Committee reads statement: new state tax laws delayed DOR assessments and could trigger supplemental rebilling
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Summary
The committee read a statement explaining that House Bill 231 and Senate Bill 542, signed May 13, changed tax rates and delayed Department of Revenue assessment notices; the late changes prompted some jurisdictions to plan supplemental second-half tax bills to recover budgeted revenue.
The chair read a statement into the record saying: "The Montana legislature passed house bill 231 and Senate Bill 542 on the final day of 2025 session. Both were signed into law May 13," and explained that the resulting tax-rate changes led the Department of Revenue to issue assessment notices more than a month later than usual.
According to the reading, the delayed notices shifted the appeal deadline and meant some taxpayer appeals were resolved after DOR had certified values to jurisdictions. The statement said that several jurisdictions that experienced taxable-value decreases of more than 1% would build additional mills to recover budgeted property-tax revenue, which in turn could increase some taxpayers' second-half obligations via supplemental statements (only properties owed at least $5 would receive a supplemental bill).
Committee members also noted the county's software outage had put ballots and related payment timing on hold, compounding uncertainty over when tax-related revenue will arrive. Staff said the district expects the election itself to proceed on time but that related payments from the county could be delayed.
The reading was informational; no formal action was taken. Staff said they would monitor DOR certification updates and report any confirmed revenue changes to the committee.
