What to Watch: Week 9

Two IAC Priorities Will Soon be Up on the Senate Floor, Plus House Bill 842 Could Mean Big Changes to H0389.

Today, the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee had a bipartisan unanimous vote to support one of IAC’s priorities, House Bill 556. If passed, House Bill 556 would increase the reimbursement rate to counties for state inmates being held in county jails. The bill will now go to the Senate floor. We encourage our members (particularly County Commissioners and County Sheriffs) to let their senators know why House Bill 556 is needed and to urge their support. While the bill does not provide full reimbursement from the state, it will help reduce the amount of jail funding that county taxpayers subsidize, so we see it as a step in the right direction.

House Bill 620, another legislative priority for the IAC this legislative session, is expected to receive a vote on the Senate floor this week, as it is currently on the Senate 3rd Reading Calendar. If enacted, this bill would formally recognize a board of county commissioners (BOCC) as having specialized expertise. This recognition is vital because it would allow the BOCC to collaborate with federal agencies and participate in discussions early in the process.

The Speaker introduced House Bill 842 on Friday morning, which would make some changes to House Bill 389 (from the 2021 session). While it is being marketed as a fix to H0389, there are several critical concerns with the bill. Here’s what the bill would do:

• Eliminates preliminary levy rate & goes back to using the previous year’s levy rate.
• Allows cities with populations under 30,000 to increase their budget up to 15% instead of 8%, as well as EMS and Fire Districts that serve those cities.
• The bill does not allow any budget increases for Ambulance Districts or Fire Districts that do not serve a city with a population under 30,000.
• Allows taxing districts to recover up to 2 percent (an increase from 1 percent) of their reserved forgone for maintenance and operations if the forgone was reserved prior to 2026.
• Disallows any taxing districts from reserving any foregone starting in 2026. 
• Allows voters to place an initiative on the ballot after the city or county sets its budget to reduce the city or county’s base budget.
  • Running an initiative to alter a county budget has been found unconstitutional (Weldon v. Bonner County Tax Coalition).

While we do not know whether or not House Bill 842 will receive a full hearing, we wanted to ensure that it is on the radar of IAC members in case it receives any momentum. As always, please reach out to any IAC policy staff with questions, and keep an eye on your inbox for legislative alerts.