ST. LOUIS COUNTY—The Missouri House has passed a bill that aims to give more clarity to a 2023 law that allows counties to pass freezes on property taxes for certain senior citizens, but still leaves ambiguity for local communities if approved by the Senate and signed by the governor.

Last year, lawmakers passed legislation that allowed county governments and the city of St. Louis pass their own bills which grant a real property tax credit to homeowners who were eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. 

Since the bill became law last August, the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County have passed their own versions. St. Louis County’s implementation is on hold due to budget issues. Measures in the city of St. Louis and St. Charles County would trigger the freeze for homeowners 62 and older, while St. Louis County’s starts at age 67.

House Bill 2432, which passed out of the Missouri House on Wednesday, sets the age at 62.

"This is an important move to ensure that our seniors receive the support they need to thrive in our communities. We are putting it in the peoples’ hands by providing clarity and simplifying the eligibility criteria for property tax credits, we are empowering our elderly population to age with dignity and financial security," said State Rep. Wendy Hausman, R-St. Peters. 

According to the bill’s language, “The county governing body may adopt reasonable procedures in order to carry out the purposes  and intent of this section, provided that the county shall not adopt any procedure that limits the definition or scope of "eligible credit amount" or "eligible taxpayer" as defined under this section.”

What that means is that tweaks written into some of the local measures could still potentially run afoul of state law.

St. Louis and St. Louis County each put restrictions on the assessed valuations of homes that would qualify, while the city also said properties getting tax abatement or tax-increment financing would be ineligible.

There would still appear to be questions about which property taxes apply to the credit, and whether one taxing body, in this case the city of St. Louis or a county government, has the legal authority to regulate property taxes collected by another taxing body like a school district or fire protection district.

The House bill was first read in the Senate Wednesday. The General Assembly ends May 17.