Title: ANTELOPE VALLEY IMPROVEMENT v. STATE BD. OF EQUALIZATION FOR WYOMING

State: wyoming

Issuer: Wyoming Supreme Court

Document:

ANTELOPE VALLEY IMPROVEMENT v. STATE BD. OF EQUALIZATION FOR WYOMING2000 WY 854 P.3d 876Case Number: 98-352Decided: 04/10/2000Supreme Court of Wyoming

ANTELOPE VALLEY IMPROVEMENT 
AND SERVICE DISTRICT OF GILLETTE, Appellant
(Petitioner),

v.

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION FOR THE STATE OF WYOMING; 
and

THE WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, Appellees 
(Respondents).

                            

 Upon Petition For 
Clarification

  

   James L. Edwards of Stevens, 
Edwards & Hallock, P.C., Gillette, Wyoming, Representing Appellant (no 
brief filed on petition).

    
Jay A. Jerde, Assistant Attorney General, Representing Appellee 
Wyoming Department of Revenue (no brief filed on 
petition).

    
Michael L. Hubbard, Deputy Attorney General, Representing State Board 
of Equalization on petition.

 

   Before LEHMAN, C.J., and 
THOMAS, MACY, GOLDEN and HILL, JJ.

 

   GOLDEN, 
Justice.

 [¶1]         Antelope Valley Improvement and 
Service District of Gillette (Antelope Valley) applied to the Wyoming Department 
of Revenue (Department) for a sales and use tax exemption in 1997.  The Department denied the application, 
and Antelope Valley filed an appeal with the Wyoming Board of Equalization 
(Board).  On its own motion, the 
Board dismissed Antelope Valley's appeal as untimely.  Antelope Valley appealed from the 
Board's decision, first to the district court, and then to this Court.  Both the Board and the Department filed 
briefs as appellees.  In Antelope 
Valley Improvement and Service Dist. of Gillette v. State Bd. of Equalization, 
992 P.2d 563 (Wyo. 1999), we held, among other things, that the Wyoming Board of 
Equalization (Board) was not a proper party to Antelope Valley's appeal from the 
Board's decision.  The Board 
petitioned for rehearing, or in the alternative, for clarification of our 
ruling. We agreed to clarify our decision by order dated January 13, 
2000.

 

[¶2]         The Board's petition and arguments 
fail to recognize the two distinct functions it performs pursuant to 
statute.  We acknowledged these 
functions in Exxon Corp. v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, Sublette County, 987 P.2d 158, 162-63 (Wyo. 1999).  With the 
legislative changes made in the 1991 Wyo. Sess. Laws ch. 174, the Board "became 
an independent quasi-judicial organization with constitutional and statutory 
duties to equalize valuation and decide disagreements regarding statutory 
provisions affecting the assessment, levy and collection of taxes."  Id. at 162 (quoting Union Pacific 
Resources Co. v. State of Wyoming, Department of Rev., 839 P.2d 356, 363 (Wyo. 
1992)).

 

[¶3]         While it often functions as an 
administrative agency, the Board also has a separate and distinct role as an 
appellate body, hearing appeals from decisions by county boards of equalization 
and final decisions of the Department.1 See Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 39-1-302(c), 
-304(a) (Michie 1997); Exxon, 987 P.2d  at 163.  Referring to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-1-304 
(Michie 1997), we discerned:

 

subsection (a) to be a part of the Board's 
adjudicatory function, i.e., that subsection gives the Board the power to hear 
appeals. Subsection (a)(xiv) (Section 14), on the other hand, is more closely 
aligned with the Board's regulatory function.

 

 Exxon, 987 P.2d  at 
163.

 

[¶4]         We do not disagree with the 
Board's contention that when the Board acts in its regulatory capacity and "any 
person adversely affected" by that decision appeals to the district court, the 
Board is the proper respondent to that appeal.  Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-1-306 (Michie 1997) 
provides for appeals from Board decisions, either adjudicatory or 
regulatory.  However, when the Board 
functions in its adjudicatory capacity, it is not a proper party to an appeal 
from its order resulting from that proceeding.  The law is well settled, and we 
reiterate it here: "Generally a court or board exercising judicial or quasi 
judicial functions, not being a party to its proceedings, and not having any 
legal interest in maintaining its determination, can neither appeal from a 
judgment or order of a court reversing the proceedings nor be heard on the 
appeal."  Antelope Valley, 992 P.2d  
at 567 (quoting 4 C.J.S. Appeal and Error § 175 (1993)). In Antelope Valley's 
appeal to the Board, the Board was exercising its adjudicatory function; it was 
not a party to the proceedings and does not have any legal interest in 
maintaining its determination.

