A group that has repeatedly sought to advance ballot initiatives that would limit property tax growth on Montana homes said Wednesday it is taking up the idea again, proposing a constitutional amendment which could appear on the 2026 ballot if it survives potential legal challenges and qualifies through a signature drive.

Bozeman attorney Matt Monfortion, director of Cap Montana Property Taxes, said in an interview Wednesday that he doesn’t believe the property tax proposals. circulating before the 2025 legislature will do enough to provide Montana homeowners with long-term protection.

“Property taxes continue to skyrocket and always will because Montana homeowners are not protected against inflation,” Monforton said.

The initiative would require the state to assess homes annually for tax purposes, unlike the current two-year cycle, and would limit annual growth in the assessed value of primary residences that do not change ownership to 2 percent per year. When a home is sold, its appraisal is usually reset to its market value.

Under current law, residential properties are valued by the State Department of Finance for tax purposes based on the department’s best estimate of their market value. As market values ​​have soared amid the state’s housing crisis in recent years, that has translated into higher tax assessments and higher tax bills for most homeowners.

The series of tax capping initiatives put forward by Monforton’s group, similar to the California Prop 13 emblemhave largely sought to protect homeowners from rising taxes. Opponents, including the Montana Federation of Public Employees and the Montana Association of Realtors, fear the measures could upend the tax system that funds K-12 education, law enforcement and most others local government services. They also fear that having a tax advantage created by long-term residence would discourage owners from modernizing their homes.

The proposal follows that of 2022 Constitutional Amendment 121which failed to pass a ballot collection threshold after facing litigation and a $300,000 opposition campaign. New push last year from the Monforton group died in court after Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the Montana Supreme Court said the 2024 iteration of the proposal included too many provisions to comply with the state’s single subject rule.

Monforton said the new iteration of his group’s initiative was revised to take into account last year’s court ruling, focusing only on capping tax assessments rather than assessments and tax rates. ‘taxation. He is optimistic that the new proposal will withstand inevitable legal scrutiny.

“We anticipate a storm of lawsuits from the state and special interests that will try to prevent homeowners from getting real relief,” he said. “And we are confident that we will win in court.”

This story originally published in the Montana Free Press, available online at montanafreepress.org.