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Utah Senate advances constitutional amendment proposal to let lawmakers offer property-tax relief for elderly homeowners
Summary
Senators debated SJR 12, a proposed constitutional amendment from Senator Tiago Steiner to allow property-tax relief for elderly residents; concerns focused on means-testing, scope (primary residence vs. other property), and potential tax shifts. The resolution passed to the third-reading calendar.
Senator Tiara Steiner introduced SJR 12, a proposed amendment to the state constitution to permit the Legislature to provide a property-tax break for elderly residents, arguing that changing valuations have taxed some longtime homeowners ‘‘out of their homes.’’
Supporters framed the resolution as a permissive constitutional change that would allow later statutemaking to define eligibility, targeting primary residences and tailoring relief by means. ‘‘I’m proposing an amendment … to give a break in the property tax to our elderly citizens,’’ Steiner said.
Opponents and questioners urged caution. Senator Lyle Hilliard and others asked whether the amendment would unintentionally limit existing circuit-breaker protections for the poor or broaden exemptions to nonresidential property; Hilliard warned that the wording could create ambiguity over whether benefits would apply to businesses or second homes. Senator Peterson and others argued the measure could amount to a tax shift that raises property taxes for younger homeowners and renters.
Several senators recommended additional study or review by the Constitutional Revision Commission before placing the change before voters. Senator Montgomery and other proponents said placing the question on the ballot would allow statutory details to be debated later; Senator Hilliard proposed language to phase in a tax-court appointment tied to judicial vacancies as an example of the type of implementing statutory detail a constitutional change would permit.
After extended floor debate on scope, means-testing and fiscal consequences, the Senate called the question. The roll call result reported in the transcript sent SJR 12 to the third-reading calendar with 16 ayes, 9 nays and 4 absent as recorded on the floor. The measure must still secure a two-thirds constitutional vote in each chamber and, if approved, would go to voters to decide whether to add the amendment to the Utah Constitution.
