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Vice chair outlines bill to limit school millage reallocations that raise unvoted property taxes
Summary
Vice Chair Thomas presented House Bill 129 to the Ways and Means Committee; the bill would change which levies count toward the 20‑mill guaranteed school tax rate, aiming to prevent certain emergency levies and reallocations of inside millage from producing unvoted tax increases for property owners.
Vice Chair David Thomas presented House Bill 129 to the House Ways and Means Committee, proposing limits on how some school property-tax millage is counted toward the state’s 20‑mill guaranteed tax rate.
Thomas said the bill aims to stop practices he described as undermining voter transparency: using emergency levies and reallocating portions of inside millage (including to permanent improvement funds) in ways that allow districts to increase local tax revenue without a straightforward vote that reflects the total tax burden. "If the voters are approving a levy that can go towards general expenses, that levy should count towards their guaranteed tax rate," Thomas told the committee.
Thomas said the measure would not prevent voters from approving additional revenue; rather, it would change how levies are counted so that the guaranteed rate reflects all locally approved general‑purpose levies. He acknowledged some provisions in the bill need refinement—he asked to remove language that would count income‑tax revenue toward the millage floor and signaled concern about the effective date. Thomas recommended a delayed effective date to allow school districts time to plan and avoid abrupt budget shortfalls.
Committee members questioned the rationale and practical effects. Representative Hall and others asked why emergency or substitute levies—levies that voters already approve—should be added into the 20‑mill calculation. Thomas said many districts renew emergency levies repeatedly and that voters have not approved the full amount of the effective 20‑mill calculation in those cases; adding such levies into the calculation, he said, would make the full tax picture more transparent to taxpayers.
Members also discussed implementation timing. Thomas said his office had proposed making the new counting rules effective January 1, 2027, to give districts time to adjust; he warned that an immediate effective date could have severe fiscal effects for some districts. He estimated roughly 200 school districts are affected by emergency levies under the current 20‑mill floor construct and cited examples in his written testimony showing the potential millage differences.
The hearing included questions about districts reallocating inside millage to permanent-improvement funds; Thomas said those reallocations are legal under current law but argued they can be used to increase tax revenue without a clear vote on the total tax burden. The committee did not vote on the bill; Thomas said he looks forward to further discussions with school officials to refine timing and language.
