Property-Tax Relief

Owning a home brings responsibilities and expenses that continue long after the purchase. Property taxes are part of that burden. I hear about this every day.

I'm pursuing a constitutional amendment that would give the General Assembly authority to exempt all or part of a primary residence from property taxation.

The approach would also allow lawmakers to consider authorizing counties, cities, school districts or other taxing districts to provide an exemption. Subsequent legislation would determine the rules.

What the proposal would do

The amendment would create constitutional authority for broader property-tax relief on primary residences.

Lawmakers would then have to decide how to use that authority, including the amount of any exemption, who would qualify and which taxes it would affect.

Why a constitutional amendment?

Kentucky's Constitution establishes requirements governing property taxation.

My proposal would ask voters to authorize a change that gives the General Assembly additional flexibility to provide relief on primary residences.

Kentucky used a similar approach in 1998 when voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing lawmakers to exempt all or part of the property tax on a class of personal property. That amendment created authority for later legislation. It did not automatically exempt every class of personal property.

The proposal I'm pursuing would address primary residences, which are real property.

What would happen next?

The General Assembly would first have to approve placing a proposed constitutional amendment before voters. Voters would then decide whether to approve it.

If voters approved the amendment, legislation would still be needed to establish an exemption and its requirements.

My goal is to create a workable path to property-tax relief while being straightforward about the decisions still ahead.