§1978.1. Listing and assessing of land and property damaged or destroyed during a disaster or emergency declared by the governor

A.(1) If lands or property, including buildings, structures, or personal property, are damaged, destroyed, non-operational, or uninhabitable due to an emergency declared by the governor or to a disaster or fire, the assessor or assessors within such parish shall assess such lands or property for the year in which damage has occurred at the percentage of fair market value provided in the Constitution of Louisiana by taking into consideration all the damages to the lands or other property, including obsolescence, and the depreciation of the value of such land or other property caused by the disaster, fire, or emergency described in this Section. Notwithstanding other provisions of law to the contrary, the assessor shall make these assessments whether the time fixed by law for filing assessment rolls has elapsed or not.

(2) The assessments provided for in this Section and in R.S. 47:1978 shall be completed no later than six months following the implementation of R.S. 47:1978 or this Section. The Louisiana Tax Commission shall grant the assessor an additional six months to complete the assessments referred to in R.S. 47:1978 or this Section upon a reasonable showing by the assessor that additional time is needed to complete the assessment of the property described in R.S. 47:1978 or this Section.

B. The assessor shall assess such damaged, destroyed, non-operational, or uninhabitable property in one of the following three manners:

(1) The assessments of such property shall be reflected on the general assessment roll if at the time lands and other property are damaged , destroyed, non-operational, or uninhabitable due to an emergency declared by the governor or due to a disaster or fire, the general assessment roll has not been certified by the assessor to the local board of review. The procedures for public inspection of the general assessment rolls, review of assessments by the board of review, and certification of the assessment rolls to the Louisiana Tax Commission shall be followed. The rolls shall be open for public inspection for a period of fifteen days, and the assessor shall advertise such public exposure dates and dates for board of review as provided for by existing law. If the dates provided for by existing law have expired, the assessor shall advertise new exposure dates and dates for the board of review even if those dates are not within the time period provided for by existing law.

(2) If, at the time such lands and other property are damaged , destroyed, non-operational, or uninhabitable due to an emergency declared by the governor or due to a disaster or fire, the general assessment rolls have already been certified by the assessor to the local board of review, the assessor shall prepare a supplemental roll of land or property damaged or destroyed as the result of the events described in this Section, which rolls shall be filed in the same manner as provided for in this Section for general assessment rolls, and such assessments shall be subject to the same rights as to contest as to assessments generally.

(3) If, after the filing of the assessment roll with the Louisiana Tax Commission, the assessor requests a change order as a result of the events described in this Section, such request for change order shall be signed by the assessor or his deputy and shall contain a declaration that the property owner agrees to the change in the assessment and that the property owner waives any right to further contest the correctness of the assessment. In the event the request for change order is not agreed upon by the assessor and the property owner, the assessor shall mail to the property owner the assessor's determination of the assessed value of the property. If the property owner is dissatisfied with the assessor's determination of assessed value, the property owner shall have fifteen days from the mailing of the notification by the assessor of the determination of assessed value to contest the assessment to the Louisiana Tax Commission. All decisions by the Louisiana Tax Commission are final unless appealed to the district court within fifteen days from the mailing of the decision of the Louisiana Tax Commission. If the assessor requests change orders in lieu of an original assessment roll or supplemental roll under this Section, the assessor shall submit an amended grand recap reflecting the changes in assessed values requested in such change orders.

C. The assessment provided for in this Section shall not be considered an implementation of the reappraisal and valuation provisions of Article VII, Section 18(F) of the Constitution of Louisiana, nor shall such assessment result in the adjustment of ad valorem tax millages pursuant to Article VII, Section 23 of the Constitution of Louisiana.

D. The provisions of this Section shall also apply to the Louisiana Tax Commission in the assessment of public service properties.

Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 66, §1, eff. Dec. 6, 2005; Acts 2006, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 31, §§1, 2, eff. Feb. 23, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 391, §1.