§1439. Escrow account

            A. The Board of Tax Appeals, with approval of the Cash Management Review Board, shall select a bank or financial institution to serve as fiscal agent of its Escrow Account, hereinafter referred to as "account". This fiscal agent shall distribute funds from the account only on the seventh business day following receipt of a certified copy of an order signed by the chairman of the Board of Tax Appeals, or its local tax judge, or a duly appointed ad hoc judge, as applicable, and attested to by its secretary-clerk who shall affix the board's seal, or upon receipt of a certified final non-appealable order of the relevant appellate or higher court. No such order shall be issued until there is a final and non-appealable judgment in the underlying case. No such order shall be issued except upon a joint motion of all parties, or following a contradictory hearing after service on all parties. The order shall specify the amount payable to the collector, or taxpayer, or the amounts for each.

            B. The fiscal agent may be held harmless for any distribution made that complies with the provisions of both this Section and any applicable policies specified for the account by the board or the Cash Management Review Board.

            C. The account, and any related funds included therein, shall be subject to audit by the legislative auditor. An annual report of account transactions concerning state cases shall also be submitted to the secretary of the Department of Revenue. An annual report of the account's transactions concerning local sales tax cases shall be submitted to the Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board. An annual report of the account's transactions concerning local ad valorem tax cases shall be submitted to the written designee for the Louisiana Sheriff's Association and the written designee for the Louisiana Assessor's Association.

            D.(1) Except as provided for in Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection, the actual amount of interest earned on a taxpayer's deposits held in the Escrow Account shall be added to the principal sum held on deposit in the Escrow Account for that taxpayer and case, and shall be disbursed pursuant to Subsection A of this Section.

            (2) In a case against only a state collector, one-tenth of one percent per month of the amount held in escrow for a case, not to exceed the actual amount of interest earned on monies in the Escrow Account from deposits made by a taxpayer in the case, shall be payable to the treasury and, after compliance with Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, the monies remaining shall be deposited in and credited to the state general fund as self-generated revenues of the Board of Tax Appeals, and may be expended within the board's administrative program.

            (3) In a case against a local collector, one-tenth of one percent per month of the amount held in escrow for a case, not to exceed the actual amount of interest earned on monies in the Escrow Account from deposits made by a taxpayer in the case, shall be deposited in and credited to the Local Tax Division Expense Fund, which is hereby created within the account.

            E. The board, or its Local Tax Division, may assess a fee related to the optional methods of posting security provided for in R.S. 47:1434(B). This amount shall be determined pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with R.S. 47:1413.

            F.(1) The board may deposit into the account any funds received from a party for payment of the costs of service of process or for appeal costs, and it may pay the amounts received to the appropriate sheriff for service of process or the appropriate clerk of a court of appeals in the event of an appeal against a decision of the board pursuant to R.S. 47:1434.

            (2) The board's Local Tax Division may deposit into the account any advance deposits for court costs and filing fees associated with its local cases, and upon issuance of an order taxing costs against those deposits it may transfer the relevant amounts to the Local Tax Division Expense Fund. The unused balance of these deposits shall be refunded to the depositor in the event that costs taxed against it are less than the amount of its advance deposit. The Local Tax Division Expense Fund shall be utilized, as directed by the local tax judge, exclusively for the Local Tax Division and its expenditures, including as provided for in Subsection G of this Section or pursuant to R.S. 47:1406.

            (3) The board may utilize the escrow account to facilitate the operation of an online filing system, including the deposit of advance costs from subscribers and related payment of amounts collected related to that service. Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the contrary, the board may utilize any interest earned on the account to facilitate an online filing system.

            G.(1) The local tax judge may also order the payment of monies from the Local Tax Division Expense Fund into the state treasury, and any amount so ordered that remains after compliance with Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, shall be deposited in and credited to the state general fund as self-generated revenues of the Local Tax Division of the Department of Civil Service, Board of Tax Appeals.

            (2) Self-generated revenues of the Local Tax Division made available pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may be expended for any of the purposes specified in R.S. 47:1406, pursuant to the provisions of that Section restricting their exclusive use to the purposes of the Local Tax Division and the provisions of that Section providing for their retention and carry forward for such purposes.

            Acts 2015, No. 210, §1, eff. June 23, 2015; Acts 2019, No. 367, §1, eff. June 18, 2019; Acts 2021, No. 343, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022.