Section 1. Authority.
The rules in this chapter are adopted pursuant to W.S.
39-11-102.1.
Section 2. Office of the Board.
The office of the State Board shall be located at the
Herschler Building, 122 West 25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming
82002-0110. The office hours of the Board shall be 8:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. on each business day. A person desiring to
transact any business with the Board may appear and make
application to do so any time during the office hours.
Section 3. Sessions of the Board.
(a) The Board shall be considered in daily session,
without formal adjournment from day to day, but if occasion
requires, it may adjourn to a day certain, or adjourn subject
to the call of the Chairman, or a majority of the Board
members. A regular meeting of the Board shall be held on the
first day of each work week at 9:00 a.m.
(i) A majority of the Board shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business. Formal adoption of
decisions by the Board requires a quorum.
(b) Special sessions of the Board shall be held whenever
any matter before the Board requires consideration at a
particular time or place, or whenever the Board meets with
others for the purpose of discussing any matter for
consideration. Such sessions may be held at any place within
the State other than the Board's office in Cheyenne, if the
Board finds such other place is better suited.
(c) Sessions shall be held annually by the Board for the
following purposes:
(i) To discuss assessment practices and
valuations for assessment purposes with interested Department
officials, county officials and taxpayers.
(ii) To recommend valuation work practices or
and order equalized valuations as the Board may lawfully
adopt.
(iii) To fix the levy after the certificate
showing the amount of money required to be raised for State
purposes has been received from the State Auditor.
(iv) To take final action on county valuations
as reported to the Board by County Assessors.
(d) Full and complete minutes of each Board session
shall be made and kept for permanent public records.
Section 4. Items to be Contained in Board Minutes.
All matters of importance which should be considered by
the Board shall be brought to the Board's attention in formal
session. At each formal session, the executive secretary
shall be responsible for taking full and complete minutes, and
shall submit the same to the members of the Board for their
approval and correction. Approval shall be entered upon the
minutes and, when approved, they shall be filed with the
executive secretary for permanent public record.
Section 5. Information Practices.
(a) All requests for information from the Board shall be
in writing and processed according to this section.
(b) The Board shall initially determine whether the
information requested is in the possession of the Board as
official custodian. If such determination is negative, the
request shall be returned to the applicant with notation of
this fact and designation of the official custodian, if known.
If the information or records requested are in active use or
in storage and therefore not available at the time an
applicant asks to examine them, the Board shall so notify the
applicant.
(c) If the Board is the official custodian of the
record, it shall subsequently determine whether the
information requested is protected as confidential or
proprietary. If such determination is made, the request shall
be denied and returned to the applicant with a notation of the
statutory provision which renders the information not subject
to public review or disclosure.
(d) Public records for which the Board is custodian
shall be open and available for public inspection between 8
a.m. and 5 p.m. each business day. Original or Board copies
of records may not be removed from the Board office area and
the review thereof may be reasonably restricted to protect the
records or prevent unnecessary interference with the regular
discharge of the Board's duties. In the Board's discretion,
public records may be released in computerized format. The
Board shall recover all direct and indirect costs associated
with programming, computer time, and production from the
requesting entity, except for entities party to an information
sharing agreement with the Board or State of Wyoming.
(e) For all public records for which the Board is
custodian, paper copies may be provided upon approved request
at the rate of $.50 per page for the first 10 pages, and $.15
per page for each additional page with a $1.00 minimum charge.
If certification of a document is requested, there shall be an
additional charge of $3.00 per document.
(f) All final orders and decisions of the Board, the
minutes of all its sessions, meetings and proceedings, and the
Board's rules shall be kept by the executive secretary for
permanent public record and shall be open for public
inspection. The executive secretary may certify to the
correctness of any copies of such documents.
Section 6. Rules Subscription.
The Board may provide an annual (calendar year)
subscription service for current and amended rules. Such
service shall be afforded at an annual subscription fee of
$18.00 payable before March 1st of each year. Amendments to
rules shall be issued to all current subscribers on a
semi-annual basis (July 1 and December 31). Subscribers who
request copies of amended rules prior to the semi-annual
mailing shall be afforded the same upon written request and
payment of the public record fee in Section 5(e).
Section 7. Rule-making.
(a) The Board rule-making procedure is governed by W.S.
16-3-101 et seq. As a fact-finding proceeding, rule-making
shall be conducted in a non-adversarial manner, without
pleadings,sworn testimony,rules of evidence, cross-examination
or adverse parties. Only the Board shall be afforded the
privilege of questioning participants during a hearing. The
Board may ask questions to develop a full and complete
understanding of all comments. At the commencement of each
hearing, the Board shall announce all restrictions, including
time limits on oral comments as deemed necessary to promote an
orderly and fair hearing.
(b) Board decisional meetings shall be scheduled and
conducted as a public meeting for discussion and decision on
proposed rules.
(c) If requested in writing or orally at a public
hearing, the Board shall issue a concise statement of the
principal reasons for overruling a comment or consideration.
Such statement shall be issued either prior to or within 30
days after adoption of the rule.
Section 8. Petition for rule-making.
(a) Pursuant to W.S. 16-3-106, any person, including
the Department, may petition the Board for the adoption,
amendment or repeal of any rule. The petition shall be
directed to State Board of Equalization, c/o Executive
Secretary, P. 0. Box 448, Cheyenne, WY 82003. The petition
shall include:
(i) Identification, address and phone
number of petitioner;
(ii) A statement of the terms and substance of
the proposed rule or a description of the subjects and issues
involved;
(iii) If an amendment or a repeal is requested,
the citation to the rule to be amended or repealed;
(iv) A brief and concise reason for the
adoption, amendment or repeal of the rule; and
(v) Identification of the statutory authority
for the rule, if known.
(b) The filing of a petition shall not stay or affect
any duly promulgated rule.
(c) After filing of the petition, the Board may schedule
a pre-hearing conference with the petitioner to review the
petition.
(d) As soon as practicable the Board shall either deny
the petition in writing (stating its reasons for denial) or
initiate rule-making proceedings in accordance with W.S.
16-3-103.
(e) The action of the Board in denying a rule-making
petition is final and not subject to review.
Section 9. Tax appeal summary report.
The Board shall provide by subscription a quarterly
report summarizing each tax appeal decision, or statement of
policy issued by the board as an order. The annual fee for
such service shall be $80.00 payable before march 1st of each
year. Copies of individual quarterly issues may be obtained at
the rate of $20.00 per copy.