Backers of property tax ballot measure submit signatures for verification

Rick Becker, right, chair of the assessed-value property tax elimination ballot initiative sponsoring committee, smiles for a group photo with other committee members while unloading boxes of petition signatures to the secretary of state's office at the Capitol in Bismarck on June 28, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

North Dakota voters are one step closer to deciding a constitutional ballot measure this November that would eliminate assessed-value property taxes.

The ballot initiative’s sponsoring committee turned in nearly 41,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office for verification on Friday afternoon, more than the 31,164 needed to appear on the general election ballot.

The initiative’s sponsoring committee chair, Rick Becker, who lost a June Republican primary bid for the state’s at-large U.S. House seat, said gathering enough signatures was more work than he imagined at the start of the process last June.

“We anticipate that it would be extraordinarily unlikely for the secretary of state to throw out more signatures than what we have extra,” Becker said after turning in seven boxes of petition signatures.

One petitioner, Steve Moen of Minot, said he thinks many signatories of the petition were excited about the possible changes.

“I’ve collected over 3,000 myself,” Moen said. “We kept a pretty good eye on who was signing, what was signed and what kind of addresses they had, so I don’t think very many of these will get kicked out.”

The property tax measure prohibits the Legislature and local subdivisions from “the levying of any tax on the assessed value of real or personal property,” according to the ballot measure petition. Supporters have previously said the measure would not prohibit local subdivisions from levying taxes or fees to homeowners based on parcel square footage, road frontage or building size, among other possible criteria.

Last week, a coalition of more than 60 groups called Keep It Local announced the organization will oppose the ballot measure because it would force undue hardships on local governments and threaten funding for emergency services, schools and local senior programs.

“Keep It Local has a lot of claims and basically it’s a campaign of fear,” Becker said. “It’s unfounded.”

Becker said emergency services are not at risk and local budgets would be funded at 2024 levels if the measure passes in November.

“I think we know as every year goes by stuff costs more money,” said Chad Oban, chair of the Keep It Local coalition. “I know he says, ‘don’t worry, everything will be fine,’ but we have to base these decisions on reality and what our communities are facing in terms of making sure our schools are strong and our streets are safe.”

Becker said the measure’s sponsoring committee plans to transform into an advocacy group to tell voters what the reforms would do and why they are necessary to address what they say has been a lingering issue for property owners for more than a decade.

Adam Mathiak, senior fiscal analyst for the Legislative Council, said the measure would cost the state about $1.3 billion every fiscal year in lost revenue.

Becker said the real dollar amount is likely less than that since the state is already allocating millions to programs that subsidize property taxes, if the resident meets the program criteria.

This year, about 138,000 North Dakota households signed up to receive up to $500 off their property tax bill through a new program administered by the Office of the State Tax Commissioner. 

The Secretary of State’s Office has 35 days to verify the submitted signatures for the ballot initiative and is expected to announce the results no later than Aug. 2. 

If the office verifies the necessary signatures, it would join three legislative ballot measures already slated for November.

One measure would remove some outdated language about state institutions; another would make some changes to how citizen-initiated measures get on the ballot; and a third would make changes to how Legacy Fund money can be spent.

Ballot measure petitions are also being circulated involving recreational marijuana and changing how North Dakota elections are conducted. The signatures for those petitions must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office by midnight July 8 to be considered for the November general election.

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