Oklahoma § 68-2870 - Destruction or loss of tax lists, rolls or abstracts

§ 68-2870. Destruction or loss of tax lists, rolls or abstracts

A. In case of the destruction or loss of tax lists, rolls or

abstracts, or any portion thereof, of any county of this state,

after the assessments have been adjusted by the county board of

equalization according to law, and before the taxes have become

delinquent according to law, it shall be the duty of the county

assessor with the approval of the board of county commissioners of

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 68. Revenue and Taxation

the county in which said loss or destruction shall occur, within

ninety (90) days after such loss or destruction, to appoint special

deputy assessors, whose duty it shall be to assist the county

assessor in reassessing all taxable property of said county, or such

portion thereof, the tax records of which have been lost or

destroyed as aforesaid, in the manner and form provided by law.

Before entering upon the duties of such appointment, such special

deputy assessors shall qualify before the county assessor as

provided by law for the qualification of deputy assessors, and such

special deputy assessors shall receive the same compensation for

their services, as other personnel in such assessor's office for

each day actually employed. The original assessment, the record of

which is lost, shall, in the new assessment, be followed and adopted

as far as practicable.

B. The county assessor shall, within ten (10) days after the

appointment of the special deputies, proceed to make out and deliver

to the county board of equalization the assessment rolls of the

county as provided by law. The county board of equalization shall

meet within ten (10) days after the delivery of the assessment rolls

to it, which assessment rolls and lists shall be received by said

board and corrected so as to correspond, as nearly as may be, to the

original rolls and lists lost or destroyed.

C. The county assessor shall, within thirty (30) days after the

date of the meeting of the county board of equalization required by

this section, make out and file with the treasurer of said county,

an abstract of the special assessment herein provided. Such

assessment, and the assessment lists, assessment rolls, tax rolls

and abstracts, when so made and filed shall, in all respects, be of

the same force and effect as if made at the regular assessment, and

shall have the same effect and value as evidence, as the lists,

assessment rolls, tax rolls, and abstracts lost or destroyed; and

the rates of taxation shall in no case be changed or varied from

those theretofore fixed for the year covered by such restored

records. In such cases no penalty shall attach for nonpayment of

taxes until at least ninety (90) days after the said abstract is

filed with the county treasurer.

D. In all cases contemplated in, and covered by this section,

the Oklahoma Tax Commission shall provide for the use of said county

assessor and special deputy assessors, upon the requisition or

request of the board of county commissioners of the county, all

necessary notices, blank forms, lists and instructions and forward

the same to the county assessor of said county.

E. In all cases where duplicates or copies of the assessment

rolls and tax rolls for the year involved can be reproduced from the

land list or other available records, if the said county assessor

and the board of county commissioners shall determine that said

reproduced roll is correct, and upon the verification of the same by

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 68. Revenue and Taxation

the persons who made such assessment, or other person competent to

make such verification, such reproduced assessment roll shall be

accepted in lieu of the special assessment herein required.

F. Upon the receipt by the county treasurer of the county

assessor's abstract of the tax roll, all persons who have

theretofore paid the whole or any part of the tax chargeable against

them for the year involved may, within sixty (60) days, present

their receipts to the county treasurer who shall credit them upon

the proper record with the amount of taxes so paid.

G. For the purpose of performing the extraordinary duties

provided by this section, the county assessor and county treasurer

shall be empowered, with the consent and under the direction of the

board of county commissioners, to employ such additional deputies as

may be necessary to enable them to perform the duties required by

this section within the period herein limited.

Added by Laws 1988, c. 162, § 70, eff. Jan. 1, 1992.