Conference committee approves amendment to House Bill 1176 increasing legacy share, cutting credit value

The conference committee on House Bill 1176 voted to approve an amendment that increases the legacy-bucket allocation to 30 percent, reduces the individual tax-credit value to 1,600 and sets a $408,900,000 appropriation from the legacy property tax fund, committee members said.

The amendment before the committee was filed as amendment 25.10030.04016 and was approved on a voice vote after Senator Weber moved its adoption and Representative Natey seconded the motion. Chairman Hedlund called the motion carried following the clerk's roll call.

The committee said the amendment makes three substantive changes. First, the legacy-bucket percentage on page 4 of the amendment was increased from 25% to 30%. Second, the per-taxpayer credit value on page 11 was reduced to 1,600 from an earlier figure referenced in committee discussion. Third, the amendment sets the appropriation available from the legacy property tax fund at $408,900,000 and includes language allowing the tax commissioner to access $11,200,000 that was included in the tax commissioner's budget before seeking a deficiency appropriation if the $408,900,000 is insufficient.

Senator Weber, who moved approval, described the package in positive terms during committee discussion: "I think this is a good bill. We've basically tripled the, the amount of the, the credit for our taxpayers," he said. Chairman Hedlund, who presided over the committee, said after the vote, "I think we've done the best we can with this piece of legislation," and acknowledged the complexity of property-tax policy and the likelihood of future fine-tuning.

Committee members did not record formal amendments to the motion during debate; the committee's discussion focused on the numerical changes in the amendment and an agreed mechanism for the tax commissioner to draw from appropriated budget authority if the legacy fund runs short. The committee named Senator Weber to carry the amendment on the Senate side, and Chairman Hedlund said he would serve as the carrier on the outside.

The committee conducted a roll call for a "do pass" recommendation on amendment 04016. The recorded affirmative votes included Chairman Hedlund, Representative Natey, Representative Bosch, Senator Weber and the other committee senators present; the clerk announced the motion carried. No formal dissenting votes were recorded in the transcript excerpt.

The committee adjourned after completing its business.