 

[¶5]         The Board claims it has a public 
interest in the appeal before this Court through its statutory and 
constitutional authority to equalize taxation throughout the state.  However, this case was an appeal to the 
Board from a final decision of the Department; therefore, the Board was 
functioning in its adjudicatory capacity.  
The administrative agency representing the State of Wyoming's legal 
interest in the adversarial hearing before the Board was the Department. The 
adversarial parties before this Court remain the same, Antelope Valley and the 
Department.  The Board, as the 
impartial tribunal below, may not inject itself into this proceeding because it 
was not acting in its regulatory capacity when it heard the matter and issued 
its order.

 

[¶6]         The Board does not present this 
Court with any pertinent authority to the contrary.  The Board relies on administrative 
agency case law from other states.  
However, the statutory scheme providing for the Department and the Board 
directs the Board to hear appeals from decisions of the Department and county 
boards of equalization.  Wyo. Stat. 
Ann. §§ 39-1-302(c), -304(a) (Michie 1997).  When the Board acts in its adjudicatory 
capacity, the Board resembles a "lower tribunal," not an administrative 
agency.  The Board's portrayal of 
its order, issued in the exercise of its adjudicatory authority, as an 
"administrative decision," is misguided.

 

[¶7]         The Board's insistence that it is 
a proper party to an appeal in cases in which it acted in its adjudicatory 
capacity is analogous to a district court's filing of a brief with this Court 
when one of its decisions is being appealed, in the hope that it can explain 
"the real reason why [it] rendered a particular decision."  The Board's opportunity to explain its 
reasoning lies in its order, just as a district court's opportunity to explain 
its reasoning lies in its orders.

 

[¶8]         In 1998, the legislature 
recodified Title 39 of the Wyoming Statutes.  The provisions relating to the 
Department of Revenue and the Board of Equalization are now found in Wyo. Stat. 
Ann. §§ 39-11-102, -102.1, and -109(b) (LEXIS 1999).  We have reviewed those statutes and 
emphasize, with boldface type, the statutory language which places the Board in 
an adjudicatory role, rather than a regulatory role:

 

   § 39-11-102.1. Administration; 
state board of equalization.

 

(a) The governor shall appoint, with senate 
confirmation, three (3) persons who shall constitute the state board of 
equalization who are the department's board of appeals.  Not more than two (2) board members may 
be members of the same political party.  
Each appointment of the board members shall be for a six (6) year 
term.

 

(b) The board shall elect a chairman and a 
vice-chairman who shall serve for two (2) years.

 

(c) The state board of equalization shall perform the 
duties specified in article 15, section 10 of the Wyoming constitution and 
shall hear appeals from county boards of equalization and review final 
decisions of the department upon application of any interested person adversely 
affected, including boards of county commissioners for the purposes of this 
subsection, under the contested case procedures of the Wyoming Administrative 
Procedure Act.  Any interested 
person adversely affected by the adoption, amendment or repeal of a rule 
pursuant to W.S. 16-3-103(a) shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing 
before the board.2 In addition, the board 
shall:

 

(i) 
Manage its internal affairs and prescribe rules of practice and 
procedure;

 

(ii) Prescribe the form for the abstract of the 
assessment roll, examine and compare the abstracts of the counties and equalize 
the same, so that all taxable property in the state is assessed at its fair 
market value, and to that end shall add to or deduct from the aggregate 
valuation of the property, or any class or classes of property, in any county 
such percent as will bring the same to its fair market value.  When any assessed valuation is to be 
increased or decreased, the board shall provide not less than twenty (20) days 
notice of the proposed action to the county board of equalization and county 
assessor of the county in which the property is situated.  If requested, the state board of 
equalization shall provide an opportunity for a hearing for the county board of 
equalization and assessor of the affected county.  The hearing shall be held in the 
affected county.  After a hearing, 
if requested, the county board of equalization shall take the necessary action 
to effectuate the action taken by the state board of equalization.  The state board of equalization shall 
certify the valuation to be used for all tax levies on or before the first 
Monday in August.  The board shall 
communicate its equalization actions to the department, along with any 
recommendations for improved work practices of county 
assessors;

 

(iii) When in the opinion of the board, it would be 
of assistance in equalizing values under paragraph (ii) of this subsection, the 
board may require any county assessor to furnish statements showing assessments 
of the property of any person within the county.  The board shall consider and equalize 
county assessments under paragraph (ii) of this subsection and may increase or 
decrease assessments returned by the county board of equalization when the 
property so assessed appears to be 
over-valued or under-valued, first giving notice to those persons affected.  The notice shall fix a time and place of 
hearing.  Any affected person may 
appeal from the decision of the board to the district court of the county in 
which the property is situated;3

 

(iv) Decide all questions that may arise with 
reference to the construction of any statute affecting the assessment, levy and 
collection of taxes, in accordance with the rules, regulations, orders and 
instructions prescribed by the department:4

 

(A) Upon application of any person adversely 
affected; or

 

(B) In performing its responsibilities to equalize 
values, including with respect to the suitability of the system prescribed by 
the department for establishing fair market value.

