Article IX
Sec. 3: The legislature shall provide for the uniform general ad valorem taxation of real and tangible personal property not exempt by law. The legislature shall provide for the determination of true cash value of such property; the proportion of true cash value at which such property shall be uniformly assessed, which shall not, after January 1, 1966, exceed 50 percent; and for a system of equalization of assessments. However, beginning December 31, 1992, the legislature shall provide that the state equalized valuation of each parcel of homestead property, as defined by law, adjusted for additions and losses, as defined by law, shall not increase each year by more than the increase in the general price level, as defined in section 33 of this article, in the prior year or 5%, whichever is less, unless the homestead property is sold. The legislature may provide for alternative means of taxation of designated real and tangible personal property in lieu of general ad valorem taxation. Every tax other than the general ad valorem property tax shall be uniform upon the class or classes on which it operates.
Sec. 31: Units of Local Government are hereby prohibited from levying any tax not authorized by law or charter when this section is ratified or from increasing the rate of an existing tax above that rate authorized by law or charter when this section is ratified, without the approval of a majority of the qualified electors of that unit of Local Government voting thereon. If the definition of the base of an existing tax is broadened, the maximum authorized rate of taxation on the new base in each unit of Local Government shall be reduced to yield the same estimated gross revenue as on the prior base. If the assessed valuation of property as finally equalized, excluding the value of new construction and improvements, increases by a larger percentage than the increase in the General Price Level from the previous year, the maximum authorized rate applied thereto in each unit of Local Government shall be reduced to yield the same gross revenue from existing property, adjusted for changes in the General Price Level, as could have been collected at the existing authorized rate on the prior assessed value. However, the increase in the General Price Level used for the calculation of the maximum authorized rate for 1993 shall be the combined increase in the General Price Level in 1991 and 1992. Beginning with ad valorem property taxes levied in 1993, in determining the maximum authorized rate required by this section as a result of the increased assessed valuation of property, one calculation shall be made for and applied to property classified as residential and agricultural and one calculation shall be made for and applied to the remaining classifications of property.
The limitations of this section shall not apply to taxes imposed for the payment of principal and interest on bonds or other evidence of indebtedness or for the payment of assessments on contract obligations in anticipation of which bonds are issued which were authorized prior to the effective date of this amendment.
