SPONSOR: Coleman
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Special Committee on Tax Reform by a vote of 10 to 3. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Legislative Oversight by a vote of 5 to 2.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HJR 33.
Upon voter approval, beginning January 1, 2025, this proposed Constitutional amendment provides that for all residential real property, the true value of such property will be deemed to be the same value determined at the most recent previous assessment of the property, or if the property has been sold since its most recent assessment, the true value of such property will be deemed to be the total fair market value of the compensation received by the seller for the sale of such property.
A new assessment or reassessment of residential real property, the assessed valuation of such property may be increased from the assessed valuation of such property determined at its most recent previous assessment but only to the extent that such an increase:
(1) Incorporates the change in the Consumer Price Index since the most recent previous assessment or up to a 2% annual increase in the assessed valuation of the property, whichever is less; or
(2) Reflects the value added to the property as a result of new construction or improvements made to the property.
In the event that residential real property is sold, the title company of the purchaser of any such property must send to the assessor, as soon as reasonably practicable after the purchase, a notarized copy of the sales contract of the property, and such document shall be considered a closed record under state law.
In the event that new construction or improvements are made to residential real property, such value will be the actual cost of the materials purchased for improvements made to the property. Documentation of actual costs must be sent to the assessor as soon as reasonably practicable after the completion of the new construction or improvements. Such documentation of costs or other documents will not be made available to any entity and will be used only by the assessor for the sole purpose of establishing the true value of the property. Taxpayers who reach the age of 65 shall be exempt from any increases in the assessed valuation of their real property, provided that such property is used and occupied as their primary residence. The valuation of real property for these age-qualified taxpayers shall be based on the most recent assessed valuation of their primary residence for the tax year immediately preceding the year in which the age-qualified taxpayer became eligible for the exemption.
If an age-qualified taxpayer relocates, as soon as the new residence is established as the taxpayer's primary residence, the assessed valuation of their new primary residence shall be based on the most recent assessed valuation of the real property before the tax year that the age-qualified taxpayer became eligible again for the exemption.
This bill is similar to HJR 80 (2022).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that as a result of the increased assessed values of their real estate, many taxpayers are being priced out of their homes due to tax rates they can no longer afford to pay. Many of those taxpayers are elderly, disabled, or armed service veterans who live on fixed incomes. Supporters further say that the bill would provide consistency to the question of their future tax obligations, which would allow taxpayers to plan accordingly.
Testifying in person for the bill was Representative Coleman.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.