Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6 and Title 67, Chapter 5.

This bill authorizes a person to apply for a property tax exemption for those portions of real property that provide tree canopy, as determined by the county planning commission, assessor of property, or county board of equalization ("implementing agency") in Davidson County and when the governing body elects, by a 2/3 majority vote, to come under the provisions of this bill. This bill requires the implementing agency to determine the portion of real property that provides tree canopy using reliable, objective means of quantitative assessment. The property tax exemption authorized under this bill only applies to the portion of real property that provides tree canopy. If only a portion of real property is located under tree canopy, then such real property is exempt from taxation only to the extent of the value of that portion, and the remaining portion of such property is subject to taxation. This bill prohibits a person from being granted a property tax exemption on more than one parcel of real property, and prohibits an exempt portion of property from including more than five acres. This bill requires the chief administrative officer of the county, subject to approval by majority vote of the county governing body, to select the implementing agency responsible for determining tree canopy coverage. The implementing agency selected and approved under this provision must be reviewed annually to determine whether a new implementing agency should be selected and approved. This bill requires the implementing agency to calculate the portion of tree canopy sheltering real properties upon the submission of an application for a tree canopy property tax exemption as prescribed under this bill; and to formulate application formats and application requirements for the property tax exemption. This bill authorizes the implementing agency to develop additional criteria for the property tax exemption, subject to the review and approval of the state board of equalization and subsequent approval by the county governing body by resolution. This bill requires an owner of real property claiming a tree canopy property tax exemption to file an application for the exemption with the state board of equalization on a form prescribed by the board and provide all information required by the board to determine whether the property qualifies for the exemption. This bill requires the board to make an initial determination granting or denying an exemption through its staff designee, who shall send written notice of the initial determination to the applicant and to the assessor of property. Either the applicant or the assessor of property may appeal the initial determination to the board and is entitled to a hearing prior to any final determination of exemption under this bill. A property that is subject to the application requirements is not exempt from being taxed unless the application has been approved in writing by the board. The exemption is not transferable or assignable upon its approval, and the applicant must promptly report to the assessor any change in the use or ownership of the property or removal of tree canopy that could affect the property's tax exempt status. FILING FEE This bill authorizes both the board and the implementing agency to, by rule, impose a filing fee for processing applications for the exemptions, as long as the filing fee does not exceed $120 and is proportionate to the value of the property at issue. EXPIRATION OF EXEMPTION All real property granted an exemption must be certified in accordance with the criteria adopted pursuant to this bill. The tax exemption continues in effect throughout the property value assessment period applied by the county assessor of property, but the exemption is prohibited from continuing in effect for more than seven years from the date the exemption was first granted unless the implementing agency determines that it is reasonable to continue the exemption an additional seven years, whereupon the implementing agency is required to recertify the real property granted the exemption previously pursuant to this bill. At the end of the approved exemption period, this bill requires the assessor of property to reassess the value of the real property, which is then taxed on the basis of its full market value. This bill provides that if, during the period the tax exemption is in effect, the real property is determined by the implementing agency to have tree canopy coverage in an amount less than previously determined, then the exemption is void, and the owner is liable for any difference between the tax paid and the tax that would have been due on such property.