Committee introduces RS 31957 to shift hospital property-tax determinations to county boards of equalization

The Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to introduce RS 31957, a measure that would direct county boards of equalization to decide on a case-by-case basis whether hospital property is taxable, Representative Andrus told the committee.

RS 31957 matters because county determinations affect how hospitals are taxed and how much revenue local governments can collect; the bill also preserves a path for appeals to the state tax commission.

Representative Andrus, speaking on behalf of sponsor Representative Tanner, said RS 31,957 "deals with hospitals and property tax and we all know of the situations that can arise when it comes to hospitals, what's taxable, what's not taxable, that big dilemma and debate, but what this bill does is it puts that all of that discussion down to the board of equalization at the county level so they can decide on a case by case basis what should be taxed, what should not be, and then the appeals process is there, but then also can go to the tax commission if there's concerns." Representative Andrus asked the committee to introduce the RS and offered no further details.

Representative Shepherd moved to introduce RS 31,957. The committee took the motion without debate; the chair called the vote and the motion carried. The formal action recorded at the meeting was introduction of the RS; no amendments or substantive committee directions were made during the discussion.

The transcript identifies Representative Tanner as the sponsor and Representative Andrus as the presenter. The discussion during the agenda item focused on delegating determinations to county boards of equalization and preserving the appeals route to the tax commission. No hearing date or fiscal analysis was provided during the meeting.

RS 31,957 now stands introduced and will proceed through the committee process for further consideration.