, the tax year to which section 345
5715.24 of the Revised Code applies and each subsequent tax year 346
until the tax year in which that section applies again.347

       No person, board, or officer shall file a complaint against 348
the valuation or assessment of any parcel that appears on the tax 349
list if itthe person filed a complaint against the valuation or 350
assessment of that parcel for any prior tax year in the same 351
interim period, unless the person, board, or officer alleges that 352
the valuation or assessment should be changed due to one or more 353
of the following circumstances that occurred after the tax lien 354
date for the tax year for which the prior complaint was filed and 355
that the circumstances were not taken into consideration with 356
respect to the prior complaint:357

       (a) The property was sold in an arm's length transaction, as 358
described in section 5713.03 of the Revised Code;359

       (b) The property lost value due to some casualty;360

       (c) Substantial improvement was added to the property;361

       (d) An increase or decrease of at least fifteen per cent in 362
the property's occupancy has had a substantial economic impact on 363
the property.364

       (3) If a county board of revision, the board of tax appeals, 365
or any court dismisses a complaint filed under this section or 366
section 5715.13 of the Revised Code for the reason that the act of 367
filing the complaint was the unauthorized practice of law or the 368
person filing the complaint was engaged in the unauthorized 369
practice of law, the party affected by a decrease in valuation or 370
the party's agent, or the person owning taxable real property in 371
the county or in a taxing district with territory in the county, 372
may refile the complaint, notwithstanding division (A)(2) of this 373
section.374

       (4) Notwithstanding division (A)(2) of this section, a 375
person, board, or officer mayauthorized by division (A)(1) of 376
this section to file a complaint against the valuation or 377
assessment of anya parcel that appears on the tax list may file 378
such a complaint if itthe person filed a complaint against the 379
valuation or assessment of that parcel for any prior tax year in 380
the same interim period if the person, board, or officerbut381
withdrew the complaint before the complaint was heard by the 382
board.383

       (B) Within thirty days after the last date such complaints 384
may be filed, the auditor shall give notice of each complaint in 385
which the stated amount of overvaluation, undervaluation, 386
discriminatory valuation, illegal valuation, or incorrect 387
determination is at least seventeen thousand five hundred dollars 388
to each property owner whose property is the subject of the 389
complaint, if the complaint was not filed by the owner or the 390
owner's spouse, and to each board of education whose school 391
district may be affected by the complaint. Within thirty days 392
after receiving such notice, a board of education; a property 393
owner; the owner's spouse; an individual who is retained by such 394
an owner and who holds a designation from a professional 395
assessment organization, such as the institute for professionals 396
in taxation, the national council of property taxation, or the 397
international association of assessing officers; a public 398
accountant who holds a permit under section 4701.10 of the Revised 399
Code, a general or residential real estate appraiser licensed or 400
certified under Chapter 4763. of the Revised Code, or a real 401
estate broker licensed under Chapter 4735. of the Revised Code, 402
who is retained by such a person; or, if the property owner is a 403
firm, company, association, partnership, limited liability 404
company, corporation, or trust, an officer, a salaried employee, a 405
partner, a member, or trustee of that property owner, may file a 406
complaint in support of or objecting to the amount of alleged 407
overvaluation, undervaluation, discriminatory valuation, illegal 408
valuation, or incorrect determination stated in a previously filed 409
complaint or objecting to the current valuation. Upon the filing 410
of a complaint under this division, the board of education or the 411
property owner shall be made a party to the action.412

       (C) Each board of revision shall notify any complainant and 413
also the property owner, if the property owner's address is known, 414
when a complaint is filed by one other than the property owner, by 415
certified mail, not less than ten days prior to the hearing, of 416
the time and place the same will be heard. The board of revision 417
shall hear and render its decision on a complaint within ninety 418
days after the filing thereof with the board, except that if a 419
complaint is filed within thirty days after receiving notice from 420
the auditor as provided in division (B) of this section, the board 421
shall hear and render its decision within ninety days after such 422
filing.423

