Senate study resolution would launch review of special districts and tax increment financing

Senator Greg Hertz, chair of the Senate Tax Committee, introduced Senate Joint Resolution 8, a study resolution directing an interim review of special districts and tax increment financing (TIF). Hertz said the lack of consistent statewide data on special districts makes comparison difficult and that special districts together represent roughly 10% of the statewide mill base for property taxes.

Hertz described discovering wide variation in how counties report special‑district levies and cited examples in which a county’s failure to include a special district on the tax bill produced several hundred dollars of difference on a sample $500,000 home. He said the Governor’s property tax task force recommended a study of special districts and that the interim process would allow the Legislative Council and interim committees to gather data and make recommendations.

Committee members asked procedural questions about how study bills operate. Hertz explained that, if the study resolution passes and is ranked by legislators at session’s end, the Legislative Council assigns studies to interim committees which then conduct analyses and public outreach. He noted that an upcoming presentation by the Legislative Fiscal Division will demonstrate analytical tools for property tax scenarios.

Hertz said the study could evaluate whether special districts are being used to shift expenditures out of general funds and whether some districts should be brought into the scope of the property tax cap under 15‑10‑420. He also referenced a handout prepared by Megan Moore on TIF indirect costs and said staff would present additional materials the next day.

No proponents or opponents registered at the hearing; no informational witnesses appeared. Hertz closed by requesting a due pass for the study resolution. The committee did not take executive action at this meeting.