SF3804
Certain property taxes proceedings data protection requirements modifications
Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026)
Related bill: HF3675
AI Generated Summary
Purpose
This bill changes how certain income-property data is protected and handled in property tax proceedings. It aims to allow more formal access to detailed income-property information during tax disputes, while creating strong protections to limit how that data can be used or shared. It also updates procedures for how these records are requested, reviewed, and admitted in court, and it sets deadlines for taxpayers to provide supporting information.
Main Provisions
What counts as income-property data
- The bill defines a set of data about income-producing properties that would be classified as private or nonpublic. This includes:
- detailed income and expense figures
- average vacancy factors or rates
- verified net rentable areas or net usable areas
- anticipated income and expenses
- projected vacancy factors or rates
- lease information
Legal discovery and protective orders
- If a party in a legal proceeding (like a property tax dispute) requests income-property assessment data, they must notify the property owner of record.
- A party cannot be denied access to this data just because it is classified as private or nonpublic, but access is conditioned by protective orders issued by the court.
- Anyone who receives the data and anyone directly involved in the case must not use the data for purposes unrelated to the case or share it with someone not involved, unless a protective order allows it.
- In Tax Court proceedings, the data can be admitted into evidence only if the Tax Court first issues a protective order protecting it from public disclosure.
Tax Court procedures
- The Tax Court must hold a public hearing for each case and determine issues de novo (from the beginning) without a jury, though an advisory jury may be used if the judge requests it.
- Protective orders are required to protect the private or nonpublic income-property data.
- The court may review the data in camera (private viewing) as part of its decision-making.
- If the Department of Revenue’s sales-ratio study is used as evidence, its data is admissible only as allowed by existing rules (per the referenced statute).
Access to assessors’ records
- Assessors’ records, such as certificates of real estate value, field cards, and property appraisal cards, must be made available to the petitioner for inspection and copying and may be offered as evidence at trial.
- These records must not be excluded from discovery or admissible solely because they are private data, as long as protective orders are in place.
- “Assessors records” include data classified under other provisions (even if they relate to different properties).
Information required from petitioners
- In income-producing-property cases, petitioners must provide to the county assessor by August 1:
- year-end financial statements for the year before the assessment date and for the year of the assessment date
- rent roll around the assessment date (tenant names, lease start/end dates, base rent, square footage, etc.)
- identification of all lease agreements not listed on the rent roll
- net rentable building area
- anticipated income and expenses in a proposed budget for the year after the assessment date
- Leases themselves are not required to be provided, but other lease-related information is.
- If the assessor finds a deficiency in the information, the petitioner has 30 days to correct it; failure to do so can result in dismissal, unless the failure happened because the information was unavailable or the petitioner was not aware of the requirement.
- If after August 1 the assessor determines that current leases are necessary to properly evaluate the property, the assessor may require the petitioner to submit the leases within 60 days.
- The Tax Court will resolve any issues related to later information requests; failure to provide information can be addressed under civil-procedure rules.
Appraisal information and timing
- If timely submitted, the county assessor must provide the property’s appraisal to the petitioner at least five days before the hearing.
- The petitioner must provide to the county assessor at least five days before the hearing any appraisal that will be presented to the court.
- An appraisal prepared by or for the county will not be admissible if the county fails to comply with these provisions.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
Data classification and discovery
- Income-property data that was previously treated as private or nonpublic under general data practices is now explicitly defined and targeted for discovery in tax proceedings, but only under protective orders and court controls to prevent public disclosure.
Access to assessors’ records
- Assessors’ records are explicitly made available for inspection and potential admission in tax cases, even though they may contain private data, and with protective-order safeguards.
Procedural safeguards in Tax Court
- Tax Court proceedings for income-property valuations must incorporate protective orders, in-camera review, and explicit handling of private/nonpublic data.
Information deadlines and penalties
- Clear deadlines (August 1, for certain information; 30-day cure period; 60-day lease submission window) with potential dismissal if not met, creating stronger enforcement on data submission in tax petitions.
Who Is Affected
- Property owners and their representatives involved in income-property tax appeals
- County assessors and their staff
- Tax Court and Department of Revenue personnel
- Law firms and other parties handling property tax disputes
Potential Impacts and Considerations
- Increased transparency in tax disputes through access to detailed income property data, balanced by stronger privacy protections and protective orders.
- More comprehensive information provided to assessors could affect property values and tax outcomes.
- The balance between privacy of sensitive financial data and the needs of public tax oversight will be important in practice.
