Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024
(1) PURPOSE - This
rule is issued pursuant to authority contained in §
40-1-46, Code of Ala.
1975, relating to payment by the department of yearly amounts to
certain persons obtaining and retaining one of the Department of Revenue's
designations as a certified appraiser, certified mapper, or certified tax
administrator.
(2) ELIGIBILITY -
Employees of Alabama county governments in the ad valorem tax field holding the
department's designation of Alabama Certified Appraiser, Alabama Certified
Mapper, or Alabama Certified Tax Administrator shall be eligible to receive
payment of a yearly professional achievement award from the department. Persons
holding more than one designation shall be entitled to only one payment.
Holders of a designation must have held that designation for six months prior
to October 1 of the calendar year in which the award is to be paid to be
eligible to receive the award. Persons not continuously employed on a
cumulative full-time basis by a county in this state or by the state in the ad
valorem tax field for any period of time prior to the six month period ending
on October 1 are not considered to have held the designation for the six month
period. Holders of a designation must be in the employment of a county in the
state in the ad valorem tax field on the payment date in order to receive the
payment. For purposes of this rule, a person is employed or employment is
deemed to exist for any person who is actively performing duties for
compensation for an Alabama county (or the state for eligibility purposes for
the six months prior to October 1) in the ad valorem tax field on not less than
a cumulative full-time basis, or for any person who is on full-time compensated
leave with the intent of returning to perform duties for compensation for an
Alabama county (or the state for eligibility purposes for the six months prior
to October 1) in the ad valorem tax field on not less than a cumulative
full-time basis at the end of the approved leave. The list of persons qualified
to hold a designation shall be provided to the department by the Program
Administrator as soon after March 31 of each year as is practical.
(a) Qualifications - To be eligible to
receive the designation of Alabama Certified Appraiser, Alabama Certified
Mapper, or Alabama Certified Tax Administrator, individuals who are employed
to, and actually do, perform appraisal or mapping functions in the ad valorem
tax field in an Alabama county or state government or who are elected or
appointed tax assessors, tax collectors, revenue commissioners, or license
commissioners responsible for the assessing and collecting of ad valorem taxes
at the county level who have achieved the requisite experience for the
requisite time period must make application to take, and successfully complete,
a comprehensive examination in one chosen discipline.
1. Application - Announcement of the
application process will be made by the Program Administrator during the first
and third quarter of the fiscal year by providing application packages to
elected officials in each county and supervisory staff of the department.
Failure of a potential candidate for any reason to receive the Announcement
shall not be deemed sufficient cause for the allowance of an exception to any
provision of this rule. Applications, in a form approved by the department
considering the recommendation of the Joint Education Advisory Committee for
the Program, must be submitted in their entirety so as to be received by the
Program Administrator as of the application closing date as stated in the
Announcement. No applications, addendums, or supplements to applications will
be accepted after the application closing date. Candidates will, however, be
allowed or possibly required to provide information after the application
closing date which is designed to clarify an ambiguity existing in the original
application which will aid in the review of the application. The Program
Administrator shall be allowed a reasonable non-refundable fee for the
processing of applications.
(i) Application
Review - Each application shall be reviewed to determine if all qualifications
are met. The Joint Education Advisory Committee (or any subcommittee appointed
from within who acts pursuant to authority of the Committee) shall review and
make recommendations to the department regarding each applicant's
qualifications. The Program Administrator may undertake an independent review
of an applicant's experience and may provide such information as is gathered to
the Committee and department. The finding of the Department that the experience
qualifications are met shall be made taking into consideration the
recommendation of the Joint Education Advisory Committee and the Program
Administrator. The Department will notify each applicant of their status as
candidates as soon after completion of the review and fact finding process as
is practical.
(ii) Appeal of
Decision - Any person aggrieved over the decision of the department concerning
their application for a designation shall submit in writing, within ten days of
the date contained on the notice of adverse decision, a statement setting forth
fully the reason for the disagreement. Recipients of an adverse decision shall
be notified in the decision of this appeal deadline. The department shall
thereafter review the facts surrounding the original decision and either
reverse or uphold the original decision based upon all factors as they are
found, or the department submit the appeal back to the Joint Education Advisory
Committee (or any subcommittee appointed from within who acts pursuant to
authority of the Committee) for further review and recommendation. The final
decision of the department shall be made within twenty days of the receipt of
the appeal. The appellant shall be notified of the department's final decision
as soon after the final decision is reached as is practical. No appeal shall be
considered due to a failure to timely submit an entire application by the
application submission date or from the failure to timely submit an appeal to
an adverse decision as provided in this subparagraph.
2. Education - To be admitted to the
comprehensive examination, candidates must have taken certain required and/or
elective courses as promulgated by the department, considering the
recommendation of the Program Administrator and the Joint Education Advisory
Committee for the Professional Education and Training Program, and published by
the Program Administrator. All such courses must be successfully completed
prior to the taking of the comprehensive examination. The unavailability of any
course or courses otherwise offered through the program which are required for
a potential candidate to successfully take in order to become eligible for a
designation shall not be deemed a sufficient cause for the allowance of an
exception to the provisions of this rule. The Program Administrator shall
verify all educational requirements.
