On Friday, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge issued a final judgment freeing Pima County from nearly $16 million in tax liabilities.
Judge Christopher Whitten had already issued a court record with the same finding, but the final judgment starts a 30-day countdown for appeal from the state, according to state appeals court rules.
On Monday an Arizona Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman said no appeal has been filed yet.
The case centers around a 2015 bill that changed the way the state compensates homeowners when their primary property tax bills exceed 1 percent of the property’s full cash value.
Previously, the state covered all of those costs, but the legislation shifted much of that burden to local taxing districts.
In March 2016, the state Property Tax Oversight Commission, which was given the power to determine which entities are responsible for covering the costs, decided that Pima County was on the hook for the entirety of a $15.8 million bill, most of it due to Tucson Unified School District.
Whitten found the Legislature had “impermissibly (delegated) the legislative power of taxation” to the tax commission, according to the text of the ruling.
The ruling did not award attorneys’ fees to the county, which Pima County is seeking, though Whitten wrote that he is still considering that claim.
After Whitten’s official record was released in late May, the board of supervisors approved a tentative budget with a primary tax rate 20 cents lower than that originally submitted by County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.
Proceeds from that portion of the primary property tax were intended to cover the $16 million liability, but Huckelberry told the board they were likely no longer necessary in light of Whitten’s decision.
If the state appeals the ruling, Huckelberry said the case could drag on for a while, during which time it is unlikely the Legislature would try to pass a bill similar to the one Whitten deemed unconstitutional.
“It is unlikely there will be adverse tax consequences for Pima County for another year and a half to two years,” he said.
