A new bill introduced into both the House and Senate Monday will give counties the legal authority to reimburse taxpayers who were overcharged during the revaluation process.

Rep. Bill Brawley and Sen. Jeff Tarte said Monday they expect it to be signed into law without a problem, but it could be years before people who were wrongly charged will get any money back.

The bill would correct a problem that dates back to the 2011 revaluation process.

During that revaluation, hundreds of homes in Mecklenburg County were appraised higher than their tax value.

Homeowners who felt they were overcharged were able to go through an appeals process, but many still did not get what they thought were fair values.

Eventually, an investigation issued by an independent agency found a flaw.

This law would require counties to go back and retroactively change appraised values of homes, and reimburse homeowners if it is determined that they overpaid.

The county can't say specifically when people would receive their money or how much it would cost the county to reimburse them.