As Amended
SEC. 27-33-41. Duties and powers of state tax commission; administration; reimbursement.
The administration of this article is hereby vested in the State Tax Commission, and it shall have the power and the authority necessary to secure compliance with its provisions uniformly throughout the state. The commission shall, in addition to its general duties of administration of the article, do the specific things set out in this section:
(a) It shall adopt and issue to tax assessors, clerks, boards of supervisors, and all other officers or offices to which this article applies, rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the provisions of the article, affecting the applications and all proceedings, records, hearings and other pertinent subjects, relating to property for which a homestead exemption is claimed; and such rules and regulations shall be observed by such officers, boards and offices, in all respects, and in the performance of any and all duties imposed and powers granted by this article.
(b) It shall prescribe the form of and furnish suitable application forms, or blanks, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this article, and shall deliver to each assessor a sufficient number of such blanks for the use of homeowners.
(c) It shall have authority and it shall be its duty to examine all applications for homestead exemption allowed under this article, to determine if the provisions of the article have been complied with by the applicant, the tax assessor, the board of supervisors, the clerk, and all others, and if the exemptions have been lawfully allowed; and it shall reject for reimbursement of tax loss any exemption allowed by the board which does not conform to the requirements of law in every substantial particular or for which no application has been sent to the commission as required in Section 27-33-35 (a), and shall correct or have corrected any errors; and the tax loss to be reimbursed shall be adjusted to accord with the findings of the commission.
When an application is rejected, notice thereof shall be given as provided by this section, and the acceptance or objection by the board shall be determined as provided by Section 27-33-37 (k).
(d) It shall have authority to examine the assessment rolls, any account register, file, document, record or paper relating to receipts and disbursements of the taxing unit or any and all matters relating to homestead exemptions allowed and tax losses to be reimbursed. It shall also have the authority to examine any report or return received by the Tax Commission to verify any claims made on homestead exemption applications.
(e) It shall have the authority to summon and examine under oath any officer or other person with respect to any matter bearing upon the exemption of a home or homes, and to do any and all other things necessary and proper to ascertain the facts with respect to any application or claim for homestead exemption; and it may require the board to furnish any information or document necessary to the performance of its duties or the correct determination of any question before it to which the board is a party.
(f) The reimbursement for the annual tax loss to the taxing units shall be due and payable in two (2) installments; the first on March 1 and the second on September 1 of each year. The clerk's certificate of tax loss when in accord with the supplemental roll and the applications as filed with the commission shall constitute a request by the board for reimbursement of the tax loss.
(g) It shall, on or before the first day of March each year, certify to the State Auditor the amount of the first installment to be paid to each taxing unit in the state, which shall be one-half (1 /2 ) of the amount due, with adjustments, which is the amount of the first installment less any charges against the account and plus any credits by reason of previous charges which have been cancelled. However, if the copy of the county land roll, the supplemental roll and the clerk's certificate of tax loss have not been filed with and approved by the commission by February 1, the commission shall be allowed thirty (30) days after the filing of the rolls and the said certificate in which to perform the duties hereby imposed.
(h) It shall, on or before the first day of September each year, certify to the State Auditor the amount of the second installment to be paid to each taxing unit in the state, which shall be the remainder of the amount due with adjustments, which is an amount equal to the first installment less any charges against the account and plus any credits by reason of previous charges which have been cancelled. Adjustments, either charges or credits, against the amount of tax loss to any taxing unit may be made at any time as provided in subsection (j) of this section.
(i) In the event an adjustment in the amount of the tax loss has been determined by the commission, it shall give notice, in writing, to the board of supervisors, which notice shall be considered by the board at its next meeting, regular, adjourned or special. If the board accepts the adjustment, it shall promptly so advise the commission, using such form as may be prescribed and furnished by the commission. If the board objects to the adjustment, it shall promptly so advise the commission, using such forms as may be prescribed and furnished by the commission, stating in detail the grounds for its objection; and a final decision may be reached by a hearing, in person or by correspondence. Or if, within thirty (30) days after the time of consideration of the adjustment by the board, it requests a hearing on the objection, the commission shall grant the same and fix the date therefor. Such hearings before the commission shall be held at its offices in Jackson or at such other place as the commission may designate; or the commission, by its duly accredited representative, may appear before the board at its usual meeting place for the hearing. In the event of disagreement between any board of supervisors on the one hand and the commission on the other hand, the decision of the commission shall be prima facie correct.
(j) It shall be the duty of the commission and it shall have authority to charge the account of any taxing unit with amounts of homestead exemption tax loss claimed by the taxing unit in the certificate of tax loss and the supplemental roll and to deduct the amount from subsequent installments, either first or second. Such charges shall be made when homestead exemption applications are rejected in whole or in part for reimbursement of tax loss or when errors are discovered in the supplemental roll or clerk's certificate of tax loss.
(k) The authority of the commission to reject an application for reimbursement of tax loss shall not be exercised later than one (1) year after the first day of January of the year next following that in which the application was filed by the applicant; but this limitation shall not apply in cases of fraud, nor where the same person was granted exemption on two (2) separate homes.
Notice of adjustments in tax loss payments and notice of applications rejected shall be given by mail, addressed to the clerk of the board, and the notice directed to the president of the board of supervisors of the county. The date of mailing shall be the date of the notice.
(l) The commission shall file and preserve full, complete and accurate records of all tax loss payments and adjustments in tax loss payments made under the provisions of this article, including the certificates of tax loss for a period of three (3) years from the date thereof. The commission shall file and preserve for a period of three (3) years all applications for homestead exemption filed with it and copies of all supplemental rolls, counting from the first day of January of the year in which they are required to be executed or made. All records enumerated may be destroyed upon the order of the commission, when kept for the time required. All other documents, records, papers and correspondence may be destroyed upon the order of the commission when considered useless.
(m) The commission shall, on or before June 1 of any year, pay the second installment, or a part thereof, to any school taxing unit upon submission to the commission of proof, in the form of a certificate of necessity, executed by the county superintendent of education for the county general school fund, or for a county school district fund, and by the city superintendent of schools for a municipal separate school district, that there is not sufficient money in the maintenance fund of the taxing unit to pay the salaries of teachers and school bus drivers for the current school term. Such payment shall be made as provided in subsection (h) of this section.
(n) The county tax collectors shall enter, or cause to be entered, all transactions regarding the titling or registration of vehicles into the statewide telecommunications system in compliance with the provisions of Section 63-21-18. Failure of any tax collector to comply with the provisions of this paragraph shall subject the county to the withholding of reimbursements of homestead exemption tax loss as provided under Section 63-21-18.
SOURCES: Codes, 1942, Sec. 9734; Laws, 1940, ch. 127; 1942, ch. 130; 1946, ch. 261, Sec. 20; 1975, ch. 457, Sec. 8; 1984, ch. 453, Sec. 16; 1990, ch. 415, Sec. 2; 1991, ch. 602, Sec. 7, eff from and after July 1, 1991.