Governor Dunleavy signed Senate Bill 179, sponsored by Senator Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, into law on Tuesday, August 13th. This legislation prohibits local governments from adding transfer taxes to the sale of houses and other real property, cuts property taxes for farmers, and improves the required assessor qualifications and property tax appeals process.
As introduced, SB 179 prohibits municipalities and the state from imposing transfer taxes, fees, or other assessments on the sale or transfer of real property. By eliminating the possibility of these additional costs, the bill seeks to make homeownership more affordable for all Alaskans, particularly benefiting young families, first-time homebuyers, and seniors on fixed incomes.
“This is a step forward in making homeownership more attainable for hard-working home buyers,” said Senator Bjorkman. “By prohibiting transfer taxes and fees on real estate transactions, we are ensuring that families, especially young and first-time homebuyers, are not burdened with additional costs. This legislation will help maintain equity in seniors’ homes and make the dream of homeownership more realistic for all Alaskans.
The language from Senate Bill 161, also sponsored by Senator Bjorkman, was included into SB 179 before it passed the Legislature. It aims to bolster food security by amending state laws to better support local farmers. The policy expands the mandatory farmland property tax break to include farm-related structures and updates the program requirements to streamline the application process. This bill includes recommendations from the Alaska Food Strategy Task Force 2023 Report.
“We rely too much on food production from outside, this legislation support our food-producing farmers here on the Kenai Peninsula and across Alaska so that we can help increase local food production,” said Senator Bjorkman. “This law will reduce fixed costs for new farmers and protect farmers’ financial privacy by using one IRS Form instead of having to submit all of their personal financial information.”
In addition, SB 179 extends the transparency and best practices that govern the Kenai Peninsula Borough assessment process to local governments across the state. They would be required to use qualified assessors, published assessment standards, and transparent and impartial procedures for the assessments.
“When we ensure property tax assessors are qualified and held to clear and transparent standards, property tax assessments will be more fair and Alaskans rights will be protected,” said Senator Bjorkman.