Bill
HB 1631
HB 1631 shifts boat and floating dock assessments to the county where stored (e.g., marina or lift) if the boat is not regularly transported to the owner's home county.
Status (as provided)
- Bill to repeal and reenact Mo. Rev. Stat. § 137.090 (as introduced in the Second Regular Session, House Bill No. 1631).
- Primary substantive change: clarifies where certain tangible personal property (notably floating boat docks and boats) must be assessed for property tax purposes.
Purpose / Intent
- To revise the county-of-assessment rules for certain watercraft and associated property so that some boats and floating boat docks are taxed in the county where they are located (e.g., marinas or lifts) rather than in the owner’s county of residence. The change aims to align assessment location with where the property is physically kept and to remove ambiguity about treatment of boats and floating docks.
Key provisions (what the bill changes)
- Repeals and reenacts Mo. Rev. Stat. § 137.090 with these notable rules:
- General rule remains: tangible personal property located in a county other than the owner’s county of residence is assessed in the owner’s county of residence—except as otherwise specified.
- Items used for lodging (assessed in the county where located): houseboats, cabin cruisers, and manufactured homes.
- Floating boat docks: expressly assessed in the county where the dock is located.
- Boats: defined to include only “motorboats” and “vessels” as those terms are defined in § 306.010, and assessed in the county where the boat is located if BOTH:
- the boat is housed or stored outside the owner’s county of residence on a lift or in a marina; and
- the boat is not regularly transported to and from the owner’s county of residence.
- Other existing provisions retained or clarified (e.g., tangible property of estates assessed where probate court has jurisdiction; farm equipment exemptions; prohibition on simultaneous assessment in more than one county).
- Technical repeal/replacement language and conforming edits to the section.
Who would be affected
- Boat owners: owners who store boats at marinas or lifts outside their home county and do not regularly transport them could see their boat assessments (and thus taxes) moved to the county where the boat is stored.
- Marina operators and local governments: counties and municipalities that host marinas or large numbers of stored boats could see increases in assessed tangible personal property and associated tax revenue; home counties could lose some base.
- County assessors and tax collectors: will need to apply the new location rules, identify qualifying boats, and coordinate on assessment jurisdiction.
- Taxpayers generally: potential changes in tax bills depending on where the boat is assessed and local levy rates.
Potential fiscal and administrative impacts
- Revenue shifts between counties: counties with marinas/lifts may gain assessment base; owner-residence counties may lose base.
- Administrative burden: assessors must implement rules to determine whether boats are “housed or stored” in another county and whether they are “regularly transported” to the owner’s county — may require new reporting or verification processes.
- Avoids double-assessment (statutory language prohibits simultaneous assessment in more than one county).
Procedural / timeline notes
- The bill repeals and reenacts § 137.090 (i.e., a direct statutory substitution).
- As introduced, it would be applied through the usual property assessment cycles after enactment; the statutory text does not specify an effective date in the provided excerpt.
If you want, I can:
- Draft a short explainer for boat owners describing how to determine whether this rule would move their assessment.
- Produce suggested language to clarify “regularly transported” to reduce administrative disputes.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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