Section 15-20-44 - Public land or land exempt from taxation(a) All lands situated within any assessment area shall be subject to improvement assessments, except the following: (1) Public lands, except lands owned by the board of water supply;(2) Any land, which by law is exempted from improvement assessments; or(3) Any land, exempted by law from the payment of property taxes, which is owned by an eleemosynary organization. The authority shall pay toward the portion of the cost of improvements, which would otherwise be assessed to the aforementioned exempt lands as if such lands were privately owned or not exempt from assessments.
(b) Except for public lands, if any portion of the aforementioned exempt lands in subsection (a) is required for right-of-way or easement purposes within an assessment area, the value thereof shall be chargeable to the assessment area. Upon acquisition, the authority shall compensate the owner of such lands as follows: (1) If the value of the acquired portion, including severance damages, exceeds the improvement cost that would otherwise be assessable against the exempt land, the authority shall pay the difference to the owner; or(2) If the value of the acquired portion is less than the improvement cost that would otherwise be assessable against the exempt land, the value of the acquired portion shall be deducted from the improvement cost and the authority shall pay the balance of the assessment as provided herein.(c) In the event all or a portion of the land exempted from assessments as provided in subsection (a) is sold or leased after the establishment of an assessment area, the following shall take effect: (1) The grantee or the lessor, as the case may be, shall assume the payment of assessments from the date of such sale or lease in the same manner as if the property had not been exempted from assessments and as if assessments proportionable against the property had been paid in installments to such date of sale or lease; and(2) All payments received from such grantee or lessor, as the case may be, shall be paid into the Hawaii community development revolving fund. Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice any rights of the State to reimbursement from the United States for assessments herein assumed by the State, but the latter shall be subrogated to the rights of the authority on such assessments so assumed.
(d) In the event lands utilized by the public for roadway purposes at the time an assessment area is established are thereafter sold or leased, the following shall take effect: (1) Such land area shall be assessed at the same rates and methods as set forth in the assessment report for properties within the assessment area; and(2) The grantee or lessor, as the case may be, shall assume the payment of the assessment from the date of such sale or lease as if the property had not been exempted from assessments and as if assessments proportionable against the property had been paid in installments to such date of sale or lease. The authority shall not be required to adjust assessments against other properties within the assessment area in the application of the provisions of this subsection (d) , and all payments received from such grantee or lessor, as the case may be, shall be paid into the Hawaii community development revolving fund.
[Eff 2/4/02] (Auth: HRS §§ 206E-4, 206E-6) (Imp: HRS §§ 206E-4, 206E-6)