18-3-201. Qualifications; certification and education.

(a) There shall be elected in each county a county assessor as provided by the Wyoming Election Code of 1973 as amended, who shall be a qualified elector and own real property in the county in which he is elected.

(b) The department of revenue, after consultation with the president of the county assessor's association, shall:

(i) Establish, implement and maintain a mandatory system of education and training for all property tax appraisers;

(ii) Establish standards and criteria for certification;

(iii) Provide a temporary and permanent certification program based on education, relevant experience or examination; and

(iv) Report excessive absences of any county assessor from required education programs to the appropriate board of county commissioners and to the governor.

(c) As used in this section "property tax appraiser" means any employee of the state or any county, including elected county assessors, who makes valuation judgments used as a basis for ad valorem taxation.

(d) No individual shall perform the duties or exercise the authority of a property tax appraiser unless the person is certified by the department of revenue. No certificate shall be issued to any individual who has not demonstrated to the department of revenue that the individual is competent to perform the necessary work or administer the necessary operation of an assessor's office. An individual may serve as county assessor without certification for one (1) elected term and the remainder of any unexpired term to which appointed.

(e) The director of the ad valorem tax division, under the direction of the department of revenue, shall provide for examination of applicants for certificates and shall conduct or sponsor in-service or pre-entry training programs on the technical, legal and administrative aspects of the appraisal and assessment process. For this purpose, the director may cooperate with educational institutions, and regional, state or national appraisal and assessing organizations, and shall receive the advice of the president of the county assessor's association, to develop training programs.

(f) The director, upon appropriation by the legislature, shall also provide for the costs of obtaining and presenting schools including, but not limited to, normal costs of tuition, books and instructor expenses. The direct expenses related to students, such as travel, housing and meals while attending the schools, shall be the direct responsibility of each respective entity.