From the Executive Director: Week of January 11, 2021
Monday marked the start of the 2021 Idaho Legislative Session. This Session will be remembered long into the future. As the Legislature convenes to advance legislation impacting counties, IAC will be your voice at the Capitol. Each week you will receive the IAC Legislative Bulletin in your inbox. The Bulletin includes featured articles about legislation …
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What to Watch: Week of January 11, 2021
Generally, the first weeks of the session build slowly. Legislative committees begin the under the radar process of reviewing administrative rules, appropriators question state agencies on budget needs, legislators introduce personal bills that will never be heard in committee. This year will look and feel differently. Beginning this week, members of the House and Senate …
Local and State Election Analysis
While most of America was glued to national elections news this past week, IAC has been tracking local and state election results in the Gem State. Both at the county and state level, turnover will be less than usual come January. At the county level, there will be 20 new county commissioners in 17 counties. …
Property Tax Study Committee Update
The Idaho Legislature’s Property Tax and Revenue Expenditure Subcommittee met on September 18th in Boise to explore ways to reduce property taxes without shifting who pays property taxes. The Study Committee listened to presentations from the Farm Bureau, Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Association of Idaho Cities, and IAC. Among the …
Idaho’s Truth in Taxation Experiment
Since the late 1970’s Idaho has experimented with various property tax budget caps, including truth in taxation. The Idaho Legislature established Idaho’s version of truth in taxation in 1993. The law was in place for two years before being replaced by the current 3% cap on annual property tax budget increases. Under Idaho’s version of …
Idaho Legislature Grants Limited Coronavirus Liability to Counties
During the recently completed special session, the Idaho Legislature adopted temporary legislation extending immunity to businesses, churches, cities, counties, and schools from claims associated with the transmission of coronavirus. The immunity is temporary because it sunsets (expires) on July 1, 2021. Over the course of two days, five different immunity bills were introduced. While each …
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State of Idaho Updates FY2021 Revenue Outlook
This past week during IAC’s biweekly conference call with Governor Little, Alex Adams, Director of the Division of Financial Management, announced that the state of Idaho was revising its revenue forecast for the current fiscal year. Unemployment is currently hovering around 5.6% and consumer spending has rebounded since April lows. Given these important indicators, the …
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Legislative Working Groups Recommend Special Legislative Session
It has been a busy few weeks for interim legislative committees and working groups. Joint Education, Judiciary and Rules, and State Affairs committees have met to explore the potential of a special legislative session. Among the topics covered include liability protections for both private businesses and governmental entities, the November general election, the jurisdiction of …
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Property Tax and Revenue Outlook Study Committee Meeting Recap
On Friday, the Property Tax and Revenue Outlook Study Committee held its first meeting in Boise. Transparency in local government budgeting was the primary focus of the first meeting. Committee members heard presentations from staff from Legislative Services Office and the State Controller’s Office who discussed various reporting requirements for local governments, difficulty in comparing …
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CARES Act CRF Update
Last week county officials participated in two separate conference calls with staff from the Governor’s Office to discuss questions related to implementation of the Governor’s proposal to leverage Coronavirus Relief Funds to cover payroll expenses for public safety and public health personnel (known as the Idaho Local Public Safety Initiative). Due to questions raised by IAC …