HB5284 Summary

• Amends the Property Tax Code definition of "solar energy system" to exclude commercial solar energy systems in counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants.

• Establishes valuation methodology for commercial solar energy systems starting in assessment year 2018 using a cost basis of $446,000 per megawatt, adjusted by a consumer price index trending factor, and reduced by physical depreciation (capped at 50% of trended value).

• Sets land valuation for ground-mounted commercial solar energy systems at $10,000 per acre multiplied by the trending factor.

• Allows landowners to request metes and bounds surveys of areas where solar systems are installed and requires county assessors to issue separate parcel identification numbers for assessment purposes.

• Provides that farmland assessed as such in the year before solar installation shall return to farmland assessment in the year after system removal, regardless of the 2-year farming requirement.