Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
JLARC staff summarize 2026 tax‑preference legislation, noting new exemptions and a major tax package
Summary
Jeff Cunningham (JLARC) told the commission 20 bills addressed tax preferences in 2026, including repeal of a coal tax exemption, changes to refurbished data‑center exemptions, property tax exemptions for renewable energy and land‑bank authorities, and a large omnibus package that creates income‑tax provisions and expands the working‑families credit.
Jeff Cunningham, staff to the Citizen Commission, summarized tax‑preference legislation from the 2026 legislative session during the commission’s May 6 meeting.
Cunningham reported that 20 bills addressed tax preferences and that staff grouped them into four categories: two bills implemented prior JLARC recommendations; one bill amended a preference currently under JLARC review; five created new tax preferences; and 12 expanded, extended, narrowed or otherwise amended existing preferences.
He highlighted several examples. House Bill 2367 repealed the sales‑and‑use‑tax exemption for coal purchased to generate electric power; JLARC had previously recommended continuing the exemption only until coal‑fired boilers were decommissioned, and staff said coal burning ceased in 2025. Senate Bill 6231 removed the retail sales‑and‑use‑tax exemptions for refurbished data centers and replacement server equipment and cancelled existing refurbishment certificates effective July 1; JLARC staff said they will present an urban data‑center review in July.
Cunningham described two new property‑tax exemptions that JLARC will study: House Bill 1960, which creates exemptions for renewable energy facilities and battery storage systems and directs JLARC to study state and local renewable energy tax rates; and House Bill 1974, which creates a property‑tax exemption for public or nonprofit land‑bank authorities that acquire land for affordable‑housing development and requires a JLARC review of land costs for housing development.
He also summarized a broad package, Gross Substitute Senate Bill 6346, that creates an income tax and provides multiple credits and deductions, including a standard $1,000,000 deduction, credits for income tax paid to another state, and expansions to the working‑families tax credit (removing age limits and raising income thresholds). That bill also exempts certain items from sales tax, such as diapers and hygiene products, and exempts new preferences in the bill from the automatic 10‑year expiration and JLARC performance‑statement requirements.
Cunningham closed by saying JLARC staff will continue their reviews and that some items will be the focus of JLARC reports later in the year; commissioners had no questions following the update.
(For source details, JLARC staff cited the table in the meeting materials grouping the 20 bills and noted the interactive expedited report.)
