Alaska 34th Alaska State Legislature Status: In Committee 1 R cosponsors

SB 259 — An Act relating to an optional municipal limit to increases of the full and true value of property owned and occupied as a permanent place of abode by a resident.

Last action — (S) Heard & Held

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 23, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

21 added · 28 removed

Plain-language change summary

The revised version of Senate Bill 259 specifies that property must be owned and occupied as a permanent residence for at least 185 days each year to qualify for a tax benefit, shifting from the previous requirement based simply on occupancy as housing. The minimum percentage for local property tax assessments has also increased from 3% to 5%. Additionally, the new bill removes a provision that required property assessments to be updated every ten years, thus simplifying the assessment process. These changes aim to clarify guidelines for property taxation and ensure that benefits are aimed at true residents rather than temporary occupants.

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34-LS1249\L CS FOR SENATE BILL NO.
34-LS1249\G SENATE BILL NO.
259(CRA) IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION BY THE SENATE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Referred:
259 IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION BY SENATOR BJORKMAN Introduced:
Labor & Commerce, Finance Sponsor(s):
2/23/26 Referred:
SENATOR BJORKMAN A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED "An Act relating to an optional municipal limit to increases of the full and true value of property occupied as housing." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
Community and Regional Affairs, Labor and Commerce, Finance A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED "An Act relating to an optional municipal limit to increases of the full and true value of property owned and occupied as a permanent place of abode by a resident." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
The percentage amount may not be less than three percent nor more than 10 percent.
The percentage amount may not be less than five percent.
Notwithstanding (a) of this section or standards adopted by the department under (e) of this section, the full and true value of a property assessed under an ordinance adopted under this subsection is equal to the assessed value.
The state may not penalize a municipality for adopting an ordinance under this subsection.
SB0259B -1- CSSB 259(CRA) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS1249\L (2) must require that the real property is occupied as housing;
(2) must require that the real property is owned and occupied as a permanent place of abode by a resident who occupies the real property for 185 or more days during a calendar year;
(3) must allow the assessor to increase the assessed value of the property if the property is improved or ownership of the real property is transferred to the estimated price that the property would bring in an open market and under prevailing market conditions in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer both conversant with the property and with prevailing general price levels;
and (3) must allow the assessor to increase the assessed value of the SB0259A -1- SB 259 New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS1249\G property if the property is improved or ownership of the real property is transferred to the estimated price that the property would bring in an open market and under prevailing market conditions in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer both conversant with the property and with prevailing general price levels.
and (4) must require the assessor to increase the assessed value of the property every 10 years to the estimated price that the property would bring in an open market and under prevailing market conditions in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer both conversant with the property and with prevailing general price levels.
SB 259 -2- SB0259A New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
CSSB 259(CRA) -2- SB0259B New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
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Action History

  1. (S) Heard & Held

  2. (S) FINANCE at 09:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532

  3. (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  4. (S) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER L&C

  5. (S) FN2: INDETERMINATE(CED)

  6. (S) AM: DUNBAR, YUNDT

  7. (S) NR: MERRICK, GRAY-JACKSON

  8. (S) DP: BJORKMAN

  9. (S) L&C RPT CS 1DP 2NR 2AM NEW TITLE

  10. (S) Moved CSSB 259(L&C) Out of Committee

  11. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  12. (S) Heard & Held

  13. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  14. (S) Heard & Held -- Please Note Time Change --

  15. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  16. (S) FN1: ZERO(CED)

  17. (S) DP: DUNBAR

  18. (S) NR: MERRICK, GRAY-JACKSON, YUNDT

  19. (S) CRA RPT CS 3NR 1DP NEW TITLE

  20. (S) L&C WAIVED PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE,RULE 23

  21. (S) Moved CSSB 259(CRA) Out of Committee

  22. (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  23. (S) Heard & Held

  24. (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  25. (S) Heard & Held

  26. (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  27. (S) CRA, L&C

  28. (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 64 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (64)

64 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 64 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

taxation housing
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 259?
SB 259 is sponsored by Jesse Bjorkman (R).
What is the current status of SB 259?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 23, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 259?
Track SB 259 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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