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opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
House Should Vote To Ground Tax Lightning
New Mexico's state senators have stepped up and unanimously done what voters elected then to do: ensure the state has laws that work for the people while protecting their rights.
The state's representatives should follow suit.
Thirty-five senators voted in favor of SB 108, which amends a well-meant but thrice-declared unconstitutional law capping annual residential property valuations at 3 percent — except when a home changes hands.
The 2001 law was designed to protect homeowners from skyrocketing valuations and thus skyrocketing property taxes. But one unintended fallout has been the phenomenon known as tax lightning, with valuations on homes that change hands being brought up to near market value, and those home buyers zapped by property taxes up to three times higher than their new neighbors.
More fallout: three state court rulings — two in Bernalillo County and one in Doña Ana County — declaring the law unconstitutional because it creates a separate class of homeowners for tax purposes.
Lawmakers have been asked to fix this problem in previous sessions. This year, with the looming specters of tens of thousands of lawsuits and a higher court throwing out big chunks of the residential valuation system, the Senate answered. Every senator present this week voted to approve the bill put together by Sens. Tim Eichenberg, D-Albuquerque, Steven Neville, R-Aztec, and Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque.
And while Eichenberg says the bill "isn't perfect," it in great part mirrors the practical remedy instituted last year by Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya: it rolls back property values statewide to 2004 levels, then adds what amounts to a 3 percent per-year increase through 2011.
The bill also extends the 3 percent cap to all residential property, regardless of whether or not it is sold, and creates a ratio that allows new home construction to be entered into the tax rolls at a level of value that mirrors other homes in a county so buyers of new homes aren't struck by a random bolt.
And it preserves the intent of the 2001 law, protecting residents from being taxed out of their homes.
SB 108 is now in the House. Representatives should recognize this is a huge improvement and send it on to the governor.
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