Senate Bill No. 211

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act submitting to the qualified electors of Montana an amendment to Article VIII, section 3, of the Montana Constitution to allow equalization of property values for property tax purposes to be based on classification and on acquisition values, to limit increases in valuation of property, if provided by law, to 2 percent a year for property tax purposes, and to allow any increase because of periodic reappraisal to be phased in over the course of a reappraisal cycle; and providing an effective date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

Section 1.  Article VIII, section 3, of The Constitution of the State of Montana is amended to read:

"Section 3.   Property tax administration -- valuation limitations. (1) (a) The Subject to the provisions of subsection (1)(b), the state shall appraise, assess, and equalize the valuation of all property which is to be taxed in the manner provided by law.

(b) Equalized valuation may be achieved through the classification of property and may be based on acquisition value.

(2) For property tax purposes, the value of any class of property, if provided by law, may not increase by more than two percent a year unless the acquisition method of valuation results in a change in the value of property for the tax year.

(3) Any increase in the value of property because of periodic reappraisals may be phased in during a reappraisal cycle."

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Effective date. If approved by the electorate, this amendment is effective January 1, 1999.

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Submission to electorate. This amendment shall be submitted to the qualified electors of Montana at the general election to be held in November 1998 by printing on the ballot the full title of this act and the following:

[] FOR allowing property taxes to be based on acquisition value and limiting annual increases in valuation of property to 2%.

[] AGAINST allowing property taxes to be based on acquisition value and limiting annual increases in valuation of property to 2%.

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