HCR 150

                SPONSOR:
                Rep. Romer & Sen. Cruce
                Reps. Minor-Brown, Harris, Dukes, Spiegelman, Burns, Chukwuocha, Hensley, Morrison, Michael Smith, Snyder-Hall, K. Williams, Bolden; Sens. Townsend, Lockman, Hoffner, Huxtable, Mantzavinos
        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
        153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
        HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 150
        ESTABLISHING A STATEWIDE PROPERTY ASSESSMENT WORKING GROUP TO PRODUCE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ESTABLISH STATE STANDARDS GOVERNING PROPERTY ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN DELAWARE.
        WHEREAS, a fair and predictable property tax system is essential for maintaining the long-term fiscal stability of the State's communities and for funding the school districts, counties, and local governments that provide the essential services upon which residents rely; and
        WHEREAS, in 2024 and 2025, Delaware counties completed general property reassessments, the first such countywide reassessments in decades, following a court-approved settlement concerning longstanding property tax inequities; and
        WHEREAS, the experience of Delaware's previous reassessment has demonstrated the importance of consistently meeting internationally recognized quality benchmarks that reflect the professional standards of accuracy and uniformity on which public trust in the property tax system depends; and
        WHEREAS, the International Association of Assessing Officers (“IAAO”) is the internationally recognized authority on mass appraisal practice and publishes consensus standards, including the
        Standard on Mass Appraisal of Real Property
         (2013), the
        Standard on Ratio Studies
         (2013), and the
        Standard on Property Tax Policy
         (2020), that, together with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (“USPAP”) Standards 5 and 6, constitute the prevailing professional benchmarks for assessment accuracy, uniformity, transparency, and administrative practice in mass appraisal; and
        WHEREAS, many states have incorporated provisions of the IAAO Standard on Mass Appraisal of Real Property and the IAAO Standard on Ratio Studies into their statutory or regulatory framework for property assessment, providing models that Delaware can draw on in establishing its own quality benchmarks; and
        WHEREAS, the IAAO
        Standard on Ratio Studies
         provides internationally recognized statistical measures, including median, coefficient of dispersion (“COD”), price-related differential (“PRD”), and price-related bias (“PRB”), for evaluating the accuracy and uniformity of mass appraisal results, and the consistent application of such measures provides a basis for assessing the quality of reassessment outcomes; and
        WHEREAS, the State has an interest in ensuring that future certifications of County assessment rolls are conditioned upon demonstrated compliance with state-adopted quality benchmarks, including median ratio, COD, PRD, and PRB measures consistent with the IAAO
        Standard on Ratio Studies
        , to ensure that certified rolls meet established standards of accuracy and uniformity before taking effect; and
        WHEREAS, property assessment is a County function, and this Resolution recognizes the independent authority of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties to manage their respective assessment offices and fiscal calendars; and
        WHEREAS, the State also recognizes that, because mass appraisal requires complete and accurate data, effective valuation models, and proper management of resources, it is incumbent upon the State to establish guidelines that promote those requirements consistently across the three Counties, without diminishing the local autonomy of any County in carrying out its property assessment responsibilities; and
        WHEREAS, Delawareans deserve government officials' best efforts to promote fairness and accuracy at all levels of government, utilizing practical solutions to identify and solve problems in the property reassessment process.
        NOW, THEREFORE:
        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 153
          rd
         General Assembly, the Senate concurring therein, that the State,
        in collaboration with the Counties, shall convene a statewide Property Assessment Working Group (“Working Group”) within 60 days of the adoption of this Resolution.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Working Group shall include all of the following voting members, or a designee selected by a member serving by virtue of position:
        (1) A Senator from the majority caucus, appointed by the President Pro Tempore, who shall serve as co-chair of the Working Group.
        (2) A Representative from the majority caucus, appointed by the Speaker of the House, who shall serve as co-chair of the Working Group.
        (3) A Senator from the minority caucus, appointed by the President Pro Tempore.
        (4) A Representative from the minority caucus, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
        (5) The County Administrator for Sussex County.
        (6) The County Administrator for Kent County.
        (7) The County Executive for New Castle County.
        (8) The Secretary of Finance.
        (9) A member of the Delaware Small Business Chamber, appointed by the President Pro Tempore.
        (10) One taxpayer advocate, appointed by the President Pro Tempore.
