The Senate Finance Committee had the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) review S.160 on Friday afternoon to review a fiscal note on the bill. The bill would reimburse municipalities for education property tax payments to property owners who had their properties damaged during this past year’s flooding events.

JFO projects this bill would cost $1.1M to the Education Fund in FY2024. This would increase property taxes beyond the 18.5% projected in the Tax Department’s December letter.

To qualify, a property must meet one of the following criteria:

• A 50% or greater loss to the primary structure.
• Loss of use of the property for at least 60 days.
• Loss of access to utilities for at least 60 days.
• Condemnation of the primary structure on the property.

Additionally, the damage must have been declared during the period of federal disaster designation (Jul 1 – Oct 15).

The Committee voted the bill out on Friday with little discussion.