Will the Montana Legislature Agree on a Property Tax Bill?

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Montana Legislature is days, or perhaps hours, away from wrapping up their business, called sine die, and the one question on the lips of all homeowners is ‘will they finally pass a property tax relief bill'?

Montana Senate Minority Leader, Democrat Pat Flowers, appeared on the KGVO Talk Back Show on Tuesday to talk about the final push for a property tax relief bill.

Senate Minority Leader has Final Visit on KGVO's Talk Back this Session

“It’s obviously something we’ve been working on all session,” began Flowers. “I think the reason it has gone to the final days is, number one, it’s a really complicated issue and there are a lot of interests that we’re trying to balance, and it’s also technically complicated to find the right solution.”

Flowers said there are two bills, HB 231 and SB 542, that are being considered at this point.

There are Both Senate and House Property Tax Bills Under Consideration

“We’ve been working on it hard,” he said. “We’ve been going back and forth between both the House and the Senate and a lot of committees in both houses, trying to find the right answer. I think, quite frankly, it's taken so long to finally get to a place where we can all agree that this is the best we can do, and this is the solution that is fair for all Montanans.”

Looking back, Flowers referenced early efforts on property tax reform.

“We had two proposals that we introduced on the first day of the session, and those didn't pass muster,” he said. “Ultimately, at least in total, what we were able to do is incorporate some components of those into the what's appearing to be the final solution, particularly the low end rate for properties, and that is in this case, properties that are a median value or below which for the state, is around $350,000 to $400,000.”

Flowers is Hopeful for Meaningful Property Tax Relief

Flowers is hopeful that the final bill (if an agreement can be reached) will provide meaningful property tax relief.

“For those that have a medium to lower income or property valued home, they'll see a significant rollback,” he said. “Beyond that, in the first year, we're looking at statewide having a 40 percent reduction for a median home statewide, and that’s a pretty significant reduction, and then in subsequent years the reduction will be significant.”

Click here to listen to the entire conversation with State Senator Pat Flowers.