Senator Trevis proposes sweeping property‑tax rate reset in Senate Bill 32

Senator Jeremy Trevis introduced Senate Bill 32 to the Senate Local Government Committee as a broad reset of Montana’s property‑tax class rates intended to provide property‑tax relief and narrow disparities across tax classes. "The broad idea is residential rates would fall from 1.35% down to 1%," Trevis said in opening remarks.

The bill would reduce the statutory tax rate on qualifying owner‑occupied residential (class 4) property to 1.0% from 1.35% and would set a common 1.5% rate for most commercial and other income‑generating property (down from a nominal 1.89% in some classes). Trevis said two categories would face higher nominal rates: non‑owner‑occupied residential rentals would move to 1.5% from 1.35%, and qualified data centers would see an increase from 0.9% to 1.5%. The sponsor also highlighted deep cuts proposed for…