        (11) At least 1, but no more than 3 members who hold 1 or more of the following credentials, appointed by the Speaker of the House:
        a. An appraisal professional holding IAAO professional designations.
        b. An appraisal professional holding USPAP professional designations.
        c. A land planning professional, with expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that at the request of the co-chairs, the Speaker of the House may appoint additional voting members that bring a skill-set or viewpoint that the co-chairs feel would benefit the working group.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the co-chairs of the Working Group are responsible for guiding the administration of the Working Group by doing all of the following:
        (1) Notifying individuals of their selection to serve on the Working Group.
        (2) Setting a date, time, and place for the initial organizational meeting. The initial meeting must be held no later than 30 days after all appointments have been made.
        (3) Supervising the preparation and distribution of meeting notices, agendas, minutes, correspondence, and reports of the Working Group.
        (4) After the first meeting of the Working Group, sending to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Director of the Division of Research of Legislative Council, a list of the members of the Working Group and the person who appointed them.
        (5) Providing meeting notices, agendas, and minutes to the Director of Legislative Services.
        (6) Ensuring that draft legislation for a 2027 Property Tax Package from the Working Group is submitted to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with copies to all members of the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Director and Librarian of the Division of Legislative Services.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Speaker of the House of Representatives or President Pro Tempore of the
        Senate may remove that appointing authority’s member for gross inefficiency, misfeasance, nonfeasance, malfeasance, or neglect of duty in office. A member is deemed in neglect of duty if the member is absent from 3 consecutive Working Group meetings. A member who is deemed in neglect of duty is considered to have resigned.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED as follows:
        (1) The Working Group is a public body for purposes of Chapter 100 of Title 29.
        (2) A quorum of the Working Group is a majority of its voting members.
        (3) Official action by the Working Group at a meeting, including approval of recommendations for draft legislation, requires the approval of a quorum of the members of the Working Group.
        (4) The Working Group may adopt procedural rules necessary for its operation.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing its recommendations, the Working Group shall examine the statutory and regulatory frameworks of states that have adopted IAAO standards, to inform Delaware's own quality benchmarks and operational requirements.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
        t
        he explicit intent of this Working Group is to produce recommendations, ready for introduction in the 154th General Assembly, by the end of the 6-month period following its convening. These recommendations shall establish State standards governing property assessment practices in Delaware in the following 4 areas, consistent with IAAO and USPAP standards:
        (1) Methodological Standards
         — establishing requirements for how property data is collected and maintained and what valuation methods are used, consistent with the IAAO
        Standard on Mass Appraisal of Real Property
        , Sections 3 and 4, and USPAP Standards 5 and 6.
        (2) Quality Standards
         — establishing requirements for ratio studies, performance benchmarks, model testing, and quality assurance, including the use of recognized statistical measures such as median, coefficient of dispersion (COD), price-related differential (PRD), and price-related bias (PRB), and procedures conditioning the certification of County assessment rolls upon demonstrated compliance with state-adopted benchmarks based on those measures, consistent with the IAAO
        Standard on Ratio Studies
         and the IAAO
        Standard on Mass Appraisal of Real Property
        , Section 5.
        (3) Administrative Capacity and Governance
         — establishing recommendations for staff levels, data processing support, contracting for reappraisals, benefit-cost evaluation, space requirements, independent third-party ratio review, and other managerial considerations, consistent with the IAAO
        Standard on Mass Appraisal of Real Property
        , Section 6, and the IAAO
        Standard on Property Tax Policy
        .
        (4) Taxpayer Notification, Transparency, and Appeals
         — establishing requirements for cost-free public access to the specific data and methodology used to determine each property's assessed value (including property characteristics, market data, model variables, neighborhood and zone designations, and comparable properties), plain-language notice requirements, procedures for correcting inequitable assessments between countywide reassessments, and accessible appeal processes, consistent with the IAAO
        Standard on Public Relations
         and the IAAO
        Standard on Property Tax Policy
        .
        The Working Group's deliverables shall be in the form of draft legislative text suitable for introduction, accompanied by a brief plain-language summary of each draft bill's purpose and operative provisions.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
        this body reaffirms that New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties shall maintain independent authority over their respective assessment departments and reassessment schedules to meet their unique economic and fiscal needs, while participating in these collaborative efforts to improve transparency and technical consistency. Nothing in this Resolution, nor in any legislation produced by the Working Group, shall be construed to transfer assessment authority from the Counties to the State.
        SYNOPSIS
        This House Concurrent Resolution establishes a statewide Property Assessment Working Group ("Working Group") to examine the statutory and regulatory frameworks for states that have adopted IAAO standards to inform Delaware's own quality benchmarks and operational requirements. The Working Group shall produce recommendations, ready for introduction in the 154th General Assembly, to establish State standards governing property assessment practices in Delaware.