Senate Finance and Tax Committee advances amended ag mill buy-down, hears broad debate on budget caps tied to CPI

Senate Committee on Finance and Tax Chairman Mark Weber, R., opened a public hearing on Senate Bill 2,378 on property tax reform and later presided over action on an amended Senate Bill 2,363 that would buy down school mill levies for agricultural property.

The hearing on SB 2,378 focused on a proposal from Senator Mark Weber to limit year‑to‑year increases in political subdivisions’ budgets using the consumer price index (CPI) and to allow citizens to vote to exceed that cap; the bill would require a two‑thirds voter approval held on a general or primary election day to exceed the cap.

Nut graf: The committee’s session combined policy debate and technical testimony on how to constrain property tax growth while preserving local governments’ ability to deliver services. Witnesses included municipal, county and school representatives who raised competing concerns about reserve levels, voter thresholds, effects on fees and the special funding structure for schools. The committee later adopted an amendment to a different bill to place agricultural land in the tax‑relief discussion and voted to move that amended measure to appropriations.

Details of the proposal and testimony

Senator Mark Weber, the bill’s prime sponsor, framed SB 2,378 as a response to sustained property tax growth and described the measure as a budget cap tied to the CPI rather than a fixed percentage on property tax rates. “Property tax is going to be the signature bill of this legislative session,” Weber said, adding the bill would let citizens vote to exceed the budget cap on a statewide general or primary election and that “the consumer price index allows, you know, in inflationary times, some may argue about that, but, I felt that might be a better way to go.”

Senator David Hogue, who testified in support, recommended applying constraints to political subdivisions that hold unusually large reserves. Hogue suggested targeting districts with reserve balances above a threshold (he discussed 7 percent as an example) and warned that capping property tax without attention to other local revenue sources could push municipalities to raise user fees instead, shifting the burden to residents.

Municipal officials and local government…