Committee advances revised property-tax reform amendment, orders study of valuation impacts

The House Finance and Taxation Committee on Thursday reconsidered earlier changes to House Bill 15-75, stripped previously adopted amendments, and approved a revised amendment that removes a primary-residency certification and reduces assessment percentages for residential, agricultural and commercial property.

The committee’s action also included passage of a separate amendment to create a legislative-management study of property-tax structure under House Bill 14-74, which members said aims to identify unintended consequences and smoothing or growth-limit impacts before further reform.

Representative Doctor, sponsoring HB 15-75, told the committee the latest draft removes a primary-residency requirement so counties can apply relief by parcel without an application process. The amendment keeps a legacy fund and retains previously adjusted income brackets for the homestead credit; however, Doctor said the committee intends to strip income-tax provisions from the bill before it proceeds.

Under the amendment described by Doctor, residential property (defined in state code as fourplex or under) would see the assessment percentage reduced from 9% to 6.25% (a 2.75 percentage-point cut, roughly a 33% reduction…