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(Des Moines, IA) -- Iowa lawmakers are introducing a pair of companion bills aimed at property tax relief. Lawmakers say House Study Bill 313 and Senate Study Bill 1208 are the biggest looks at the system since the late 1970s. That includes State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton).
"When you've got the taxing entities--the counties, the cities, all the different levying authorities--thinking the system is bad...this is our way of being responsive to everyone and saying 'alright, we're going to modernize a system that hasn't been touched effectively since 1977 in terms of the rollback and give that predictability going forward."
The proposal calls for a 2% cap in revaluation statewide. Supporters of that cap say the current system causes tension. State Sen. Dan Dawson (R-Council Bluffs) is the chair of the Ways and Means committee, where the bill will be referred.
"The current system right now pits a property poor vs a property rich district against each other," Dawson says. "[The proposed system] kind of allows every area to exist on their own in some form or fashion as opposed to a system that's causing all this conflict."
In some areas, Dawson says that can happen in the same city.
"There's a different rate if you live in Council Bluffs school district vs. Lewis Central school district and you can live in the same town based upon valuation," Dawson says.
Part of the plan includes taking tax credits back, which is where Dawson says the relief will come from.
"That's the reality," Dawson says. "We've been bandaging this property tax system over the years with business property tax credit and some of these other things out there. If we're really going to rebuild a better system, those credits shouldn't exist anymore. But, we don't want to just pocket it at the state. We're going to return those back to the property tax payers."
The plan would require the state to take over $400 million in school funding currently created by local jurisdictions through the property taxes. Kaufmann says taking the credits back will help the state cover those costs.
"We're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on these credits right now," Kaufmann says. "Without their existence, we can re-appropriate those dollars."
The two legislators say not to expect immediate action on the bill. They say they're releasing the bill now so that those involved in the process have time to think it through.
"We're not dropping this out and saying 'this is perfect as is,'" Kaufmann says. "This will be a thoughtful process that will take up most of the rest of the session to make sure that we get it right and understand all the impacts."
He says there won't be subcommittees for at least two weeks on the bill, which are going through a funnel-exempt committee.