SR0318 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0318 LRB104 13613 MST 26236 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Department of Revenue annually calculates equalized assessed valuations of railroad operating properties according to the Illinois Property Tax Code; and

WHEREAS, 35 ILCS 200/11-70 defines what is railroad operating property and what is non-carrier real estate; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Revenue annually determines and publishes the equalized assessed value of railroad operating property subject to its assessment jurisdiction under the Property Tax Code, for each of the railroads operating in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Revenue's authority does not extend to assessing non-carrier real estate; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Property Tax Code provides local assessing officers with the authority to assess non-carrier real estate; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Revenue's administrative law judges have ruled on requests for hearings and challenges to this system in the following cases, PT 09-13 Saint Clair County Assessor and City of Centreville v UPRR, PT 20-03 Spector v Railroads, PT 20-04 Spector v Railroads, and PT 20-07 Spector v Railroads; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Revenue publishes guides and information regarding the property tax system, including its property tax administration responsibilities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is directed to conduct a performance audit of the Illinois Department of Revenue's (IDR) valuation and assessment of railroad companies' properties as required under the Property Tax Code; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the audit should focus on the following:

(1) The adequacy of IDR's procedures for providing access by members of the public, local assessors, and county treasurers to each year's data, processes, and guides regarding the assessment of railroad operating property;

(2) IDR's procedures for annually determining which railroad properties are no longer operating property;

(3) IDR's procedures for local assessors, municipalities, and private citizens to challenge the classification status of properties in their respective areas as between railroad operating property and non-carrier real estate;

(4) IDR's procedures for notifying members of the public, local assessing officers, and county treasurers of property that is no longer railroad operating property so local assessing officials can assess that property;

(5) Whether IDR procedures assure that railroads adequately inform the department and the relevant county assessor when the classification of property should be reclassified and transferred from operating to non-operating (non-carrier) property so that it begins being assessed by the local assessor;

(6) Whether IDR procedures adequately incentivize local assessors to notify the department about railroad-owned properties that should no longer be classified as operating property;

(7) The procedures, methods, and deadlines for annually obtaining and setting the value for each railroad in Illinois;

(8) Whether a survey of stakeholders, including county assessors, county clerks, county treasurers, and members of the public, suggests that the phrase "any person feeling aggrieved" or the phrase "any party to the proceeding who feels aggrieved by the decision" in 35 ILCS 200/8-35 is clear or should be defined in greater detail, including in a rule or regulation;

(9) The procedures, methods, and deadlines for allocating equalized assessed values for each railroad's operating property to each taxing body in the State of Illinois and the methods, deadlines, and procedures by which members of the public, local assessing officials, and county treasurers can challenge these decisions and request hearings;

(10) Whether IDR's rules, regulations, and guides adequately explain how it administers Sec. 11-110 of the Property Tax Code, which reads in part as follows: "The equalized assessed value of the operating property of every railroad company subject to assessment, when determined as prescribed in Section 11-80, shall be listed and taxed in the several taxing districts in the proportion that the length of all the track owned or used in such taxing district bears to the whole length of all the track owned or used in this state.";

(11) The adequacy of IDR's formula and process for distributing a railroad's statewide value to local taxing bodies;

(12) The notice and deadlines for filing classification challenges and requests for hearings as to whether local assessing officials and others believe these deadlines are adequate;

(13) How administrative law judges are chosen to preside over hearings and challenges to departmental decisions and the degree to which these administrative law judges are independent of the department;

(14) Whether and how members of the public can obtain and review pleadings filed before the IDR's administrative law judges and whether these procedures are available to the public; and

(15) To what extent IDR should issue rules explaining its procedures; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Revenue and any other entity having information relevant to the audit cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office in the conduct of this audit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence with this audit as soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to the Auditor General and the Illinois Department of Revenue.