ND HB1322

Courts must review special assessment determinations for agricultural property de novo (without deference to special assessment commission decisions) when an action challenges the determination of benefits and assessments imposed on agricultural property.

Assessment amounts for agricultural property are not automatically prima facie evidence of the true and just amount; courts must independently determine the proper assessment rather than relying on the assessment list.

Legislative management must conduct a 2011-12 study examining use of special assessments for public improvements, their administration across the state, alternative funding mechanisms, and the relative rate of special assessments against agricultural property.

The study must include examination of agricultural property tax classification and assessment issues, with particular focus on issues within and near city boundaries, with findings reported to the sixty-third legislative assembly.

The act is effective for special assessments levied after July 31, 2011.