House Revenue Committee passes bill clarifying new residential property class, adopts 8.3% assessment and 8‑month owner-occupancy rule

CHEYENNE — The House Revenue Committee on Monday voted to advance Senate File 153, a bill that transcribes a voter‑approved constitutional change creating a fourth property class for residential real property into state statute and establishes immediate implementation details.

Senate sponsor Senator Bartle told the committee the bill’s purpose is to put the constitutional change — Article 15, Section 11 — into statutory language, define “residential real property,” and provide a starting definition for an owner‑occupied primary residence. “This bill brings into statute that fourth class or that class of residential real property,” Bartle said at the hearing.

Committee members adopted three changes to the Senate’s engrossed draft. The panel voted to reduce the residential level of assessment in the bill from a 9.5% placeholder to 8.3%; to change the owner‑occupancy threshold in the bill from six months to eight months; and to add a narrowly worded exception so active‑duty service members deployed outside the state are not disqualified by the occupancy requirement. The committee voted 8‑0 with one excused to pass the bill out of committee.

Why it matters: Voters passed a constitutional amendment in November creating a separate constitutional class for residential real property and authorizing a possible subclass for owner‑occupied dwellings. That constitutional change did not automatically add a statutory framework for assessors to use.…