Relevant Terms - income property assessment data - private data - nonpublic data - Detailed income and expense figures - average vacancy factors - verified net rentable areas - net usable areas - anticipated income and expenses - projected vacancy factors - lease information - rent roll - leases - assessors records - certificates of real estate value - assessors field cards - property appraisal cards - protective orders - Tax Court - legal discovery - in camera - sales ratio study - August 1 deadline - yearend financial statements - petition dismissal - adverse information disclosure - discovery rules - admissibility of evidence
Bill text versions
- Introduction PDF PDF file
Past committee meetings
- Judiciary and Public Safety on: March 04, 2026 12:30
Actions
| Date | Chamber | Where | Type | Name | Committee Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 23, 2026 | Senate | Action | Introduction and first reading | ||
| February 23, 2026 | Senate | Action | Referred to | Judiciary and Public Safety | |
| March 02, 2026 | Senate | Action | Author added | ||
| March 09, 2026 | Senate | Action | Comm report: To pass and re-referred to | Taxes |
Citations
[
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Explicitly classifies detailed income and expense figures, average vacancy factors or rates, verified net rentable or net usable areas, anticipated income and expenses, projected vacancy factors or rates, and lease information as private or nonpublic data under 13.02."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Modifies the data protection status of income property assessment data under 13.51 by explicitly classifying detailed income/expense information and related data as private/nonpublic data.",
"modified": [
"Expands and clarifies the scope of data protected as private/nonpublic under 13.51(2)."
]
},
"citation": "13.51",
"subdivision": "2"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Requires notification of property owner for legal discovery requests and restricts use and dissemination of income property assessment data to the underlying legal matter or participants with protective orders.",
"Imposes protective order requirements in the Tax Court context to safeguard private/nonpublic data."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Adds protections for income property assessment data during legal discovery and in Tax Court proceedings.",
"modified": [
"Strengthens data protection for income property assessment data in legal proceedings."
]
},
"citation": "13.51",
"subdivision": "4"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Tax Court must hold a public hearing, issue protective orders to protect private/nonpublic data, and may review data in camera.",
"Tax Court may empanel an advisory jury upon the judge's motion; provides for prima facie validity of protective orders."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Governs hearing procedures with heightened data protection for income property assessment data in Tax Court proceedings.",
"modified": [
"Affirms and expands protective measures for income property assessment data in Tax Court proceedings."
]
},
"citation": "271.06",
"subdivision": "6"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Assessor records (including certificates of real estate value, assessors field cards, and property appraisal cards) shall be available to the petitioner for inspection and copying and may be offered at trial subject to evidentiary rules.",
"Assessors records shall not be excluded from discovery or admitted solely because the documents or information are confidential or classified as private data under 13.51(2).",
"Evidence of comparable sales of other property may be admitted within the discretion of the court."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Clarifies access to assessors records and their admissibility in proceedings involving property tax petitions.",
"modified": [
"Expands the admissibility and discovery treatment of assessors records in property tax proceedings."
]
},
"citation": "278.05",
"subdivision": "3"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Petitioner must provide specified information (e.g., year-end financial statements, rent roll, and lease information) to the county assessor by August 1, including details such as tenant names, lease dates, base rent, and net rentable area.",
"Defines consequences for failure to provide required information, including potential dismissal unless an exception applies, and allows a 30-day extension in certain circumstances."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Sets out dismissal and information-disclosure timelines related to income-producing property petitions.",
"modified": [
"Creates structured information-request and dismissal procedures for income-producing property petitions, including follow-up information and extensions."
]
},
"citation": "278.05",
"subdivision": "6"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Cites 13.02(9) as part of the basis for classifying income property data as private or nonpublic."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "References private/nonpublic data classifications under the 13.02 framework to support the bill's data-protection provisions.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "13.02",
"subdivision": "9"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Cites 13.02(12) as part of the data-protection framework applicable to income property assessment data."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "References private/nonpublic data classifications under 13.02(12) in connection with income property data protections.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "13.02",
"subdivision": "12"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Incorporates 13.03(6a) to support protective-order and privacy considerations for data in property tax contexts."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Notwithstanding 13.03,6a, preserves or clarifies protective-order and data-protection provisions in relation to income property data.",
"modified": [
"Aligns 13.03(6a) framework with the bill's enhanced data-protection protections for income property data."
]
},
"citation": "13.03",
"subdivision": "6a"
}
]Progress through the legislative process
In Committee