Senate File 67 fails in committee of the whole after debate over sunset and residency rules

Senate File 67, a bill proposing revisions to long‑term homeowner property‑tax exemptions, failed to advance in the committee of the whole and was indefinitely postponed after a roll‑call vote.

Senator McEwen, sponsor of the bill in the Revenue Committee, explained that the proposal would provide property‑tax relief to homeowners aged 65 and older who had lived in the state or paid property tax for a long period. Committee debate focused heavily on changing the bill’s sunset date and on residency and eligibility rules. Senator Raufus and others argued opponents should preserve the original sunset so the legislature could evaluate the program; Senator Case raised constitutional concerns, saying exemptions must meet equal‑protection‑style requirements in the state constitution and warning that the proposal risked violating Article 15 § 11.

A roll‑call vote was required after a division on the Committee of the Whole. The chief clerk recorded the roll call: the result, as announced on the floor, was 13 yeas, 15 nays, 1 excused and 2 conflicts; under Senate rules the bill failed the committee and was indefinitely postponed.

Debate included questions about whether changing an odd‑year sunset to an even year would impose additional procedural hurdles for future repeal or extension and whether residency requirements should be numeric (months) or set by a department rule. Several senators urged keeping the sunset in place until data on implementation and costs were available.

Because the committee vote failed on the floor, no appropriation changes or further amendments on Senate File 67 were recorded as adopted during this session’s floor proceedings.