Senate file 11‑97 advances to taxes committee after testimony on cabin‑wealth school aid

Senate file 11‑97, which would create a seasonal and recreational tax‑based replacement aid to reduce the local tax effort required for voter‑approved school operating levies, was moved from the Senate Education Finance Committee to the Committee on Taxes after public testimony and committee discussion.

The bill’s chief author, Senator Hauschild, told the committee the aid is intended to acknowledge that seasonal and recreational property wealth (cabins, second homes) increases a district’s market value but does not currently reduce the local tax effort for voter‑approved operating levies. "The bill does not change how cabins are taxed," Hauschild said. "This bill also doesn't change how much...seasonal recreational property will be taxed. Instead, my bill is aimed at having the state acknowledge that this property tax wealth is needed to make things…