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Proposed Constitutional Measure
Amendment to Prohibit Ad Valorem Taxation of Primary Residences
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of North Dakota:
Section 1. New Section to Article X
A new section is created and added to Article X of the Constitution of North Dakota to read:
Section __. Prohibition on Ad Valorem Taxation of Primary Residences.
- Beginning January 1 following adoption of this amendment, neither the State of North Dakota nor any political subdivision, including counties, cities, townships, school districts, park districts, fire districts, or any other taxing authority, may levy or collect any tax upon a person's primary residence that is calculated using the assessed, appraised, estimated, or market value of that residence.
- For purposes of this section, "primary residence" means the dwelling owned and occupied by a North Dakota resident as that person's principal place of residence and qualifying for any homestead classification or exemption established by law. The Legislative Assembly may establish reasonable standards to determine primary residence but may not narrow the definition in a manner that substantially impairs the protections of this section.
- Nothing in this section prohibits:
- (a) Special assessments imposed solely to finance specific local improvements that directly benefit the property;
- (b) Fees charged in exchange for a specific governmental service provided to the property owner;
- (c) Taxes imposed on income, sales, use, gross receipts, excise transactions, or other forms of taxation not based upon the assessed value of the primary residence;
- (d) Property taxes on real property that is not a primary residence, including commercial, industrial, agricultural, rental, vacation, or investment property.
- The Legislative Assembly may enact laws necessary to implement this section, provided those laws do not authorize taxation of a primary residence based upon its assessed, appraised, estimated, or market value.
- Any law, ordinance, regulation, or policy inconsistent with this section is void to the extent of the inconsistency.
- This section is self-executing.
Section 2. Effective Date
This amendment becomes effective on January 1 of the calendar year following its approval by the voters.
Suggested Ballot Title
Constitutional Measure
This measure would amend the North Dakota Constitution to prohibit state and local governments from imposing property taxes on an owner's primary residence based on the property's assessed or market value. The measure would continue to allow special assessments, user fees, and property taxes on commercial, agricultural, rental, vacation, and other non-primary residential property.
Yes — A "Yes" vote prohibits property taxes based on assessed value for a taxpayer's primary residence.
No — A "No" vote retains the current property tax system.
One additional improvement you may want to consider is adding a requirement that
any replacement revenue for local governments come from state general fund revenues rather than authorizing new local taxes. That would make the amendment much harder to circumvent by simply replacing property taxes with another local tax.