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Senate revenue committee advances bill giving partial property tax break to surviving spouses of service members killed in action
Summary
The Senate Committee on Revenue voted to pass Assembly Bill 243, which would grant a partial property-tax exemption to surviving spouses (or registered domestic partners) of U.S. service members killed in action, subject to limits and eligibility conditions discussed during the hearing.
Carson City — The Senate Committee on Revenue on Oct. 26 advanced Assembly Bill 243, which would provide a partial property tax exemption to surviving spouses or registered domestic partners of U.S. service members killed in action.
Assemblymember Brian Hibbits, who presented the bill, said the measure would grant surviving spouses a property-tax benefit “equal to a veteran that is disabled at a 100% by the VA,” applied to up to a $20,000 property valuation. Hibbits said eligibility would be limited to spouses or registered domestic partners who have not remarried and that the exemption could be claimed in only one county.
The bill’s sponsors and supporters framed the measure as targeted relief for a small group. Andrew Lee Pilbitt, chairman of the United Veterans Legislative Council for Nevada, told the committee there have been 57 Gold Star families in the state over the past 25 years and that the number of surviving spouses who meet the bill’s conditions is unknown. “The number of spouses, I’m guessing could be — there is no statistical answer to that,” Pilbitt said, adding that many of the service members who died were young and not married.
Committee members pressed for context and data. Senator Steinbeck asked for an estimate of the number of Nevada Gold Star spouses who might benefit; Hibbits and a witness cited 57 Gold Star families in the past 25 years but said records do not show how many surviving spouses remain unmarried and eligible. Steinbeck also asked whether the exemption is indexed for inflation; Hibbits replied that the exemption is tied to the existing benefit for a veteran rated 100% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs, so any change to that benefit would affect this exemption.
No witnesses registered opposition during the hearing. After the hearing, the committee moved AB243 into work session; Senator Stone moved the do-pass motion, Senator Steinbeck seconded, and the committee voted to advance the bill unanimously.
The action sends AB243 from committee to the floor for further consideration; the committee did not adopt amendments at the work session.
AB243’s supporters told the committee the intent is to recognize and provide limited property-tax relief to spouses who face long-term financial and caregiving consequences after a service member’s death. The committee record notes no fiscal estimate or county-level impact analysis was presented at the hearing; committee members asked for data but the bill sponsor and witnesses said some of those data are not kept centrally and are therefore “not specified.”
If enacted, the bill would add a narrowly defined exemption tied to existing veteran-disability exemption language and would include administrative limits (single-county claim, no remarriage) the committee discussed.
