Earlier this week the House Tax Policy Committee heard testimony on two pieces of legislation that would require assessors to get written permission to enter structures in order to assess them.

House Bill 5172 requires written consent for an assessor to enter a structure, and if that consent is denied the assessor cannot increase the value of the property based on any assumptions.

House Bill 5173 states that the assessor’s procedural manual may not require a homeowner to grant an assessor access to a property nor may an assessor access a property without written permission.

There was significant concern voiced by a number of committee members on this legislation. Obviously this legislation would significantly hamstring the ability of our assessors to do their jobs.

The committee did not vote on the legislation, and they are currently not scheduled to be taken up at next week’s meeting.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org