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Democratic Debrief
Our “Idaho Minority Report'' has been renamed to the Democratic Debrief. The Democrats are ones working hard to deliver what the majority of Idahoans want, not the GOP politicians.
View the weekly Democratic Debrief here.
#IDLEG Update
 “More tax cuts for the rich” — said no voter ever
The House brought H332 directly to the floor with no opportunity for the public to testify, long past the deadline for new bills to be sent from one house of the legislature to the other. As is too often the case, poor process has lead to a poor outcome. The legislation slashes income tax rates with the benefits flowing overwhelmingly to those at the top of the income spectrum. It also provides a lopsided one-time tax rebate equivalent to 9% of a taxpayer’s state income tax due in 2019, or a floor of $50 per person.
Under the bill, a couple bringing in $1 million annually would receive more than $10,000; while a couple making $50,000 would receive only $113. The ongoing tax cut for the household earning $25,000 is only $13 a year.
This bill also threatens Idaho’s COVID-19 relief package. The American Rescue Plan Act allocates $1.2 billion for Idaho, but will likely be clawed back dollar-for-dollar if the state enacts this tax cut. H332, at a cost of $390 million, puts one-third of our relief dollars in jeopardy in this first year. Idaho could stand to lose more of those relief funds due to the out-year costs of the bill.
This tax cut is not what Idahoans have been asking for. Overwhelmingly, the people have been asking for property tax relief and investment in important governmental functions, such as education and infrastructure.
The bill has come to the Senate, but errors have been identified and the legislature is deciding how to deal with that. I hope we will have an opportunity for public testimony and a robust discussion.
 Bill to Control Local Gov't Fails - Whew!
This week the Senate finally considered S1108 from Sen Jim Rice of District 10, which was amended multiple times. This bill was purportedly aimed at addressing some part of the property tax puzzle, but it was a bandaid when we need a tourniquet. This bill would have only provided a $13 rebate for residents in Ada County. That is an insult when you consider how high our property taxes have risen in the past 5 years in District 19.
The number one concern I hear from my constituents is the need for property tax relief. The homeowner's exemption cap at $100,000 in a time of rising residential property values throughout much of the state has shifted much of the property tax burden onto residential property owners while commercial properties are bearing less of the burden. Additionally, counties, cities, school districts, and other taxing districts continue to provide necessary services to the people of Idaho, often without proper support from the state.
Unfortunately, S1108 did not address any of those issues. Instead it would have further constricted localities' ability to collect property taxes while failing to provide meaningful property tax relief to homeowners. The bill blocked new construction taxes which means that long time residents pay for growth, instead of growth paying for itself. Cities identified this bill as an obstacle to allowing further housing development which was particularly problematic in light of our current housing shortages in many parts of the state. After a lengthy and thorough debate on the Senate floor, the bill was voted down 17-18.
The Democrats have been trying to push bills forward to address the homeowners exemption and circuit breaker, but once again the majority continues to block these efforts. But we won't stop trying.
Public Land Grab Again
HCR008 is a resolution that would give $250,000 to the Federalism Committee to put a price tag on Idaho’s public lands. The stated goal of the resolution is to reform PILT, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program, which compensates counties with large percentages of public lands. Unfortunately, sending an invoice to the federal government telling them what we think Idaho should be compensated for is not an effective approach and holds no regulatory power. There are of course more effective -- and cost effective -- ways to go about PILT reform. For one, Senators Risch and Crapo are working on solutions to PILT reform right now. A federal solution in Congress would hold regulatory weight. Despite these concerns, Senate State Affairs passed the resolution on Monday. It’s now headed to the Senate floor. Since it’s already passed the House, if passed by the Senate, it will then head to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Aside from being a waste of money for an ineffective study, HCR008 feeds anti-public lands sentiment. You can learn more about HCR008 on the CVI blog here.
SB1136 - this bill would limit the Governor’s powers during declared emergencies while increasing the power of the Legislature. I voted against this bill last week in the Senate because it is clearly one more way the majority is trying to put a leash the Governor. The bill was heard in the House and placed on General Orders. I am hoping it fails there.
SB1183 - a new version of the 6-week abortion ban was introduced and will be heard on the Senate floor. It increases the penalty to a felony for health providers who offer abortion services. This also requires an intrusive TRANS-VAGINAL ultrasound. As a reminder, courts have struck down 20-week bans; most women don't even know they are pregnant until 5 or 6 weeks. In 2012 Sen Winder proposed a similar bill and women descended on the Statehouse and finally the bill died. If you are as concerned as I am by the constant attempts to infringe upon a woman’s right to make these decisions and the constant attack on the constitution, please call and email all the Senate.
 H126 - would amend Idaho’s list of controlled substances to allow hemp production. This bill passed the House and is in the Senate.
 H220 - seeking to halt all public funding, from all levels of government, to Planned Parenthood or any other entity that provides abortions or abortion counseling, or any person or entity affiliated with them, for any purpose. This passed the House and was referred to the Senate State Affairs committee. I hope after recess we will stop this terrible attacks and focus on our budget and helping Idahoans.
S1110 - makes the ballot initiative process nearly impossible by increasing the signature threshold to an unreachable amount so only big money special interest groups could get something on the ballot. This is one more power grab by our legislature. This passed the Senate and has been filed for the third reading in the House. Contact House members to share your concerns.
H216 - MEDICAID Expansion budget - this budget got approved in the Senate and the House and was officially signed by the governor on March 11th.
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