CHAPTER 35. SUPERVISION OF ASSESSING OFFICIALS
IC 6-1.1-35
Chapter 35. Supervision of Assessing Officials
IC 6-1.1-35-1
Duties of department of local government finance
Sec. 1. The department of local government finance shall:
(1) interpret the property tax laws of this state;
(2) instruct property tax officials about their taxation and
assessment duties;
(3) see that all property assessments are made in the manner
provided by law;
(4) conduct operational audits of the offices of assessing
officials to determine if statutory and regulatory assignments
are being completed in an effective, efficient, and productive
manner; and
(5) develop and maintain a manual for all assessing officials
and county assessors concerning:
(A) assessment duties and responsibilities of the various
state and local officials;
(B) assessment procedures and time limits for the
completion of assessment duties;
(C) changes in state assessment laws; and
(D) other matters relevant to the assessment duties of
assessing officials, county assessors, and other county
officials.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.) As amended by P.L.6-1997,
SEC.110; P.L.90-2002, SEC.247; P.L.146-2008, SEC.278.
IC 6-1.1-35-1.1
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.219-2007, SEC.150.)
IC 6-1.1-35-2
Visits by department of local government finance to county
Sec. 2. At least one (1) representative of the department of local
government finance shall visit each county in this state at least once
each year. During the visit, the representative of the department
shall:
(1) gather information concerning complaints with and the
operation of the property tax laws;
(2) see that property tax officials are complying with this
article; and
(3) see that persons who violate this article are being punished.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.) As amended by P.L.90-2002,
SEC.248.
IC 6-1.1-35-3
Instructional sessions; lodging, subsistence, and mileage allowances
Sec. 3. (a) The department of local government finance may
require township assessors, county assessors, or members of the
county property tax assessment board of appeals, county auditors,
and their employees to attend instructional sessions held by the
department or held by others but approved by the department. An
assessing official, or an employee who is required to attend an
instructional session or who, at the department's request, meets with
the department on official business shall receive:
(1) a lodging allowance for each night preceding session
attendance not less than the lodging allowance equal to the
lesser of:
(A) the cost of a standard room rate at the hotel where the
session is held; or
(B) the actual cost of lodging paid;
(2) a subsistence allowance for meals for each day in attendance
not less than the subsistence allowance for meals paid to state
employees in travel status, but not more than the maximum
subsistence allowance permitted under the regulations of the
General Services Administration for federal employees in travel
status, as reported in the Federal Register;
(3) a mileage allowance equal to that sum per mile paid to state
officers and employees. The rate per mile shall change each
time the state government changes its rate per mile; and
(4) an allowance equal to the cost of parking at the convention
site.
The amount a county assessor, a township assessor, a member of a
county property tax assessment board of appeals, or an employee
shall receive under subdivision (2) shall be established by the county
fiscal body.
(b) If a county assessor, a township assessor, a member of a
county property tax assessment board of appeals, or an employee is
entitled to receive an allowance under this section, the department of
local government finance shall furnish the appropriate county auditor
with a certified statement which indicates the dates of attendance.
The official or employee may file a claim for payment with the
county auditor. The county treasurer shall pay the warrant from the
county general fund from funds not otherwise appropriated.
(c) In the case of one (1) day instructional sessions, a lodging
allowance may be paid only to persons who reside more than fifty
(50) miles from the session location. Regardless of the duration of
the session, and even though more than one (1) person may have
been transported, only one (1) mileage allowance may be paid to an
official or employee furnishing the conveyance.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1; Acts 1975, P.L.15, SEC.6.) As
amended by Acts 1980, P.L.48, SEC.1; P.L.14-1983, SEC.4;
P.L.84-1995, SEC.5; P.L.6-1997, SEC.112; P.L.90-2002, SEC.249.
IC 6-1.1-35-4
Township assessors; instructional meetings
Sec. 4. Each county assessor shall annually call at least one (1)
meeting of the township assessors of the county. At the meeting, the
county assessor shall advise and instruct the township assessors with
respect to their duties under the law. In addition, another purpose of
the meeting is to promote intra-county uniformity in assessment
procedures. The county assessor may call additional meetings of the
township assessors for the purposes stated in this section. A township
assessor shall receive a per diem expense allowance for each day that
he attends a meeting called by the county assessor under this section.
The county council shall determine the amount of that per diem
expense allowance.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.)
IC 6-1.1-35-5
Township assessors; incompetency reported to department of local
government finance
Sec. 5. If a township assessor does not perform his duties in a
competent manner, the county assessor shall, in a written report,
inform the department of local government finance of that fact.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.) As amended by P.L.90-2002,
SEC.250.
IC 6-1.1-35-6
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.14-1983, SEC.8.)
IC 6-1.1-35-7
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.14-1983, SEC.8.)
IC 6-1.1-35-8
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.14-1983, SEC.8.)
