Bill Text: CT SB00838 | 2011 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Wildlife Management And Lands Classified As Farm Lands.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-01 - Public Hearing 02/09 [SB00838 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2011-SB00838-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 838
January Session, 2011		LCO No. 2340
		*02340_______ENV*
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)

AN ACT CONCERNING WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AND LANDS CLASSIFIED AS FARM LANDS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 12-107c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(a) An owner of land may apply for its classification as farm land on any grand list of a municipality by filing a written application for such classification with the assessor thereof not earlier than thirty days before or later than thirty days after the assessment date, provided in a year in which a revaluation of all real property in accordance with section 12-62 becomes effective such application may be filed not later than ninety days after such assessment date. The assessor shall determine whether such land is farm land and, if such assessor determines that it is farm land, he or she shall classify and include it as such on the grand list. In determining whether such land is farm land, such assessor shall take into account, among other things, the acreage of such land, the portion thereof in actual use for farming or agricultural operations, the productivity of such land, the gross income derived therefrom, the nature and value of the equipment used in connection therewith, and the extent to which the tracts comprising such land are contiguous, except that for any application that is based on the use of such land for wildlife management purposes, such assessor shall not consider the gross income derived therefrom but rather the report of a certified commercial forest practitioner that indicates whether the land is managed in accordance with a wildlife management plan that such commercial forest practitioner found to materially enhance the capacity of such land to support native species of vegetation and wildlife. Any such report shall be submitted by the owner of land as an attachment to the application submitted pursuant to this section and such report shall be prepared by a commercial forest practitioner who is certified pursuant to section 23-65h.

(b) An application for classification of land as farm land shall be made upon a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and shall set forth a description of the land, a general description of the use to which it is being put, a statement of the potential liability for tax under the provisions of sections 12-504a to 12-504f, inclusive, and such other information as the assessor may require to aid the assessor in determining whether such land qualifies for such classification.

(c) Failure to file an application for classification of land as farm land within the time limit prescribed in subsection (a) and in the manner and form prescribed in subsection (b) shall be considered a waiver of the right to such classification on such assessment list.

(d) Any person aggrieved by the denial of any application for the classification of land as farm land shall have the same rights and remedies for appeal and relief as are provided in the general statutes for taxpayers claiming to be aggrieved by the doings of assessors or boards of assessment appeals.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2011	12-107c

Statement of Purpose:

To assist owners of farm land that may use their property for wildlife management purposes.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]