Democrats on the committee, including Senator Grant Burgoyne/(D-Boise) voted against sending the legislation to the Senate floor.

“The sponsor said during his initial presentation of the bill, ‘A freeze doesn’t mean your taxes are gonna go down. They could go down, they could go up.’ The legislation does not cut property taxes, it freezes the property tax portion of a budget that a local government can take.” Sen. Burgoyne said. “Your property assessment will undoubtedly increase, and so will your property taxes.”

“Legislators from both parties have given multiple pieces of legislation to the House Revenue and Tax committee that would tangibly decrease property tax bills for Idaho homeowners. However, these bills have not been heard. Idahoans are scraping together every dollar to pay their property taxes, and many are being forced to leave the neighborhoods that they have lived in for most of their lives. Idahoans need property tax relief, or all of our homeowners will be out of state investors who can afford our outrageous property taxes.”

“The only legislation that has so far been allowed to get a hearing would increase property taxes. The legislature is doing Idaho citizens a disservice by refusing to provide property tax relief. We need to be compassionate and make our property taxes more fair and equitable so that Idaho homeowners can keep their homes.”

“HB409 will not solve Idaho’s property tax problem. In fact, your property taxes will continue to increase because property tax assessments will continue to increase.” Representative Lauren Necochea/(D-Boise) explained. “Democrats are committed to correcting the dramatic property tax shift to homeowners. Serious conversations about property tax reform need to include updating the homeowner’s exemption, expanding our property tax assistance program (known as the circuit-breaker), and impact fees that will allow growth to pay for growth. I am not supporting this bill on the floor because it will not decrease property taxes and it is not a meaningful solution.”

“After a conversation on the floor about the merits of this legislation, we are hopeful that Republicans will be interested in talking about real solutions to property tax. The legislature needs to take a hard look at the property tax laws that are shifting the load to average Idahoans and giving breaks to corporations.”