Legislator Threatens Special Session with Tax Reappraisal Bill

Helena-A Whitefish representative wants to make homeowners the priority in mitigating property tax reappraisal. Legislators continued their quest for mitigating the changes Tuesday. The Senate Taxation committee held a hearing on the only bill alive to do so. Every six years property tax is reappraised. If nothing is done, Montana homeowners would see their property values rise an average of 56 percent since the last reappraisal in 2003. Bill sponsor Mike Jopek, D-Whitefish, says his support hinges on the support for homeowners. One senator likened Jopek's request to an ultimatium and a hand grenade. Jopek says he's seen the cuts the House and Senate have made to the budget and says depending on who you ask the state has two to four hundred million dollars under the mattress.
"Take the money out of the mattress. Let's give it to the homeowners; there's nothing wrong with that. Let's put them at the top of the list: low income homeowners, elderly homeowners, people who saw extraordinary increases, and disabled American vets. Let's put them at the top of the line."
Jopek threatened the committee to table the bill and cause the legislature to go into a special session. Jopek says he'll pull the pin from the metaphorical hand grenade and become an opponent to the bill, if the support for those groups in the form of relief programs ceases.
Rep.Brian Hoven, R-Great Falls, supports the bill, especially the circuit breakers for people of middle and low income, disabled Amerincan veterans, and the elderly. A circuit breaker caps property taxes at a percentage of a taxpayer's income. However, Hoven warned the committee against broad, general circuit breakers.
"The general circuit breaker, while it will help those, it will also aid those folks that are living beyond their means. Those people that have bought more house than they can afford and are paying more in property taxes will get a significant break and that's fine, they should. But I don't think we have the money to support that."
Organizations like the Montana Taxpayer's Association, Montana Realtors Association, and Montana Farm Bureau Federation support the bill but believe it is not completely revenue neutral. The governor would not like to see increases in property tax across the state on average. Senators fielded questions on how the bill would affect homeowners on a county to county basis, what changes to the bill people would like to see and what proposed amendments would do fiscally. The committee will take action on the bill Wednesday afternoon.