Latest news with #CraigHeadland
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Dakota Legislature adopts ‘historic' property tax bill on final day of session
Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier, speaks on the House floor during debate on a property tax bill on May 2, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota House and Senate compromised on a property tax package Friday amounting to a $1,600 primary residence credit, more than triple the amount homeowners receive now. But one House member said he plans to promote an initiated measure for the November 2026 ballot that would aim to cut taxes for other property types. House Bill 1176, sponsored by Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, and backed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong, passed on the final day of the session with a unanimous vote in the Senate and 86-4 vote in the House. Lawmakers identified property tax reform as a top priority for the session after voters initiated a ballot measure last year that sought to eliminate property taxes based on assessed value. Although the measure failed, lawmakers said they heard from voters that they expect property tax cuts in the future. The bill uses earnings from the state Legacy Fund to pay for the program, with the idea that lawmakers could consider even greater property tax relief in the future as the fund grows. Armstrong's vision is that eventually most homeowners would be on a path to paying zero property taxes. 'This bill provides real relief and real reform for taxpayers,' Armstrong said in a statement Friday. 'It's responsible, affordable and durable. It creates Legacy Fund buy-in, and it's the single most impactful thing we could do for North Dakota citizens this session.' The legislation also seeks to slow the growth of property tax increases with a 3% cap on how much local governments can increase the taxes annually. The total amount of property tax relief in the package is estimated at $473 million for 2025-27, Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus said. The bill also includes more money for a disabled veterans tax credit and a renters refund. 'This is truly a landmark bill when it comes to property taxes,' Nathe said after the conference committee agreed on a final version of the bill. 'Probably historic.' Donnell Preskey, government and public affairs specialist for the North Dakota Association of Counties, said counties were not in favor of the caps, but the bill includes an opt-out provision that would allow residents in a taxing district to vote to be exempted from the caps for four years. 'That's one of the elements we worked really hard to get in there,' Preskey said. She added there are still concerns about what local budgets will look like with 3% caps over the next two years. She said the association hopes to educate counties on the new property tax rules, how it will impact their budgets and some of the flexibility options available. The bill also caps how much school districts can raise property taxes. It contains a provision that if the cap on schools forces some districts to drop below the state-mandated local education contribution level, the Department of Public Instruction would administer gap funding to make the districts whole. An additional $30 million is set aside for that gap funding. Lawmakers removed a so-called 'skin-in-the-game' provision the Senate advanced that would have required homeowners to pay at least 25% of their property tax bill. The Legislature defeated two other property tax proposals that also would have benefited owners of agricultural land, commercial property and centrally assessed properties. Rep. Scott Louser, R-Minot, sponsored House Bill 1168, a competing property tax bill that would have had the state pay 100% of public school funding as a way to deliver property tax relief. Louser said he plans to advance that proposal through an initiated measure. He said he plans to gather signatures with the goal of getting it on the November ballot. 'I was taught to always fight for what I believe in and, members of the assembly, this may be something you believe in, too,' Louser said. Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier, chairman of the House Finance and Taxation Committee, expressed frustration with the potential ballot measure. 'For a legislator to come on and talk about how he's going to lead a petition because he doesn't like the outcome of the property tax relief that the majority of the assembly decided was the way to go is a bit over the top,' Headland said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
District 12, 29 lawmakers address issues Legislature is working on
Feb. 17—JAMESTOWN — District 12 and 29 lawmakers addressed several issues the North Dakota Legislature is working on including property taxes, recruiting workforce, school lunches and Legacy Fund transparency. District 12 and 29 lawmakers answered questions about the legislative session on Saturday, Feb. 15, at a meet-and-greet event hosted by the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce at the Gladstone Inn & Suites. Rep. Don Vigesaa, R-Cooperstown, said 1,073 bills and resolutions — 649 in the House and 424 in the Senate — have been introduced during the legislative session. He said 254 bills have been passed in the House and the Senate has passed 129 bills. Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier, said two property tax bills have moved forard that will provide relief and reform to the property tax system. "One of them is going to provide an increase in the Primary Residence Credit that we put together last session from $500 up to $1,450 for the Primary Residence Credit bill," he said. "The other bill predominantly focuses on a percentage. That bill impacts all classes of property so not only residential but ag and commercial property would see some benefits. ... It's just reducing the percentage within the property tax formula that would simply generate less tax and then the state would turn around and provide the funding to keep the political subdivisions whole." He said the Legislature is working on improving the income tax system. He said people moving from states with higher income tax are looking at states with lower income tax. Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown, said the state has been dealing with workforce issues for some time. He said the state needs to be proactive and promote its jobs and opportunities. Rep. Mitch Ostlie, R-Jamestown said a bill was introduced to create a state office of entrepreneurship. "We are hopeful that if this passes, that the state can take a leadership role in maybe coordinating a lot of things that the colleges are doing," he said. " ... What happens a lot of times is there's a lot of good little pieces that are happening around the state but we don't know about it in every corner of the state. We are hopeful if this is created at the state level, they can disseminate that information to all areas of the state for the entrepreneurship side of things." Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, said he will be working on the North Dakota Department of Commerce's budget this week. "There is $10 million in the budget for workforce, technical skills grants and vouchers," he said. He added that the Legislature created the Office of Legal Immigration within the Commerce Department to help with the workforce issue. He said the Legislature is working on helping immigrants who are in North Dakota legally and want a job and want to participate in the state's economy. Vigesaa said a couple of bills are in the House related to school meal funding for students. House Bills 1475 and 1553 each have an appropriation of $140 million for the biennium. HB 1475 appropriates funds from the general fund while HB 1553 appropriates funds from the North Dakota Legacy Fund. "A lot of things are not going to make the cut because of ... how far over we are with the requests," he said. "I don't know where House is going to land on that. It's just going to have to fit into the budget whether or not we would do the full funding of that or do like we did last time and go 200% above the poverty level, we pay all the lunches for that level and below." Headland said the House Finance and Taxation Committee gave a do-pass recommendation for House Bill 1319, which would require the State Investment Board to maintain a publicly accessible website containing information regarding all Legacy Fund investments. "We view it as the possibility of having something in regards to what Norway has with their sovereign wealth fund so it will be easy to just go online and ... hopefully you will be able to see where your money is going to be invested," he said. He said the Legacy Fund earnings will be used for any property tax relief that will be provided. "That is your Legacy Fund working on your behalf," he said. Ostlie said the House approved House Bill 1330, which would require Legacy Fund investments to not consist of direct holdings in a Chinese company. "We worked with the State Investment Board and the Retirement and Investment Office and they made amendments which I supported," he said. "They agreed to divest out of what they could." Sen. Cole Conley, R-Jamestown, said he is surprised with how some legislators aren't curious about the $3.1 billion invested from the Legacy Fund where the underlying investments are hidden from public view. The Legacy Fund has almost $11.5 billion as of Oct. 31. The Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce will host another meet-and-greet-session with the District 12 and 29 lawmakers at 9 a.m. on March 22 at the Gladstone Inn & Suites.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Major property tax bill clears committee with flexibility on caps
Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier, presents an amendment to a property tax bill on Feb. 6, 2025. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor) A nearly $500 million property tax overhaul championed by the governor cleared its first hurdle Thursday in the North Dakota House. House Bill 1176 is based on a plan proposed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong earlier this year to roughly triple a property tax credit for homeowners. The bill would cap annual property tax increases for local governments at 3% each year. The program would be funded in part with earnings from the state's Legacy Fund. The House Finance and Taxation Committee voted 12-2 Thursday evening to forward the bill to the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. Ty Dressler, R-Richardton, and Rep. Dennis Nehring, R-Williston, were the only no votes. The bill, as amended Thursday by the committee, is estimated to cost the state about $473 million for the 2025-27 budget cycle, according to committee chair Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier. The primary residence tax credit was introduced in 2023 as a property tax discount for most North Dakota homeowners. As originally written, the bill would have increased the state's primary residence tax credit from $500 to $1,550 for the first year. Thursday's amendment slightly lowered that figure to $1,450. The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, received pushback from some cities and counties about the 3% cap. Under the proposal, local governments would be able to 'bank' unused property tax increases for up to five years. Thursday's changes suggested by Headland provide more flexibility to cities and governments with respect to the property tax caps, as well — including allowing them to seek permission from voters to opt out of the caps for 10 years at a time. The amendment also eliminates income taxes for single filers who make up to roughly $54,000 a year, expanding on income tax cuts lawmakers made two years ago. For married taxpayers, that level would increase to nearly $90,000. North Dakota governor unveils bold property tax plan in first State of the State address Reps. Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, and Austin Foss, D-Fargo, voted against Headland's amendment. During discussion on the amendment, Ista indicated opposition to the income tax cuts. Some agriculture groups had advocated for property tax cuts for farmers and ranchers. The amended bill does not address that, but the committee is considering other proposals as well, Headland said. If the bill is approved by the House Appropriations Committee, then it will go to the full House chamber for a vote. The House Finance and Taxation Committee will consider additional property tax proposals on Monday, Headland said. Armstrong said earlier this year he wants to eliminate property taxes for most homeowners within the next 10 years. His goal is for the program to become self-sustaining by using Legacy Fund earnings, eventually eliminating reliance on the state's general fund. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