3. Experience - Candidates for a designation
must be found by the department to have three years of qualifying experience,
as of the application closing date, to include the performance of the full
range of responsibilities in the discipline for which they are seeking a
designation. While not every task capable of being performed must actually be
performed or be performed for the entire three years, candidates must
successfully demonstrate that their cumulative experience provides a sufficient
basis for the finding that professional judgment has been exercised to a degree
which rises far above the level of mere technical proficiency which can be
performed by someone not possessing the knowledge, skills, and abilities
attendant to the particular discipline which can be obtained only through
meaningful participation in those tasks.
(b) Examination - The examination will be
administered and scored by the Program Administrator using criteria recognized
in the educational community as appropriate for adult learning. Candidates must
take the examination on the date specified by the Program Administrator at the
location specified by the Program Administrator. The Program Administrator
shall provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities who are
eligible and qualified to participate. Successful examination results can be
carried forward for three years. After an unsuccessful taking of the
comprehensive examination, the Program Administrator will provide participants
with an analysis of their examination to identify areas of strengths and
weaknesses. Provided the official examination date is on or before March 31, a
successful examinee who otherwise meets all requirements set out in this rule,
notwithstanding that the examination is scored at a later date or that certain
portions of the examination are scheduled after March 31 by the Program
Administrator, is considered to have met the six months prior to October 1
requirement of Paragraph (2).
(3) VERIFICATION - As soon after October 1 of
each year as is practical, the department will accept requests for payment of
the award from all persons qualified to hold a designation.
(a) Designation Holder - A form, to be
prescribed by the department, will be submitted to the department by each
person qualified to hold a designation as soon after October 1 of each year as
is practical but in no case after October 31 of that year unless for good cause
as determined by the Department. Contained on the form will be the applicant's
name, current mailing address, social security number, ethnic origin, signature
affirming that they are the holder in good standing of a designation, which
designation they are a holder of, and their place of employment, further
affirming that they have been employed on a cumulative full-time basis
continuously for six months prior to October 1.
(b) Employer - After the submission of forms
from persons qualified to hold a designation, the Department will provide each
person's listed employer with the names of those persons requesting payment of
the award. The employer will be required to verify to the Department the
current employment status of that individual in the ad valorem tax field. The
employer will further be required to notify the Department of any person who
is, or prior to payment of the award becomes, no longer employed on a
cumulative full-time basis in the ad valorem tax function of their office as
provided in Paragraph (2).
(4) PAYROLL - The department will process all
proper requests for payment of the award upon return of the employer's
verification of qualifying employment.
(a)
Funding of Payment - The total of the fund amount available to pay the award
shall be the amount appropriated to the department by the Legislature pursuant
to Code of Ala. 1975, §
40-7-70.
(b) Amount of Payment - The gross payment
amount to each recipient shall be the amount of the award as provided in
Code of Ala. 1975, §
40-1-46 unless the total of the
fund amount available to pay the awards is insufficient to pay the awards and
any payroll taxes payable by the with respect to the awards. In instances where
the fund is insufficient to pay the amount specified plus payroll taxes payable
by the Department, the amount payable directly to and on behalf of each
recipient shall be equal to the total of the fund amount available adjusted for
payroll taxes payable by the divided by the number of eligible recipients. The
gross amount payable directly to each recipient shall be equal to the amount
payable to and on behalf of each recipient less payroll taxes payable by the
with respect to the gross amount to be paid directly to that recipient. Each
recipient is responsible for any and all income, FICA, or tax of any other kind
levied on recipients of income of this nature by any governmental entity, which
tax shall be withheld at the appropriate rate as specified by the governmental
entity. The department will not refuse to recognize garnishment or other valid
court orders regarding disbursement of funds to persons other than the eligible
recipient. The department may refuse to recognize requests from recipients for
voluntary payroll reductions of any type.
(c) Method of Payment - The payment shall be
made through an electronic funds transfer (EFT), a paper warrant payable at the
state treasury, or other method as required by the State Comptroller.
(d) Time of Payment - Subject to any
disbursement diversion noted in Subparagraph (4)(b) above, funds shall be
distributed to all qualified recipients in their preferred method of payment
during the first quarter of the fiscal year or as soon as is practical by the
department.
(e) Forfeiture of
Payment - Any person otherwise qualifying for payment of the award at the time
of the request for payment who becomes ineligible for payment between the
making of the request and the payout of the award due to discontinuance of
employment with a county in this state shall forfeit any right to receive the
payment. Any such forfeited payment shall revert to the fund as described in
Subparagraph (4)(a) of this rule and shall not be redistributed to other
eligible participants during the current period.
(5) WAGE AND TAX DOCUMENTATION - The
department shall furnish to each recipient of the award a Form W-2, or other
appropriate statement of wage payment and tax withholding, via the Electronic
My Alabama Portal (eMAP).
(6)
CONTINUED RETENTION OF DESIGNATION - Holders of a department designation must
participate in at least thirty hours of continuing education programs, to be
approved by the department, every three years after initial certification. Of
the thirty hours, fifteen must be tested with the designation holder
successfully completing the examination. Thirty hours credit may be carried
over to subsequent recertification periods. Education events sponsored by the
Department's Professional Education and Training Program are prima facie
qualified for continuing education credit. Education events sponsored by
programs other than the Department's program will be considered for approval on
a case-by-case basis by the Department with recommendations for approval made
by the Program Administrator or Joint Education Advisory Committee given
considerable deference.
Authors: Larry Doyal, Leslie Mackey
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
1975, §§
40-2A-7(a)(5),
40-1-46.
