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Governor says property-tax rollback will require implementation bill, offers targeted grants to localities
Summary
Asked about property-tax reform, the governor said the enacted measure is a scaled-down version of his proposal, expects implementing legislation after the November vote, and pledged targeted grants from state reserves to help localities with essential services.
During a question-and-answer period at the America 250 event the governor addressed concerns that property-tax cuts could force local spending reductions. He said the version passed by the legislature was smaller than his original proposal and that an implementing bill will be needed after the November vote to work out phase-in details.
The governor proposed using surplus reserves to provide targeted grants for localities facing "true" fiscal pinches — for example, to keep essential public-safety personnel — rather than fully backfilling all lost revenue. He cited local property-tax revenue rising from about $32 billion in 2019 to roughly $60 billion at present and said, without changes, it could reach an estimated $83 billion by 2031.
Asked about claims that services would be cut, he told the audience those "horror stories" are often raised by local governments with an interest in preserving current revenue streams and reiterated that many localities would still have substantially more revenue than in 2019 even after the rollback.
The governor said he would work with new legislative leaders to implement relief quickly and that the state could deploy reserves or targeted grants where necessary.
