Joint conference committee concurs on Senate File 69 homeowners property-tax exemption

The Joint Conference Committee on Senate File 69 voted to concur with the Senate’s amended proposal, approving a 25% homeowners property-tax exemption applied to the first $1,000,000 of fair-market value for residential structures and improved land, effective for the 2025 tax year.

The committee’s agreement follows a session in which House members had sought a supplemental-budget backfill of $15,000,000 for special districts; the House withdrew that request and accepted the Senate position to keep the bill moving. Chair (Senate co-chair) opened the meeting by saying, "this is probably one of the most important issues facing the state legislature." Representative Heiner said the House "would like to accept the Senate's position" and described the decision to drop the backfill request so the bill could proceed.

Nut graf: The committee’s concurrence sets a 25% exemption beginning in 2025, capped against the first $1,000,000 of fair-market value for a homeowner’s residential structure and improved land. The exemption is not available to homeowners who already receive the long-term homeowner exemption; in the second year the benefit continues as an owner-occupied exemption with an eight-month occupancy requirement and includes a consideration for deployed military members. The committee’s action is procedural — the measure must still be voted on by the full floors of both chambers.

Members debated whether a backfill for special districts was necessary. House members initially sought a supplemental-budget provision providing $15,000,000 to offset lost revenue for special districts that rely heavily on property-tax revenue. Senate members said the cut from 50% to 25% made the impact "negligible" and that the supplemental budget item was "off the table." The House caucus ultimately withdrew the backfill proposal and agreed to the Senate wording presented earlier in the week.

Representative Locke summarized the Senate amendment line-by-line for committee members. Under the agreed language, the first-year exemption is a 25% reduction applied to residential structure and improved land, limited to the first $1,000,000 of fair-market value. Locke said the exemption "is against the first 1000000 dollars of the fair market value of the home." The bill removes the sunset provision so the 25% exemption continues after the initial year.

The committee clarified several implementation points during discussion: the exemption does not stack with the long-term homeowner exemption; in year two the exemption applies to owner-occupied homes where a resident has lived at the property for at least eight months; deployed military members are considered in the occupancy language; and the effective date is immediate so the first-year benefit would apply to tax year 2025.

A roll-call vote to record concurrence produced affirmative votes from members present, and the chair noted that the committee must still send the agreed language to both chambers’ floors for final votes. Chair (Senate co-chair) closed the meeting after the roll call.