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Bill would add personal property to levy certification and lower assessment rate to 30%
Summary
Representative McGurl told the Special Committee on Tax Reform that House Bill 629 would include personal property values in the levy-rate certification process and reduce the assessment rate from 33 1/3% to 30%, aiming to smooth a post-pandemic surge in vehicle valuations that produced a temporary windfall for taxing districts.
Representative McGurl presented House Bill 629 to the Special Committee on Tax Reform on Oct. 12, 2025, telling members the measure would do two things: bring personal property values into the levy certification calculation and lower the assessment rate from 33 1/3 percent to 30 percent.
McGurl described the proposal as a fairness adjustment to address a valuation “windfall” that followed the pandemic, when vehicle and other personal property values rose sharply and increased collections. He said the 2020–23 period produced unusually large personal-property collections and that those amounts remained in the base used for levy calculations.
The sponsor said the change would align personal property with real estate for levy pro formas and cited summary figures from the recent years: statewide collections of roughly $1.5 billion in personal property in 2020 and about $1.9 billion in 2023, with vehicle-related collections comprising a large share of the increase. McGurl said the bill would “level the playing field” for taxpayers and mitigate anomalous spikes in collections.
Witnesses called during the hearing expressed concern about reductions to taxing-district revenues. Katie Gamble, representing county developmental disability services boards, noted those boards rely on property tax funds and urged the committee to consider the human-service impacts when weighing percentage changes.
Committee members asked about longer-term effects and whether other bills under consideration might address similar valuation spikes; members also discussed the timing of certification and the mechanics of incorporating personal property into the certification process.
Ending: The hearing concluded with no committee vote recorded on HB 629 in the transcript excerpt; members asked staff to prepare fiscal data and work with stakeholders.
