Montana Property Tax Limit Initiative (2022)
| Montana Property Tax Limit Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Taxes and Property | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Montana Property Tax Limit Initiative was not on the ballot in Montana as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
The initiative would have amended the Montana Constitution to limit property valuation increases and decreases to either 2% or the inflation rate (whichever is lower) and limited total ad valorem property taxes on residential property to 1% or less of the assessed valuation. The property valuation limit would have applied to properties that are not newly constructed, significantly improved, or had a change of ownership since January 1, 2019. It would have also established 2019 as the base valuation year.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | CI-121 limits annual increases and decreases in valuations of residential property to either 2% or the inflation rate (whichever is lower) when assessing property taxes if the property is not newly constructed, significantly improved, or had a change of ownership since January 1, 2019. CI-121 establishes 2019 state valuations as the base year for the valuations of residential property and permits annual state reassessment. It requires the Legislature to limit total ad valorem property taxes on residential property to 1% or less of the assessed valuation. It requires the Legislature to define 'residential property' and provide for the application and implementation of the initiative and permits the state to assess other real property based on acquisition value.
[ ] YES on Constitutional Initiative CI‐121 [ ] NO on Constitutional Initiative CI‐121[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VIII, Montana Constitution
The measure would have amended section 3 of Article VIII of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
Section 3. Property tax administration -- limitation. (1) The Subject to this section, the state shall appraise, assess, and equalize the valuation of all property which is to be taxed in the manner provided by law.
(2) Except as provided in this section, the assessed valuation of residential property shall be the amount determined by the state in 2019.
(3) The value of residential property may be reassessed annually on January 1 of each year. If residential property is not newly constructed or significantly improved or did not have a change of ownership since January 1, 2019, the change in revised assessed valuation for a year may not exceed the lower of the following:
- (a) two percent of the valuation for the prior year; or
- (b) the percent change in the consumer price index, U.S. city average, all urban consumers, using the 1982-84 base of 100, as published by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor.
(4) After January 1, 2019, whenever residential property is newly constructed or significantly improved or has a change of ownership, it must be assessed by the state at its fair market value with subsequent changes to that assessment made in accordance with the limits in subsections (3)(a), (3)(b), and this subsection (4).
(5) The legislature shall limit the total amount of ad valorem taxes assessed against residential property and such limit shall not exceed one percent of the valuation established by this section.
(6) The legislature shall define 'residential property' and provide for the application and implementation of subsections (2) through (5), and it may provide for acquisition valuation of other real property.[3]
Full text
- The full text of the measure is available here.
Fiscal impact statement
- The fiscal impact statement written by the Office of Budget and Program Planning can be found here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Montana, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Moreover, signature collection must be distributed such that petitions include signatures equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in each of two-fifths (40) of the state's 100 legislative districts in the last gubernatorial election. Petitioners have a maximum of one year to collect signatures and get them verified by county elections officials.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 60,359 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures to county clerks was June 17, 2020. The deadline to submit signatures to the secretary of state was July 15, 2022.
County election officials check each signature to make sure the name corresponds to the name of a registered voter. Then they use a 5 percent random sampling method to check the authenticity of the signatures. Signature petitions are then sent to the secretary of state, which certifies the measure for the ballot if enough valid signatures were submitted.
Details about this initiative
- The final submission of the initiative was filed on November 9, 2021, by former State Rep. Matthew Monforton (R) and Montana State Auditor Troy Downing (R).[2]
- On January 7, 2022, the initiative was cleared for signature gathering.
- The initiative did not submit the required number of signatures by the deadline.[4]
Lawsuit
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Whether the initiative violates certain statutory requirements for ballot initiatives | |
| Court: Lewis and Clark County District Court | |
| Ruling: Ruled in favor of defendants; lawsuit dismissed against the initiative | |
| Plaintiff(s): Montana Federation of Public Employees; Montana Farmers Union; Dennis McDonald; Ron Ostberg; Jeff Barber; and Barber Realty, LLC | Defendant(s): Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen (R); Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R); former State Rep. Matthew Monforton (R); Montana State Auditor Troy Downing (R) |
| Plaintiff argument: The initiative takes away the power of the legislature to establish taxable values and methods of appraisal. The secretary of state and attorney general did not review the initiative for its effect on Montana businesses. | Defendant argument: The initiative limits the rate of tax collection growth. It is not an absolute tax limit. |
Source: Montana Free Press
On January 12, 2022, the Montana Federation of Public Employees, Montana Farmers Union, and several other individual plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen (R), Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R), and sponsors of the initiative. The lawsuit argues that the amendment would "[strip] the power of the legislature to establish taxable values and methods of appraisal, and instead constitutionally [create] a method to limit taxes." The lawsuit asked the court to stop the campaign from gathering signatures and require the attorney general to conduct a review of how the initiative would impact state businesses to be printed on the circulating petitions.[5]
Kyler Nerison, a spokesman for the attorney general, said, "The Attorney General’s Office fulfilled its legal obligation to review the measure. Attorney General Knudsen is committed to the rule of law and is not going to exceed the authority that the legislature delegated."[5]
On January 14, Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Michael McMahon issued a temporary restraining order blocking the campaign from gathering signatures. Sponsors filed an appeal with Montana Supreme Court.[5]
On January 18, the Montana Supreme Court denied the sponsors' request to reverse the lower court's restraining order. A hearing in the lower court was scheduled for January 24.[6]
On January 25, Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Christopher Abbott reversed McMahon's ruling, authorizing the campaign to start gathering signatures again. Abbott said, "(Plaintiffs') failure to make any substantial showing of injury, coupled with the clear inequity of preventing the proponents from gathering signatures while this case is litigated, dooms their request for a preliminary injunction."[7]
On April 27, Judge Abbott dismissed the lawsuit arguing that the state followed the proper procedure in clearing it for circulation.[8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Montana Secretary of State's Office, "Full text," accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Montana Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Montana Free Press, "Tax-cap measure CI-121 and other initiatives will miss the fall ballot," June 30, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Montana Free Press, "Lawsuit seeks halt on signature gathering for property tax cap initiative," January 13, 2022
- ↑ Helena Independent Record, "Montana Supreme Court denies request to allow signature gathering for property tax ballot initiative," January 18, 2022
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Judge says backers of property tax cap can again gather signatures," January 25, 2022
- ↑ KTVH, "Judge dismisses lawsuit against measure to cap Montana property taxes," April 27, 2022
 |
State of Montana Helena (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