       (D) The determination of any such complaint shall relate back 424
to the date when the lien for taxes or recoupment charges for the 425
current year attached or the date as of which liability for such 426
year was determined. Liability for taxes and recoupment charges 427
for such year and each succeeding year until the complaint is 428
finally determined and for any penalty and interest for nonpayment 429
thereof within the time required by law shall be based upon the 430
determination, valuation, or assessment as finally determined. 431
Each complaint shall state the amount of overvaluation, 432
undervaluation, discriminatory valuation, illegal valuation, or 433
incorrect classification or determination upon which the complaint 434
is based. The treasurer shall accept any amount tendered as taxes 435
or recoupment charge upon property concerning which a complaint is 436
then pending, computed upon the claimed valuation as set forth in 437
the complaint. If a complaint filed under this section for the 438
current year is not determined by the board within the time 439
prescribed for such determination, the complaint and any 440
proceedings in relation thereto shall be continued by the board as 441
a valid complaint for any ensuing year until such complaint is 442
finally determined by the board or upon any appeal from a decision 443
of the board. In such case, the original complaint shall continue 444
in effect without further filing by the original taxpayer, the 445
original taxpayer's assignee, or any other person or entity 446
authorized to file a complaint under this sectionparties to the 447
action.448

       (E) If a taxpayer files a complaint as to the classification, 449
valuation, assessment, or any determination affecting the 450
taxpayer's own propertyunder this section and tenders less than 451
the full amount of taxes or recoupment charges as finally 452
determined, an interest charge shall accrue as follows:453

       (1) If the amount finally determined is less than the amount 454
billed but more than the amount tendered, the taxpayer shall pay 455
interest at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of 456
the Revised Code, computed from the date that the taxes were due 457
on the difference between the amount finally determined and the 458
amount tendered. This interest charge shall be in lieu of any 459
penalty or interest charge under section 323.121 of the Revised 460
Code unless the taxpayer failed to file a complaint and tender an 461
amount as taxes or recoupment charges within the time required by 462
this section, in which case section 323.121 of the Revised Code 463
applies.464

       (2) If the amount of taxes finally determined is equal to or 465
greater than the amount billed and more than the amount tendered, 466
the taxpayer shall pay interest at the rate prescribed by section 467
5703.47 of the Revised Code from the date the taxes were due on 468
the difference between the amount finally determined and the 469
amount tendered, such interest to be in lieu of any interest 470
charge but in addition to any penalty prescribed by section 471
323.121 of the Revised Code.472

       (F) Upon request of a complainant, the tax commissioner shall 473
determine the common level of assessment of real property in the 474
county for the year stated in the request that is not valued under 475
section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, which common level of 476
assessment shall be expressed as a percentage of true value and 477
the common level of assessment of lands valued under such section, 478
which common level of assessment shall also be expressed as a 479
percentage of the current agricultural use value of such lands. 480
Such determination shall be made on the basis of the most recent 481
available sales ratio studies of the commissioner and such other 482
factual data as the commissioner deems pertinent.483

       (G) A complainant shall provide to the board of revision all 484
information or evidence within the complainant's knowledge or 485
possession that affects the real property that is the subject of 486
the complaint. A complainant who fails to provide such information 487
or evidence is precluded from introducing it on appeal to the 488
board of tax appeals or the court of common pleas, except that the 489
board of tax appeals or court may admit and consider the evidence 490
if the complainant shows good cause for the complainant's failure 491
to provide the information or evidence to the board of revision.492

       (H) In case of the pendency of any proceeding in court based 493
upon an alleged excessive, discriminatory, or illegal valuation or 494
incorrect classification or determination, the taxpayer may tender 495
to the treasurer an amount as taxes upon property computed upon 496
the claimed valuation as set forth in the complaint to the court. 497
The treasurer may accept the tender. If the tender is not 498
accepted, no penalty shall be assessed because of the nonpayment 499
of the full taxes assessed.500

