SB208

TabledTabled in committee···

require the award of certain disbursements to prevailing owners and taxpayers in appeals of property classifications or assessments.

Amber Hulse,Tim Goodwin

Senate Bill·Introduced Feb 2, 2026·Last action Mar 3, 2026

Judiciary & CourtsProperty Tax

Official Page

IntroducedIntro

In CommitteeCmte

Passed OriginPassed

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At GovernorGov

TabledTbld

This bill changes the rules for who pays attorney fees when property owners challenge their property assessments in court. If a property owner wins their case or reduces their assessment by at least 20%, the court must now award them attorney fees and court costs, whereas currently the court only has the option to do so. Additionally, the bill requires courts to award these fees to the county when property owners lose their appeals, replacing the current discretionary standard.

AI-generated summary

Property assessmentsBill would reform (relevance: 95%)Due process protectionsBill would strengthen (relevance: 70%)Court proceduresBill would reform (relevance: 60%)

Changes to Existing Law

2 sections affected79 words added22 words removed

View full diff

§ 10-11-45.1amended § 10-11-78amended

Amendments

Senate Judiciary committeeAmber Hulse208CAdopted

IntroducedEngrossed+695 −101

The amendment BROADENS the bill by expanding when courts must award attorney fees and disbursements to prevailing property owners—changing the trigger from simply "prevailing in the appeal" to include cases where owners achieve a reclassification or obtain an assessment reduction of at least twenty percent, and applies this same standard to both circuit court and Supreme Court proceedings. This shift STRENGTHENS protections for property owners by making fee awards more automatic in cases of partial success, not just complete victories.

Senate floorAmber Hulse208DAdopted

EngrossedEngrossed+1252 −233

The amendment **strengthens protections for property owners** by making it mandatory (rather than discretionary) for courts to award disbursements and attorney fees to owners who lose appeals, while also adding a new three-tier system at the Supreme Court level that awards fees based on the degree of assessment reduction achieved (20% or more triggers mandatory awards, less than 20% allows discretionary awards). Additionally, the amendment adds a safeguard preventing fee awards if the owner hindered the county's assessment process.

Other amendments