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Committee approves H949, sets FY27 yields and reserves $52.45 million for FY28 tax relief
Summary
The House Appropriations Committee approved yield bill H949 March 20, setting FY27 homestead yield at 9,170, income yield at 12,576 and a uniform non‑homestead rate of 1.698. The measure applies roughly half of a $104.9 million one‑time transfer to FY27 and reserves $52.45 million for FY28; JFO estimated an average 7% increase in education property bills for FY27.
The House Appropriations Committee voted March 20 to approve H949, the annual yield bill that sets the homestead and income yields and the uniform non‑homestead property tax rate for fiscal year 2027.
John Gray of the Office of Legislative Council described the bill as the standard yield measure and said it sets a homestead property yield of 9,170, an income yield of 12,576 and a uniform non‑homestead rate of 1.698 for FY27. The bill assumes a one‑time general fund transfer of $104.9 million; about half of that amount is applied to reduce FY27 property tax rates and roughly $52.45 million is reserved to lower FY28 rates.
Julia Reker of the Joint Fiscal Office summarized the education‑fund outlook the committee used to calculate the yields. "The yields and the rate will result in an estimated average bill property tax increase for education property taxes in fiscal year 2027 of 7% compared to FY26," Reker said, adding that local variation will be substantial because homestead rates and property‑tax credits differ across municipalities.
The bill also contains several technical changes. Section three updates references to the statewide adjustment used in property tax credit calculations; section four makes a technical fix to ensure a refund to the city of Barry is appropriated from the education fund through the Department of Taxes; section five codifies the special‑education census block grant base amount for FY27 and provides for future inflation adjustments. The measure’s effective date is July 1, 2026.
Committee members pressed JFO staff on how the two‑year buy‑down would affect future revenue estimates and the December 1 projection used to set later rates. Reker said using one‑time money to lower bills in a single year generally increases projected property‑tax increases in subsequent years because the one‑time offset will not recur. Representative Cornheiser, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the committee chose a two‑year ramp in part to preserve capacity to act in the next budget year and because structural tax changes that would allow more targeted relief will take several years to implement. "I think it's more fiscally responsible to do it over two years than over one year," Cornheiser said.
Several members asked whether the buy‑down would disproportionately benefit higher‑value properties; staff said the current yield and credit mechanics limit immediate, precise targeting and that the Ways and Means Committee modeled multiple scenarios before arriving at the uniform approach. The bill also applies the estimated FY26 education‑fund surplus to lower FY27 property bills.
On a roll‑call vote the committee approved H949. The transcript records the following recorded votes: Representative Bloomley — yes; Representative Dickensson — no; Phelps — yes; Representative Kasanska — yes; Representative Roiki — yes; Borl — yes; Representative Stevens — yes; Representative Yakaboni — yes; Sh. — yes. The motion carried.
The bill returns to the floor as reported by the committee; staff noted that some amounts in the outlook reflect one‑time transfers and that next year’s calculations will be adjusted according to the reserve set aside for FY28.
