On February 24, Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally testified before the Ways and Means Committee in support of HB 842 – Property Tax Exemption – Property Acquired by Surviving Spouse of Service Member – Repeal of Time Limitation with amendments.
Counties support efforts to provide meaningful property tax relief to eligible surviving spouses, but urge lawmakers to do so in a way that respects local fiscal realities. While the proposed legislation would eliminate the current two-year eligibility requirement for a specified property tax exemption, counties caution that expanding mandatory exemptions without local discretion creates a direct and lasting impact on their primary revenue source.
Following discussions with MACo, the sponsor agreed to amendments that convert the repeal from a mandatory change to a local option. This amendment preserves the bill’s intent while allowing counties to determine, through local law, whether and how to implement the change based on fiscal capacity and community priorities.
When the General Assembly enacts or expands mandatory property tax
exemptions, counties absorb the fiscal impact directly. Expanding eligibility without local discretion reduces a critical local revenue source and limits counties’ ability to balance service delivery with fiscal responsibility. As such, MACo requests amendments to make the repeal of the two-year requirement authorizing rather than mandatory.
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