       Sec. 5715.27.  (A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) 501
of this section and in section 3735.67 of the Revised Code, the 502
owner, a vendee in possession under a purchase agreement or a land 503
contract, the beneficiary of a trust, or a lessee for an initial 504
term of not less than thirty years of any property may file an 505
application with the tax commissioner, on forms prescribed by the 506
commissioner, requesting that such property be exempted from 507
taxation and that taxes, interest, and penalties be remitted as 508
provided in division (C) of section 5713.08 of the Revised Code.509

       (2) If the property that is the subject of the application 510
for exemption is any of the following, the application shall be 511
filed with the county auditor of the county in which the property 512
is listed for taxation:513

       (a) A public road or highway;514

       (b) Property belonging to the federal government of the 515
United States;516

       (c) Additions or other improvements to an existing building 517
or structure that belongs to the state or a political subdivision, 518
as defined in section 5713.081 of the Revised Code, and that is 519
exempted from taxation as property used exclusively for a public 520
purpose;521

       (d) Property of the boards of trustees and of the housing 522
commissions of the state universities, the northeastern Ohio 523
universities college of medicine, and of the state to be exempted 524
under section 3345.17 of the Revised Code.525

       (B) The board of education of any school district may request 526
the tax commissioner or county auditor to provide it with 527
notification of applications for exemption from taxation for 528
property located within that district. If so requested, the 529
commissioner or auditor shall send to the board on a monthly basis 530
reports that contain sufficient information to enable the board to 531
identify each property that is the subject of an exemption 532
application, including, but not limited to, the name of the 533
property owner or applicant, the address of the property, and the 534
auditor's parcel number. The commissioner or auditor shall mail 535
the reports by the fifteenth day of the month following the end of 536
the month in which the commissioner or auditor receives the 537
applications for exemption.538

       (C) A board of education that has requested notification 539
under division (B) of this section may, with respect to any 540
application for exemption of property located in the district and 541
included in the commissioner's or auditor's most recent report 542
provided under that division, file a statement with the 543
commissioner or auditor and with the applicant indicating its 544
intent to submit evidence and participate in any hearing on the 545
application. The statements shall be filed prior to the first day 546
of the third month following the end of the month in which that 547
application was docketed by the commissioner or auditor. A 548
statement filed in compliance with this division entitles the 549
district to submit evidence and to participate in any hearing on 550
the property and makes the district a party for purposes of 551
sections 5717.02 to 5717.04 of the Revised Code in any appeal of 552
the commissioner's or auditor's decision to the board of tax 553
appeals.554

       (D) The commissioner or auditor shall not hold a hearing on 555
or grant or deny an application for exemption of property in a 556
school district whose board of education has requested 557
notification under division (B) of this section until the end of 558
the period within which the board may submit a statement with 559
respect to that application under division (C) of this section. 560
The commissioner or auditor may act upon an application at any 561
time prior to that date upon receipt of a written waiver from each 562
such board of education, or, in the case of exemptions authorized 563
by section 725.02, 1728.10, 5709.40, 5709.41, 5709.411, 5709.62, 564
5709.63, 5709.632, 5709.73, 5709.78, 5709.84, or 5709.88 of the 565
Revised Code, upon the request of the property owner. Failure of a 566
board of education to receive the report required in division (B) 567
of this section shall not void an action of the commissioner or 568
auditor with respect to any application. The commissioner or 569
auditor may extend the time for filing a statement under division 570
(C) of this section.571

       (E) A complaint may also be filed with the commissioner or 572
auditor by anyAny person, board, or officer authorized by section 573
5715.19 of the Revised Code to file complaints with the county 574
board of revision, the board of county commissioners, the 575
prosecuting attorney or treasurer of the county, the board of 576
township trustees of any township with territory in the county, 577
the board of education of any school district with any territory 578
in the county, or the mayor or legislative authority of a 579
municipal corporation with any territory in the county may file a 580
complaint with the commissioner or auditor against the continued 581
exemption of any property granted exemption by the commissioner or 582
auditor, respectively, under this section.583

