North Dakota Legislature Adopts Historic Property Tax Bill Final Day of Session

State Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(By: Michael Achterling and Amy Dalrymple. North Dakota Monitor) – The North Dakota House and Senate compromised on a property tax package  acting on one of the Legislature’s top priorities hours before the session wrapped up

The property tax bill creates a $1,600 primary residence credit, more than triple the amount homeowners receive now.

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.

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.