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The crush and pace of the Virginia General Assembly creates a dilemma: We cover a lot of ground and witness a lot of things, good and bad, almost all nearly impossible to relate. We do our best, but we hear it all the time from supporters who come to committee meetings: You really can’t believe it until you see if for yourself (at least we have video now). A lot of stuff sits in the file because we’re forced to move on to other topics: Such is the pace of 2,600 bills in 60 days. Don’t blog something one day, it’s old news the next. After all, our first priority is working on legislation.

However, several days ago, HB 570 was before the Senate Finance Committee. It preceded this infamous bill hearing (you must see this if you haven’t; click here). This bill, patroned by Delegate Sal Iaquinto (R-84, Virginia Beach) would level the playing field when property owners appeal their often over assessed homes in order to reduce their already overwhelming tax burdens. Besides, if the government has a good case, it will still win. A no-brainer, right? Not!

Currently, and the way it will now remain for at least another year, the homeowner is the equivalent to guilty until proven innocent, and low-income people can’t even afford to hire an appraiser and other expenses required to overcome the burden of proof. (That’s why advocates for low-income families joined us in supporting the bill.) Tellingly, the bill’s defeat was heavily targeted by a plethora of local governments and associated organizations whose goal is to further government’s prosperity and not that of the family or individual. One witness favoring the bill exposed their intentions by asking if they would be against this bill would help them overcome an unfair burden against the homeowner.

Hypocritically, in criticizing the bill, ultra liberal Senator Mary Margaret Whipple (D-31, Arlington) said that the jurisdictions she represents receive a disproportionate amount of local tax revenue from commercial properties and the bill did not exempt those buildings from the proposed new appeal process. When Delegate Iaquinto said he agreed and would accept that as a friendly amendment, she shot back, “I’m not going to offer that!” More hypocrisy was exposed when Senator John Watkins (R-10, Powhatan) offered a friendly amendment to rectify another complaint. Another ally was Senator William Wampler (R-40, Bristol), who made procedural motions to advance the bill. Yet, the bill still went down on a straight party line vote, 9-5, with Senator Fred Quayle (R-13, Suffolk) absent from the vote.

But, no need for me to try to capture the ignominy. See it for yourself. The entire debate is below in two parts.

Delegate Iaquinto makes a persuasive, commonsense case on behalf of home owners . . .

then the forces of big government preach government prosperity at the expense of individuals and families. So much for government guaranteeing individual rights and a fair day in court.

One of the biggest aggravations — and financial hardships — local governments place on taxpaying families and individuals is the assessments on their houses. Not only are local property tax rates often much too high, the assessments are as well, resulting in a double infliction of financial pain.

Of course, by law, localities must allow homeowners an appeals process if a homeowner thinks the assessment is too high. But, as usual in Virginia, we have laws to remedy a problem that are nothing more than window dressing, so that legislators can say, “We have a law,” (and plaster it all over campaign brochures). In fact, it’s said Virginia has laws to prevent solutions (such as our restrictive charter school law).

Virginia’s assessment appeals process is such a case and is counterproductive to a fair appeal. It’s almost like an IRS appeal where you are guilty until proven innocent. In the case of an assessment appeal, you must prove the assessor wrong — he or she has no burden to prove your property is valued at fair market value. It is such a stacked system that most aggrieved homeowners don’t even attempt to appeal and end up paying more than they should of their hard-earned income in local property taxes.

However, now there’s a chance to reform this overly slanted playing field in favor of the government to a level playing field for all homeowners. Delegate Sal Iaquinto (R-84, Virginia Beach) is patroning HB 570. It passed the House 86-13 and will be voted on in the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday.

Please contact members of the committee (click here) and ask them to report this bill to the floor so that taxpayers, homeowners and families finally can receive a bit of tax fairness.

According to fiscal impact statement attached to HB 570 (and these statements normally sink a bill, so it’s nice to have one that offers clarity on the subject) the bill would . . .

shift the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the assessor when the taxpayer appeals the assessment of real property to a Board of Equalization or to a circuit court, and would remove the presumption that the assessor’s valuation of real property is correct. The assessor would have the burden of proving that the property in question is valued at its fair market value or that the assessment is uniform in its application, or that the assessment is otherwise valid or legal.

In addition, currently, in all such cases, the taxpayer has the burden of proving that the property in question is valued at more than its fair market value — and is . . .

required to produce substantial evidence that the valuation determined by the assessor is erroneous and was not arrived at in accordance with generally accepted appraisal practice in order to receive relief.

Perhaps there is nothing in Virginia more contrary to American due process than our process to appeal unjust property assessments — assessments localities use to milk its residents for their unquenchable thirst for more tax revenue. Wednesday may be the day Virginia takes a big step toward reversing that and not just “having a law” for the sake of having a law, but having a law that puts its citizens first.

A couple of hours ago, Virginia property owners won a big victory over government bureaucrats when the House Courts of Justice Civil Sub-committee voted unanimously to report a bill to the full committee that would allow Virginians whose property is taken by eminent domain to present to juries a case for just compensation that would include property no longer accessible because of the taking. If the bill becomes law, a property owner who had 25 yards taken, but which rendered another 50 yards unusable, could then present that evidence to a jury and seek compensation for the entire 75 yards, rather than just the 25 yards.

Although the vote was unanimous on HB 652, patroned by Delegate Ward Armstrong (D-10, Martinsville), lobbyists representing taxpayer funded government entities such as VDOT and local governments (Virginia Association of Counties and the Virginia Municipal League) tried to take it to their bosses, the taxpayers, as they do every year. However, after closely considering an amendment to water down the bill, property rights members of the committee, such as Delegates Sal Iaquinto (R-84, Virginia Beach), Manoli Loupassi (R-68, Richmond) and sub-committee Chairman Clay Athey (R-18, Front Royal), brought “the temperature of the committee” (a phrase used a lot around here) back to “hot” for the taxpayers. 

The bill now goes to the full committee on Friday! Please contact members of the House Courts of Justice Committee (click here) and ask them to report the bill to the House floor.