Idaho House overrides Gov. Little’s property tax veto
BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —Idaho House members are rejecting Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s veto of property tax legislation, with two-thirds voting in support of House Bill 292 (HB292) on Tuesday.
When Little issued the veto Monday, he called the legislation a “hodgepodge of policy items intermingled with property tax relief.”
According to the legislation, it provides immediate and long-term property tax relief to all property taxpayers in Idaho. The bill’s first year will provide up to $355 million in property tax relief. In the second and third years, approximately $110 million will be used to reduce property taxes for owner-occupied taxpayers; roughly $100 million will be used to reduce property taxes for all property taxpayers; and another approximate $100 million will be distributed to school districts on an average daily attendance basis.
However, in his statement Monday, Litlle said the legislation “handcuffs local schools and limits their ability to provide quality public education for Idaho families.”
According to HB292, school districts will be required to use funds:
- payment of school bonds
- payment of school levies
- saved for future school facility construction needs
- used for new bonds
Critics like the Idaho Education Association highlighted that the legislation eliminates the March school elections. The date school districts most often use to run bond issues and levies.
“I just ask you to look at what the world looks like for our schools five to ten years from now when we hit a big economic downturn, and we don’t have the type of general fund revenue that we have today,” Rep. Lauren Necochea.
But-the majority in the House argued that the bill is good legislation that gives Idahoans much-needed tax relief.
“If there is a question on why March is not a good date, again, it’s because of low voter turnout. Is it fair to have just a few people decide what’s going to happen with your property taxes?” Rep Barbara Ehardt said.
Additionally, on Tuesday, the House passed a companion bill to HB292. House Bill 376 clarifies the sales tax distributions found in HB292 to ensure further that $80,000,000 is distributed to the transportation expansion and congestion mitigation fund and any money over $80 million is distributed to local units of government for local highway projects. It also clarifies that these distributions take priority over certain other distributions.
In his criticism of HB292, Little said the bill “significantly impacts” local government sales tax distributions and transportation funding, jeopardizing bonding for critical infrastructure projects.
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