Committee reviews amended HB1168 to buy down property taxes by 30 mills; raises questions about K‑12 funding

Representative Scott Louser, R‑Minot, told the House Finance and Tax Committee on Wednesday that his amendments to House Bill 1168 would reduce property tax levies by 30 mills for all property classes — an amount he estimated at roughly $360 million — and change how local levy caps are calculated and applied.

Louser said the package would apply the municipal cost index plus 1 percentage point, or 6 percent whichever is less, as the cap on year‑to‑year levy growth for political subdivisions (page 20, lines 13–14; defined page 22, lines 21–24). The amendment would also allow two years of carryforward for unused cap space (page 21); replace a supermajority voter threshold for certain levy increases with a simple majority (page 22); extend a local governmentauthority to request additional mill levy authority from five to six years; and exempt political subdivisions with an expense budget under $2,000,000 or a population under 1,000 from the cap (page 22).

Louser summarized how the relief would distribute across…