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Committee advances bill to raise threshold for tapping Property Tax Relief Trust Fund to 75 percent
Summary
The Senate Revenue & Tax Committee voted to pass House Bill 1074, which would raise the threshold for using money from the Property Tax Relief Trust Fund from 50 percent to 75 percent; lawmakers said the fund was intended for tax relief when approved by voters in 1999 and that the Fiscal & Administrative office reported no fiscal impact.
The Senate Revenue & Tax Committee voted to advance House Bill 1074, which would raise the threshold for diverting funds from the Property Tax Relief Trust Fund from 50 percent to 75 percent, during a brief committee meeting.
Senator Kroll (District 3) presented the bill, saying the change would protect the fund for property tax relief. “This is on the property tax relief trust fund. This is going to increase the threshold. We have, over the past 20 years, taken money out of this for other things, and I do not believe when the taxpayers voted this in in 1999, this was their intent. They wanted it for tax relief,” Kroll said.
Committee members asked whether the higher threshold raised constitutional concerns; staff indicated it would follow the same standard as appropriations. Committee members also noted that the Fiscal & Administrative office’s report shows no fiscal impact for the bill.
The committee called for a vote on the measure, and members approved it by voice vote. The record does not include a roll-call tally or named mover and seconder; the chair called for “aye” and recorded no opposition. The committee’s action advances the bill out of committee for further consideration.
Senator Crowe (name in transcript presented as “Crow/Crowe”) said members plan to use funds from the account for a $100 homestead credit, telling colleagues, “we're gonna probably drop this week. We're gonna do a hundred dollar Homestead credit out of that account.” That remark was discussion of a potential use of the fund, not a formal committee action on that credit.
Separately, Senator Hammer raised a procedural question about Senate Bill 200 and whether the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) had prepared a fiscal impact statement; the committee chair said DFA would provide its fiscal impact and the committee would schedule that item after it appeared on the public agenda. Those scheduling comments were procedural and did not affect the committee’s vote on House Bill 1074.
The committee’s discussion emphasized preserving the voter-approved intent of the Property Tax Relief Trust Fund and confirming there is no fiscal impact from the bill as reported by the F&A office. No formal constitutional challenge was cited during the hearing.
No additional public testimony on House Bill 1074 was recorded in the transcript, and the committee adjourned after the items concluded.