       (F) An application for exemption and a complaint against 584
exemption shall be filed prior to the thirty-first day of December 585
of the tax year for which exemption is requested or for which the 586
liability of the property to taxation in that year is requested. 587
The commissioner or auditor shall consider such application or 588
complaint in accordance with procedures established by the 589
commissioner, determine whether the property is subject to 590
taxation or exempt therefrom, and, if the commissioner makes the 591
determination, certify the determination to the auditor. Upon 592
making the determination or receiving the commissioner's 593
determination, the auditor shall correct the tax list and 594
duplicate accordingly. If a tax certificate has been sold under 595
section 5721.32 or 5721.33 of the Revised Code with respect to 596
property for which an exemption has been requested, the tax 597
commissioner or auditor shall also certify the findings to the 598
county treasurer of the county in which the property is located.599

       (G) Applications and complaints, and documents of any kind 600
related to applications and complaints, filed with the tax 601
commissioner or county auditor under this section are public 602
records within the meaning of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.603

       (H) If the commissioner or auditor determines that the use of 604
property or other facts relevant to the taxability of property 605
that is the subject of an application for exemption or a complaint 606
under this section has changed while the application or complaint 607
was pending, the commissioner or auditor may make the 608
determination under division (F) of this section separately for 609
each tax year beginning with the year in which the application or 610
complaint was filed or the year for which remission of taxes under 611
division (C) of section 5713.08 of the Revised Code was requested, 612
and including each subsequent tax year during which the 613
application or complaint is pending before the commissioner or 614
auditor.615

       Sec. 5717.01.  An appeal from a decision of a county board of 616
revision may be taken to the board of tax appeals within thirty 617
days after notice of the decision of the county board of revision 618
is mailed as provided in division (A) of section 5715.20 of the 619
Revised Code. Such an appeal may be taken by the county auditor, 620
the tax commissioner, or any board, legislative authority, public 621
officialthe board of education of any school district in which 622
the parcel that is the subject of the decision is located, or a623
taxpayer authorized by section 5715.19 of the Revised Code to file 624
complaints against valuations or assessments with the auditor. 625
Such appeal shall be taken by the filing of a notice of appeal, in 626
person or by certified mail, express mail, or authorized delivery 627
service, with the board of tax appeals and with the county board 628
of revision. If notice of appeal is filed by certified mail, 629
express mail, or authorized delivery service as provided in 630
section 5703.056 of the Revised Code, the date of the United 631
States postmark placed on the sender's receipt by the postal 632
service or the date of receipt recorded by the authorized delivery 633
service shall be treated as the date of filing. Upon receipt of 634
such notice of appeal such county board of revision shall by 635
certified mail notify all persons thereof who were parties to the 636
proceeding before such county board of revision, and shall file 637
proof of such notice with the board of tax appeals. The county 638
board of revision shall thereupon certify to the board of tax 639
appeals a transcript of the record of the proceedings of the 640
county board of revision pertaining to the original complaint, and 641
all evidence offered in connection therewith. Such appeal may be 642
heard by the board of tax appeals at its offices in Columbus or in 643
the county where the property is listed for taxation, or the board 644
of tax appeals may cause its examiners to conduct such hearing and 645
to report to it their findings for affirmation or rejection.646

       The board of tax appeals may order the appeal to be heard on 647
the record and the evidence certified to it by the county board of 648
revision, or it may order the hearing of additional evidence, and 649
it may make such investigation concerning the appeal as it deems 650
proper.651

       Section 2. That existing sections 307.699, 3735.67, 5715.19, 652
5715.27, and 5717.01 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.653