 

(v) 
Require each county assessor immediately after the county boards of equalization 
have been notified by the state board of equalization of the amount of the 
county values and state levy, to certify to the state board of equalization, on 
or before August 10 of each year, in the form and detail prescribed by the 
board, all valuations and levies fixed in their respective 
counties;

 

(vi) Institute or cause to be instituted any 
proceedings, either civil or criminal, provided by law as a punishment for the 
neglect, failure or refusal to obey any lawful requirement or order by the board 
arising from a review of department action under the Wyoming Administrative 
Procedure Act or in performing its responsibilities to equalize values, or to 
prevent the violation or disobedience of any lawful requirement or order 
regarding appeal or equalization, or to compel their enforcement;5

 

(vii) At the time of making annual assessment for 
state purposes, direct the boards of county commissioners of the several 
counties to levy upon all taxable property a tax sufficient to pay the interest 
on all state bonds for that year;

 

(viii) Hold hearings after due 
notice in the manner and form provided in the Wyoming Administrative Procedure 
Act and its own rules and regulations of practice and procedure.  The board may contract with an attorney 
licensed in the state of Wyoming to perform the functions of a presiding 
officer, provided the attorney is knowledgeable of and qualified in the 
particular areas of taxation which are the subject of the appeal;6

 

(ix) Certify to the county boards of equalization the 
amount of levy for state purposes on or before the first Monday in August.  Whenever the valuation of any county is 
changed by the state board of equalization, the officers of the county who have 
authority to levy taxes shall use the valuation as fixed by the state board of 
equalization as a basis for making tax levies for all 
purposes;

 

(x) 
Carefully examine into all cases wherein it is alleged that property subject to 
taxation has not been assessed or has been fraudulently, improperly, or 
unequally assessed, or the law in any manner evaded or violated, and cause to be 
instituted proceedings which will remedy improper or negligent administration of 
the tax laws of the state;7

 

(xi) Require any public officer to report information 
relating to the assessment of property, collection of taxes, receipts from 
excises and other sources, and whatever other information the department or 
board may need in the form it prescribes;

 

(xii) Schedule meetings of the board at a fixed time 
on the first working day of each week, and all final actions or decisions by the 
board shall be made or ratified at such scheduled 
meetings;

 

(xiii) Keep complete, accurate, written minutes of 
all meetings of the board and the actions taken;

 

(xiv) Provide not less than twenty (20) days notice 
and an opportunity to be heard to the county board of equalization and the 
county assessor of any county or counties in which the taxable value of any 
class of property is to be increased or decreased;8

 

(xv) Have the power to issue subpoenas.  The board may issue a subpoena requiring 
any person to appear at a place within the county where the person resides 
designated in the subpoena and be examined about any matter within the scope of 
the inquiry, investigation or contested case being conducted by the board or 
department and requiring the production of any books and records.  The district court shall upon a finding 
of good cause issue an order requiring the person to appear and to produce the 
necessary books and records in the event the person disregards or refuses to 
obey the subpoena of the board;

 

(xvi) Promulgate rules and regulations governing 
procedures for board proceedings, including those related to its responsibility 
to equalize values, and its own internal affairs.9

 

(d) The governor may remove any member of the state 
board of equalization as provided in  
W.S. 9-1-202.

 

(e) On or before August 1 of each year, the state 
auditor shall certify to the board the amount of all appropriations made by the 
legislature of the state of Wyoming and the interest on the public debt for 
which a levy must be made.

 

            
39-13-109 Taxpayer remedies.

 

            
(b) Appeals.  The following 
shall apply:

 

(i) 
The county assessor shall notify any person whose property assessment has been 
increased by the county board of equalization of the increase.  Any person wishing to contest an 
assessment of his property shall file not later than thirty (30) days after the 
date or postmark date of the assessment schedule properly sent pursuant to W.S. 
39-13-103(b)(vii), whichever is later, a statement with the county assessor 
specifying the reasons why the assessment is incorrect.  The county assessor shall provide a copy 
to the county clerk as clerk of the county board of equalization.  
The county assessor and the person contesting the assessment, or his 
agent, shall disclose witnesses and exchange information, evidence and documents 
relevant to the appeal, including sales information from relevant statements of 
consideration if requested, no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the 
scheduled county board of equalization hearing.  The assessor shall specifically identify 
the sales information used to determine market value of the property under 
appeal.  A county board of 
equalization may receive evidence relative to any assessment and may require the 
person assessed or his agent or attorney to appear before it, be examined and 
produce any documents relating to the assessment.  No adjustment in an assessment shall be 
granted to or on behalf of any person who willfully neglects or refuses to 
attend a meeting of a county board of equalization and be examined or answer any 
material question upon the board's request.  Minutes of the examination shall be 
taken and filed with the county clerk;