IC 6-1.1-35-9
Information considered confidential; use of confidential
information; prohibition against disclosure; return to taxpayer of
certain confidential information
Sec. 9. (a) All information that is related to earnings, income,
profits, losses, or expenditures and that is:
(1) given by a person to:
(A) an assessing official;
(B) an employee of an assessing official; or
(C) an officer or employee of an entity that contracts with a
board of county commissioners or a county assessor under
IC 6-1.1-36-12; or
(2) acquired by:
(A) an assessing official;
(B) an employee of an assessing official; or
(C) an officer or employee of an entity that contracts with a
board of county commissioners or a county assessor under
IC 6-1.1-36-12;
in the performance of the person's duties;
is confidential. The assessed valuation of tangible property is a
matter of public record and is thus not confidential. Confidential
information may be disclosed only in a manner that is authorized
under subsection (b), (c), or (d).
(b) Confidential information may be disclosed to:
(1) an official or employee of:
(A) this state or another state;
(B) the United States; or
(C) an agency or subdivision of this state, another state, or
the United States;
if the information is required in the performance of the official
duties of the official or employee;
(2) an officer or employee of an entity that contracts with a
board of county commissioners or a county assessor under
IC 6-1.1-36-12 if the information is required in the performance
of the official duties of the officer or employee; or
(3) a state educational institution in order to develop data
required under IC 6-1.1-4-42.
(c) The following state agencies, or their authorized
representatives, shall have access to the confidential farm property
records and schedules that are on file in the office of a county
assessor:
(1) The Indiana state board of animal health, in order to perform
its duties concerning the discovery and eradication of farm
animal diseases.
(2) The department of agricultural statistics of Purdue
University, in order to perform its duties concerning the
compilation and dissemination of agricultural statistics.
(3) Any other state agency that needs the information in order
to perform its duties.
(d) Confidential information may be disclosed during the course
of a judicial proceeding in which the regularity of an assessment is
questioned.
(e) Confidential information that is disclosed to a person under
subsection (b) or (c) retains its confidential status. Thus, that person
may disclose the information only in a manner that is authorized
under subsection (b), (c), or (d).
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
(1) a person who:
(A) is an officer or employee of an entity that contracts with
a board of county commissioners or a county assessor under
IC 6-1.1-36-12; and
(B) obtains confidential information under this section;
may not disclose that confidential information to any other
person; and
(2) a person referred to in subdivision (1) must return all
confidential information to the taxpayer not later than fourteen
(14) days after the earlier of:
(A) the completion of the examination of the taxpayer's
personal property return under IC 6-1.1-36-12; or
(B) the termination of the contract.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.) As amended by Acts 1977,
P.L.2, SEC.28; P.L.6-1997, SEC.113; P.L.178-2002, SEC.37;
P.L.146-2008, SEC.279; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.172.
IC 6-1.1-35-10
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.14-1983, SEC.8.)
IC 6-1.1-35-11
Dismissal of person who discloses confidential information in
unauthorized manner; effect of unauthorized disclosure by
contractor
Sec. 11. (a) An assessing official or an employee of an assessing
official shall immediately be dismissed from that position if the
person discloses in an unauthorized manner any information that is
classified as confidential under section 9 of this chapter.
(b) If an officer or employee of an entity that contracts with a
board of county commissioners or a county assessor under
IC 6-1.1-36-12 discloses in an unauthorized manner any information
that is classified as confidential under section 9 of this chapter:
(1) the contract between the entity and the board is void as of
the date of the disclosure;
(2) the entity forfeits all right to payments owed under the
contract after the date of disclosure;
(3) the entity and its affiliates are barred for three (3) years after
the date of disclosure from entering into a contract with a board
or a county assessor under IC 6-1.1-36-12; and
(4) the taxpayer whose information was disclosed has a right of
action for triple damages against the entity.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.) As amended by P.L.6-1997,
SEC.114; P.L.178-2002, SEC.38; P.L.146-2008, SEC.280.
IC 6-1.1-35-12
Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information; recovery of
damages
Sec. 12. If a county or township official, a member of a county or
state board, or an employee of such an official or board discloses in
an unauthorized manner information which is classified as
confidential under section 9 of this chapter, a person who owns
property which the information pertains to may recover from the
official, board member, or employee either:
(1) liquidated damages in the amount of five hundred dollars
($500); or
(2) the person's actual damages resulting from the unauthorized
disclosure.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.)
IC 6-1.1-35-13
Preparation of reports, plats, or other property tax records by
department of local government finance; expenses
Sec. 13. (a) The department of local government finance may
prepare a report, plat, or other property tax record if an official:
(1) fails to make a report which is required under the general
assessment provisions of this article; or
(2) fails to deliver a plat or other property tax record to the
appropriate officer or board.
(b) If the department of local government finance prepares a
report, plat, or property tax record, the department shall certify the
expenses incurred by the department to the township or county which
is served by the official who failed to perform the duty. The township
or county shall pay the amount of the expenses to the treasurer of
state within thirty (30) days after the department's certification. The
township or county may collect amounts which it pays under this
section from the official who failed to perform the duty.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.) As amended by P.L.90-2002,
SEC.251.