The Senate narrowly killed S1108 in a 17-18 vote Thursday.
The GOP-sponsored legislation sought to cap local governments’ budgets in an effort to lower property taxes for residents. However, opponents of the bill, which included all seven Democrats, said it provided minimal relief at great expense to cities and counties, forcing cuts to vital services, such as police, paramedics and fire departments.
Sen. Michelle Stennett
Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, said under the legislation, residents in Ada County would’ve received a $13 reduction in property taxes.
“This bill would have reduced local government budgets and their ability to build more housing to address the housing crisis, rather than reduce residential property taxes.” Rabe said following the legislation’s defeat. “People have been asking us to address property tax fairness and the shift from commercial to residential that’s occurred over the last five years. Rather than addressing the root of the problem, this would have acted as a disincentive for our local governments to annex land and build more housing, making our housing prices even worse. If local governments can’t pay for essential services such as water, sewer, trash, police, and fire, they can’t build.”
Sen. Ali Rabe
Senate Democratic Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, said S1108 — drafted by Sen. Rice, R-Caldwell — was amended numerous times before the Thursday vote, but was still insufficient.
This session, Democrats in both the House and Senate have attempted to bring several bills to reduce property taxes for Idahoans, like re-indexing the homeowners exemption and increasing the circuit breaker, but all have been denied hearings.
“People want property tax relief. I experienced this personally when my building designed to provide workforce housing burned down this week. People are desperate for that kind of housing. I talked to the firefighters who told me, ‘I’m getting priced out. I can’t live here anymore,’” Stennett said. “People are in need, and we need to do a better job.”