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 in assessed rate). Agricultural and commercial property would move from 10% to 8.5% (a 1.5 percentage-point cut, about a 15% reduction). Mobile homes were restored to eligibility because removing the primary-residency test makes relief parcel-based.

Doctor also described a change to the cap-vote frequency in the bill: the cap would remain as previously described but voters would be allowed to vote every six years instead of every four, a compromise between members who said four years may be too frequent and proposals that suggested longer intervals.

Representative Machabager and other members questioned the removal of the primary-residency limit; Doctor responded that the change is intended to simplify administration and to recognize property owners who retain land or dwellings in North Dakota while living elsewhere. Doctor said the state’s legacy fund, funded in part by out-of-state oil-related companies, supports broader relief.

Representative Tolman and others clarified that income-tax provisions referenced in the amendment (sections 12 and 15) will be removed as the committee moves the property-tax provisions forward; committee staff will ask counsel to separate or remove income-tax language so the property-tax language proceeds as a stand‑alone package.

On a related item, Representative Toman moved and the committee adopted study language added to House Bill 14-74. Toman said the study will review residential assessment methods, limitations on growth, smoothing mechanisms, and potential unintended consequences to ensure reforms do not create new inequities. Representative Steiner and others supported the study as a means to gather data before enacting broad reform.

Committee votes: after a motion to rescind previously passed amendments, members approved a motion by Representative Doctor (seconded by Representative Porter) to rescind those changes and return to the original HB 15-75 draft. The committee then approved an amendment (described as amendment 25.12830.01007 as amended) without section 11 (removing income-tax provisions) and subsequently voted to recommend a due-pass on HB 15-75 as amended and re-refer it to Appropriations.

Roll-call recorded for the due-pass recommendation on HB 15-75, as read by the clerk, showed: Chairman Hedlund — Yes; Vice Chair Haggart — Yes; Representative Anderson — Yes; Representative Doctor — Yes; Representative Dressler — Yes; Representative Greenike — Yes; Representative Machtenbacher — Yes; Representative Nehring — Yes; Representative Olson — Yes; Representative Porter — Yes; Representative Steiner — Yes; Representative Toman — Yes; Representative Foss — Yes; Representative Istas — Yes. The clerk announced the result as carried with a tally reported later in the record as 13-1-0.

On HB 14-74, the committee adopted the study amendment and then voted unanimously to recommend a due pass as amended. The clerk read a unanimous roll call and members designated Representative Olsen to carry the bill.

Why it matters: The committee’s actions move major property-tax changes further down the legislative path while adding a study intended to measure consequences of reform to assessed values and growth limits. Key details for taxpayers — including whether relief will be parcel-based, how mobile homes are treated, the exact caps language, and what income-tax provisions remain — will be clarified in counsel’s drafting and subsequent committee work.

What’s next: HB 15-75, as amended, was referred to the Appropriations Committee. HB 14-74 will proceed with the study language as adopted; committee members said staff will prepare materials for follow-up and potential future amendments.