(1)It is the duty of the county assessor
of any county embracing the whole or a part of any irrigation district to assess and
enter upon his records as assessor in its appropriate column the assessment of all
real estate, including public lands subject to assessment under the act of congress
of August 11, 1916, exclusive of improvements, situate, lying, and being within any
irrigation district in whole or in part of such county. Immediately after said
assessment has been extended as provided by law, the assessor shall make returns
of the total amount of such assessment to the board of county commissioners of
the county in which the office of said district is located. All lands within the district,
for the purpose of taxation under this article, shall be valued by the assessor at
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(1) It is the duty of the county assessor
of any county embracing the whole or a part of any irrigation district to assess and
enter upon his records as assessor in its appropriate column the assessment of all
real estate, including public lands subject to assessment under the act of congress
of August 11, 1916, exclusive of improvements, situate, lying, and being within any
irrigation district in whole or in part of such county. Immediately after said
assessment has been extended as provided by law, the assessor shall make returns
of the total amount of such assessment to the board of county commissioners of
the county in which the office of said district is located. All lands within the district,
for the purpose of taxation under this article, shall be valued by the assessor at the
same rate per acre; but in no case shall any land be taxed, or subject to taxation, for
irrigation district purposes under this article, or under any other law relative to
irrigation districts, which, by reason of location or the broken uneven surface, or
unsuitable character or quality of the soil, is unsuitable for irrigation and cultivation,
or which, from any natural cause, is not capable of irrigation and cultivation, except
at a financial loss, nor shall tracts of land of one acre or less be taxed for irrigation
purposes if the board of directors of the irrigation district has fixed an amount
payable for each of said tracts. If the amount of water available from the water
system of the irrigation district is wholly insufficient for the successful growing and
maturing of crops on the entire acreage of lands within the district and susceptible
of irrigation therefrom, that fact may be alleged and, upon being established by
proofs, shall entitle the owner of lands that have never been cultivated and
irrigated from the water system of such irrigation district to the relief provided for
in this article.
(2) In all cases where any such land is included in any irrigation district under
any law relative to irrigation districts and assessed for irrigation district purposes, it
may be excluded from such irrigation district and relieved from such assessments
for irrigation district purposes by order of the board of directors of the irrigation
district, upon written petition of the owner, verified as pleadings are required to be
verified. The petition shall state the grounds upon which the relief is asked and
shall also show that the land has never been cultivated and irrigated and is
incapable of cultivation by irrigation from the irrigation system of the irrigation
district, and that the petitioner did not participate in the organization of the
districts; and, upon hearing before the board of directors on such petition, the
allegations thereof must be supported by evidence. Notice of the filing of such
petition and of the time and place of hearing thereon shall be given for the length of
time and in the manner as provided in section 37-41-144.
(3) The action of the board of directors upon such petitions, as well as the
action of the board of county commissioners in including such land in such irrigation
district and the subsequent taxing of such lands for irrigation district purposes,
shall be subject to review and correction by any court of competent jurisdiction, but
the owner of any such land shall be deemed to have waived, relinquished, and lost
his right to relief under this section as to such land or such portion of it as he has
cultivated and irrigated from the irrigation system of such irrigation district; where
a contract has been entered into between the United States and any irrigation
district, the district boundaries shall not be changed, nor shall lands be exempted
from taxation except upon written consent of the secretary of the interior filed with
the official records of the district, nor in case of such a contract shall the foregoing
provisions of this section requiring the assessor to value all lands within such
district at the same rate per acre be applicable, but in such case the county
assessor shall assess such district land in accordance with the certificate provided
for in section 37-41-120 and in compliance with the terms of such contract between
the United States and the district.
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this article 41 to the contrary, in
addition to the amount described in section 30-1-102 (1)(p), the county treasurer
shall receive five dollars per tract assessed pursuant to section 37-41-120 for loans
issued to landowners pursuant to section 37-41-113 (9), and this five dollars shall be
assessed against each participating tract.