SB 24-233

Abstract

Property tax revenue limit. Beginning with the 2025 property tax year, section 1 of the act establishes a limit on qualified property tax revenue, as defined by the act, for local governments (limit). This limit does not apply to local governments that are home rule municipalities, school districts, have not received voter approval to exceed the statutory 5.5% property tax revenue limitation, or have not received voter approval to collect, retain, and spend the majority of their property tax revenue without regard to the limitations in section 20 of article X of the state constitution. The limit is equal to the local governmental entity's base year qualified property tax revenue increased by 5.5% for each year since the base year including the relevant property tax year. A local government may seek voter approval to waive the limit. A local governmental entity's base year qualified property tax revenue is: For a local governmental entity that had qualified property tax revenue for the 2023 property tax year, the local governmental entity's qualified property tax revenue for the 2023 property tax year, plus any money the local governmental entity received from the state to compensate the local governmental entity for reduced property tax revenue in the 2023 property tax year; For a local governmental entity that did not have qualified property tax revenue for the 2023 property tax year, the local governmental entity's qualified property tax revenue for the first year that the local governmental entity has property tax revenue; or If applicable, the local governmental entity's qualified property tax revenue for the most recent property tax year for which the local governmental entity's voters approved temporarily waiving the limit. If a local government's qualified property tax revenue would otherwise exceed the limit, the local government shall either establish a temporary property tax credit equal to the number of mills necessary to prevent the local government's qualified property tax revenue from exceeding the limit or temporarily reduce its mill levy. Nonresidential real property valuation reductions. Under current law, for nonresidential property, the valuation for assessment (valuation) is 29% of the actual value of the property. However, certain categories of nonresidential property had temporarily reduced valuations for property tax 2023. Section 2 extends these temporarily reduced valuations to property tax year 2024. Section 2 also permanently reduces the valuations for commercial and agricultural property as follows: For property tax year 2025, the valuation is 27% of the actual value of the property; and For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2026, the valuation is 25% of the actual value of the property. Residential real property valuation reductions. For the 2024 property tax year, section 4 makes 2 reductions to residential real property valuation by continuing the 2023 property tax year reductions to residential real property valuation: For multi-family residential real property, section 4 reduces the valuation from 6.8% of the actual value of the property to 6.7% of the amount equal to the actual value of the property minus the lesser of $55,000 or the amount that causes the valuation for assessment of the property to be $1,000 (alternate amount); and For all other residential real property, section 4 reduces the valuation from an estimated 7.06% of the actual value of the property to 6.7% of the amount equal to the actual value of the property minus the lesser of $55,000 or the alternate amount. For the 2025 property tax year, section 4 modifies residential real property valuation so that the valuation for all residential real property is: For the purpose of a levy imposed by a school district, 7.15% of the actual value of the property; and For the purpose of a levy imposed by a local governmental entity that is not a school district, 6.4% of the actual value of the property. For the 2026 property tax year and all future property tax years, section 4 also reduces the valuation for all residential real property from 7.15% of the actual value of the property. For all residential real property, the valuation is: For the purpose of a levy imposed by a school district, the lesser of 7.15% of the actual value of the property or a percentage of the actual value of the property determined by the property tax administrator pursuant to section 7; and For the purpose of a levy imposed by a local governmental entity that is not a school district, 6.95% of the amount equal to the actual value of the property minus the lesser of 10% of the actual value of the property or $70,000 as adjusted for inflation in the first year of each subsequent reassessment cycle. Qualified-senior primary residence residential real property. Senate Bill 24-111 created a new residential real property subclass: qualified-senior primary residence residential real property. In addition to the other reductions for resdiential real property made in section 4, section 4 makes the following valuation reductions for qualified-senior primary residence residential real property: For property tax year 2025, for the purpose of a levy imposed by a local governmental entity that is not a school district, 6.4% of the amount equal to the actual value of the property minus either 50% of the first $200,000 of that actual value plus the lesser of 10% of the actual value of the property or $70,000 or the alternate amount; For property tax year 2026, for the purpose of a levy imposed by a local governmental entity, 6.95% of the amount equal to the actual value of the property minus either 50% of the first $200,000 of that actual value plus the lesser of 10% of the actual value of the property or $70,000 or the alternate amount; and For property tax year 2025, for the purpose of a levy imposed by a school district, 7.15% of the amount equal to the actual value of the property minus either 50% of the first $200,000 of that actual value or the alternate amount. Adjustable residential real property valuation. Section 7 requires legislative council staff to notify the state board of equalization of the first year after 2026 in which the local share of total program is equal to or greater than 60% of the total program determined pursuant to the "Public School Finance Act". For every property tax year after that year, the valuation for assessment for all residential real property, for the purpose of a levy imposed by a school district, is equal to the lesser of: 7.15% of the actual value of the property; or The percentage of the actual value of the property necessary for statewide school district property tax revenue divided by weighted total program to equal 0.6. Reimbursement of local governments. The state reimbursed local governmental entities for property tax revenue lost as a result of the reductions in valuation enacted in Senate Bill 22-238 and Senate Bill 23B-001. Section 9 establishes a reimbursement mechanism for certain local governmental entities other than school districts to account for property tax revenue lost as a result of the reductions in valuation in the act for the 2024 property tax year. The reimbursement mechanism requires the state to reimburse local governments in an amount equal to the decrease, if any, in assessed value between the 2022 and 2024 property tax years multiplied by the local governments' mill levy rate from the 2022 property tax year. Section 9 creates a fund out of which the state makes the reimbursements and requires the state treasurer to transfer to the fund $10,311,233 from the sustainable rebuilding program fund. Property tax deferral program. The existing property tax deferral program allows any person to defer the payment of the portion of real property taxes on the person's homestead that exceeds the tax-growth cap, which is an amount equal to the average of the person's real property taxes paid for the preceding 2 property tax years for the same homestead, increased by 4%. Beginning with the 2025 property tax year, section 10 removes the 4% tax-growth cap. Accordingly, beginning with the 2025 property tax year, a person may defer the payment of the portion of real property taxes on the person's homestead that exceeds the average of the person's real property taxes paid for the preceding 2 property tax years for the same homestead. Appropriation for state share of districts' total program funding. Beyond the appropriations in the act necessary for the administration of this act as outlined in sections 12 and 13, section 11 appropriates $378,861,731 to the department of education from the state education fund to cover the increases in the state share of districts' total program funding resulting from the assessed value reductions set forth in the act. APPROVED by Governor May 14, 2024 EFFECTIVE upon the date of the official declaration by the governor NOTE: This act does not take effect if either or both of the following occur at the next general election: An initiative that reduces valuations for assessment is approved by the people; An initiative that requires voter approval for retaining property tax revenue that exceeds a limit is approved by the people. If this act takes effect then this act takes effect upon the date of the official declaration of the vote for the general election held on November 5, 2024; except that section 3 of this act takes effect only if Senate Bill 24-111 does not become law, sections 4 and 8 of this act take effect only if Senate Bill 24-111 becomes law, section 6 of this act takes effect only if House Bill 24-1448 does not become law, and section 7 of this act takes effect only if House Bill 24-1448 becomes law. Senate Bill 24-111 was signed by the governor May 14, 2024. House Bill 24-1448 was signed by the governor May 23, 2024.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)