Andrew Stein, chief operating officer for the Department of Taxes, told the Senate Appropriations Committee the department’s BAA package includes modest adjustments to two tax credits and funding for a pilot connected to a multi‑year telecommunications property appraisal effort.

"The first is a 1 and a half million up for the renter credit," Stein said, and the department also proposed "a 1 and a half million down for the homeowner rebate." He said the renter credit overhaul in FY21 expanded eligibility and that actuals last year exceeded estimates by about $750,000. Department staff said that federal changes to Section 8 could increase demand on the renter credit; Stein said analysts from the state housing authority estimate as many as 1,000 renting households could lose federal subsidies by the end of 2025, which would raise state program demand.

On the homeowner rebate (a circuit‑breaker style credit for households with income under $47,000), Stein noted the $47,000 threshold is not indexed to inflation and that forecasting the program has varied by 10–15% in recent years. He said the department is exploring outreach and possible automation to increase uptake among eligible households and would follow up with additional details.

Stein also described a vendor contract for appraisal work tied to shifting telephone and telecommunications personal property from older tax classifications into a state‑managed valuation approach. The department said it initially piloted a smaller appropriation but is now seeking funds to cover the multi‑year scope; the vendor has identified valuation classes, separated properties by owner and location and reviewed an initial universe of more than 10,000 items to prepare targeted information requests to companies and site owners.

Stein said the appraisal work aims to create more consistent municipal assessments for telecommunications property (towers, fiber, wireless sites) and said the resulting inventory and valuation classes will be publicly available. He committed to follow up with committee members on technical details about data formats, right‑of‑way mapping and any overlap with Agency of Transportation inventories.

Ending: Stein agreed to provide the committee with a deeper memo and scheduling for a follow‑up session with the new tax commissioner and technical staff.