 

(ii) A county assessor may appeal any decision or 
order of the county board of equalization to the state board of 
equalization;

 

(iii) Any person aggrieved by any 
final administrative decision of the department may appeal to the board.  Appeals shall be made in a timely manner 
as provided by rules and regulations of the board by filing with the board a 
notice of appeal specifying the grounds therefor.  The department shall, within a timely 
manner as specified by board rules and regulations, transmit to the board the 
complete record of the action from which the appeal is taken;
 

(iv) Any person including the state of Wyoming 
aggrieved by any order issued by the board, or any county board of equalization 
whose decision has been reversed or modified by the state board of equalization, 
may appeal the decision of the board to the district court of the county in 
which the property or some part thereof is situated;

 

(v) 
The board and department shall not compromise or reduce the tax liability of any 
person owing a tax to the state of Wyoming, except that the department for good 
cause, may, but is not required to, compromise and settle with the taxpayer for 
payment of any taxes owed to the state of Wyoming which tax liability is 
disputed in good faith by the taxpayer and which liability has not been settled 
in law.  In case the department 
and the person owing the tax do not agree with respect to tax liability, the 
department shall by order, assess and levy the full amount of tax due and any 
person aggrieved by the assessment may appeal the decision to the board pursuant 
to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

 

[¶9]         We suggest that, in any given 
case, the Board clearly identify the nature of and define the statutory 
authority for the proceedings before it.  
This opinion is intended to assist in defining and clarifying the Board's 
statutory functions, and, ultimately, to direct the Board's efforts when a party 
appeals from one of its decisions.  
In its brief, the Board delineates five of its 
powers:

 

            
1. The power to hear contested cases and appeals;

 

   
         
2. The power to equalize valuations pursuant to constitutional 
authority;

 

3. The power to examine or investigate allegations of 
improper assessment;

 

4. The power to adopt rules and regulations on 
procedures and equalization;

 

            
5. The power to enforce its orders on appeal or 
equalization.

 

[¶10]   We agree the Board has authority to 
perform all of these duties.  
However, when it holds an adjudicatory proceeding, which constitutes an 
appeal from a department or county board of equalization decision, it is not 
acting in its administrative capacity, and it is not a proper party to an 
appeal.

 

    

FOOTNOTES

1 We will 
refer to proceedings in which the Board acts in its capacity as an 
administrative agency as "regulatory" and in its capacity as an appellate body 
as "adjudicatory."

  

2 In 
contrast, this sentence authorizes the Board to act in its regulatory 
capacity.  The Board is the proper 
respondent in an appeal to the district court.

  

3This subsection of the statute allows for a 
hearing before the Board in its regulatory capacity.

4 This 
subsection provides an excellent example of the distinctive roles the Board 
performs.  Subsection (A) presents 
the Board with an appeal by "any person adversely affected" by a question 
arising "with reference to the construction of any statute affecting the 
assessment, levy and collection of taxes."  
This question will arise in the context of a person being adversely 
affected by a decision of either the Department or a county board of 
equalization, thus adverse parties present the issue to the Board in an 
appellate setting.  Subsection (B), 
on the other hand, authorizes the Board to decide these same types of questions 
when it is performing its regulatory responsibilities as an administrative 
agency which has been directed to equalize values.  The Board is a proper respondent to an 
appeal.  It should be clear at this 
point that the nature of the proceeding before the Board defines the Board's 
authority and responsibility when one of its decisions is appealed to the 
district court.

 

5 This 
subsection relates to the Board's responsibility to enforce its orders, as an 
administrative agency. The proceedings the Board may institute are "either civil 
or criminal," indicating the proceedings are performed by the judicial branch, 
not the executive branch. Therefore, the proceedings are not administrative 
proceedings, and the Board is not the adjudicating body.  The Board would be a proper party to an 
appeal from the district court's order.

 6 This 
provision is applicable to contested cases before the Board in either its 
regulatory or adjudicatory capacity.  
We designate this combined authority with boldface and italics.  It is important that the Board designate 
which type of proceeding it is holding pursuant to this subsection, either 
regulatory or adjudicatory.

  

7 The 
proceedings instituted pursuant to this subsection are regulatory.  See Exxon Corp., 987 P.2d  at 163 
(Subsection "is more closely aligned with the Board's regulatory 
function.")

  

8 
Hearings concerning the increase or decrease of the taxable value of any class 
of property are another example of a regulatory 
proceeding.

  

9 This 
subsection provides the Board with its rulemaking authority, which it undertakes 
in regulatory proceedings.