Senate Agriculture Committee hears SB 35 to ease reassessment tax on farm structures

Senate Agriculture Committee members heard testimony and public comment on Senate Bill 35, which would apply the Farmland Assessment Act's evaluation approach to qualifying farm structures in order to reduce school property tax burdens on farmers.

Supporters told the committee recent county reassessments produced large and uneven tax increases for farm operations, and they urged a committee report so the Legislature can act this session. Secretary of Agriculture Don Clifton told the committee there were "clearly inequities in the Kent County process that were inadvertently created" and said his department would provide analysis to help identify appropriate formulas and methodology.

SB 35 would add "qualifying farm structures" to the state's farmland-evaluation review done by the Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee, using that committee's methodology to set taxable value rather than full market rates for many agricultural buildings. Proponents said many farm buildings are not residential or commercial…