Senate committee adopts amendment and advances bill to change property assessment increases and reassessment frequency

The Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee on April 9 adopted an amendment and reported Senate Bill 259 from committee. The bill, sponsored by Senator Bjorkman, adjusts allowable annual residential assessment increases and adds a decennial reassessment requirement.

Sevea Bieber, staff to Senator Bjorkman, told the committee SB259's changes include setting allowable annual increases for residential property assessments to not less than 3% and not greater than 10%, and adding a requirement that assessors increase property values every 10 years to reflect estimated open-market value.

Vice Chair Dunbar offered an amendment deleting the "owned and occupied" requirement and replacing it with "occupied as housing," intended to extend eligibility beyond owner-occupied single-family homes to multifamily properties so renters could benefit if owners pass the savings on. The amendment sponsor said the language was developed with legal counsel to accommodate varying municipal residential classifications.

Senator Bjorkman noted the amendment departs from typical municipal homestead-exemption practice, observing it "does deviate away from the spirit of the bill" but acknowledged why the maker sought the change. After discussion the committee adopted the amendment and reported SB259 from committee as amended with individual recommendations and a fiscal note.

What happens next: SB259 will proceed with committee recommendations and associated fiscal note; Legislative Legal Services was authorized to make conforming changes.