Southern Utah flood victims, as well as others who suffer significant property loss because of natural disasters, could get an immediate break on their property taxes.

HB324 would allow for a lowered property value in the case of a natural disaster, something that sponsoring Rep. Brad Last, R-St. George, hopes would assist both property owners and taxing entities. The bill passed the House Revenue and Taxation Committee unanimously Thursday.

Currently, properties are assessed as of Jan. 1 each year, meaning that even if significant property loss happens during that calender year, the owner would still owe property taxes based on the property's full, pre-disaster value. In the case of Washington County, that could mean dozens of homeowners who lost property in the floods, which started Jan. 11, would still owe taxes on property that is almost destroyed, Last said.

The bill would help cities and counties by helping prevent a significant lowering of expected tax revenue because the county board of equalization lowers a large number of assessments. The Board of Equalization is the group to which property owners can appeal assessments.

"This would help a lot of communities deal with a variety of situations," Last said. "This helps municipalities and individuals in times of disaster."

Utah Tax Commissioner Bruce Johnson said that this will clarify something that most county boards of equalization already do out of sympathy. However, because it is not required in law, it can be applied differently from county to county.

"Typically, the commissioners will give the relief in times of disaster, but not all do, and none of them are required to do it," Johnson said. "With this bill, it simply stipulates that the relief is all right."

Rep. Gordon Snow, R-Roosevelt, was concerned that the law would create a situation where hundreds of people are applying for the lowered assessment every year for more minor natural problems, such as a rising water table that floods basements. Although he eventually supported the bill, he warned that it could have unintended consequences.

"What seemed to be a pretty simple bill has some pretty far-reaching implications," he said.

Washington County Assessor Arthur Partridge said that this would be a benefit to residents along the Santa Clara and Virgin rivers, where people who once had "river-view lots now have river-bottom lots." Primarily, it would only be used for major disasters and lower property values to a level that would most likely happen in the next year anyway.

"In many cases, there is a long-term loss of value," he said. "We're trying to help that in the year it happened, not just in subsequent years."

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com