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Conferees agree to 4% cap option for proposed property-value growth amendment; November 4, 2025 ballot preserved
Summary
Committee members agreed in principle to a cap on taxable-value growth tied to a lesser-of formula and accepted a 4% cap as the working compromise for a constitutional amendment to be placed on the November 4, 2025 ballot.
Conferees discussed a proposed constitutional amendment (HCR 05/2011) that would limit annual growth in taxable value of real property to a fixed percentage. Participants reviewed text from the House and Senate versions and agreed to a working compromise.
Under the concurrent resolution described in the meeting, the constitutional amendment would limit growth of taxable value on real property generally to 3 percent per year under the House version; the conferees discussed both a 3 percent floor and a 4 percent alternative cap. After discussion the Senate conferees said they would accept a 4 percent cap in the conference negotiations as a compromise.
The amendment text being discussed would preserve specified exceptions: increases attributable to new construction or improvements, classification changes of property, changes that cause property to lose an exemption, escaped or omitted property, or changes in legal description (with a defined aggregation rule when multiple parcels are combined). Conferees also discussed transitional rules for tax year 2026 (applying the limit relative to 2022 appraised value in the first year unless an exception applies).
Why this matters: a constitutional amendment of this kind would change the statutory framework governing how property values can grow for tax purposes and would apply broadly to all classes and subclasses of real property, with narrow personal-property coverage for mobile homes classified as personal property.
Process and next steps
Conferees agreed to keep the special election date of Nov. 4, 2025, as the target ballot date for the constitutional amendment and to reconcile technical definitions so implementing legislation would be possible. Staff were asked to confirm whether implementing definitions (for example, what constitutes “new construction or improvements”) would be left to administrative agencies or require additional legislative implementing statutes.
Ending
The conferees recorded a working compromise to proceed with a 4 percent cap as the negotiated ceiling for the amendment in the conference report. Staff were directed to prepare conference language and to return for final approval.
