Kessler continues fight to end school property taxes for homeowners

I wanted to update you on what's happening with property tax reform, which is one of my top priorities as your representative.

A school property tax elimination plan, which I voted for in January, is being revised with the goal of attracting more support. The House voted down the plan in January, but the vote did not follow party lines. Instead, most of the support for the plan came from representatives of areas that are experiencing rapid development.

The new version of the plan is expected to address key objections by:

· Leaving out a proposed tax on professional services such as legal and accounting fees. This change would help many small businesses.

· Making the plan more achievable -- by eliminating the school property tax on primary homes and farms ONLY, we would need several billion dollars less to replace those property taxes. This focus on primary homes and farms is something I have always supported.

Business owners would still benefit from the new plan. As a former business owner myself and the husband of a current business owner, this has been a concern of mine. Many business owners are also homeowners, and this plan would put more money in many of their customers' pockets. Much of that money would be spent locally, helping our economy.  

The new plan would still take three years to phase in, partly because we still need to amend the state constitution before we can eliminate school property taxes on primary homes and farms. I co-sponsored and voted for the necessary constitutional amendment (H.B. 1947), which passed the House unanimously in January.

However, if the Senate fails to pass the amendment before summer recess, the process will take an extra two years. You can contact your senator to urge quick action on the amendment.

I am also continuing my efforts to contain school costs through my legislation (H.B. 1889) that would require school districts to choose from a standard set of blueprints for new schools, and by supporting other cost-containment bills. As always, if you have a question or concern about this or another state-related issue, please contact me.