From the Executive Director: Week of March 9, 2020
First of all, brace yourselves for a flurry of emails on Medicaid expansion and property tax caps. Over the next week, the House will consider 2-3 bills related to Medicaid expansion, including the role of counties in funding Medicaid expansion. There are two competing Medicaid expansion funding bills. The first bill, House Bill 600 directs …
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What to Watch: Week of March 9, 2020
IAC Priority Legislation On Thursday, March 6, Senate Bill 1339 (Clerk on Magistrate Commission) passed out of the House Judiciary and Rules Committee with a due pass recommendation. It is now on the 3rd reading calendar awaiting a final vote in the House. On Friday, March 7, House Bill 463 (Juvenile Pretrial Release) passed out …
From the Executive Director: Week of March 2, 2020
This past week, the House voted 46-23 to approve House Bill 409. The bill now advances to the Senate where members of the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee are negotiating amendments to replace the freeze language with a temporary cap in local government property tax budget increases. While no deal has been reached, there …
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From the Executive Director: Week of February 22, 2020
As we enter the home stretch of the 2020 Legislative Session, two issues remain unresolved for counties: how to fund Medicaid expansion and how to provide property tax relief. I’m personally meeting with members of the House and Senate on both issues as stakeholders strive to find a path forward that addresses legislative concerns while …
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From the Executive Director: Week of February 17, 2020
As most of you are no doubt aware, property taxes dominated the legislative calendar last week. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee held a three-day hearing to consider House Bill 409 (property tax freeze). During the hearing, the committee heard testimony from taxpayers primarily from Ada and Canyon Counties supporting H0409 and city, county, and …
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Update on Policy Legislation – Week of February 17, 2020
We had some opportunities this year to move additional legislation that made it on the policy list. Senate Bill 1269, which is meant to clarify standards regarding the security of ballots between election day and the time period for a re-count, has passed the Senate and is making its way to the House. Legislation to …
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Update on Priority Legislation – Week of February 17, 2020
The past week has been a busy one for our priority legislation. The Public Defense Pilot Project legislation (House Bill 429) had a hearing in the House Judiciary and Rules Committee yesterday afternoon. There was a robust discussion led by our bill sponsor Chairman Chaney. The committee is set up a bit differently this year, so …
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From the Executive Director: Week of February 10
I want to thank those of you who took the time to travel to Boise last week and attend IAC’s annual Midwinter Legislative Conference. During the course of the week we heard from Governor Little, legislative leadership, and legislators chairing committees germane to county government. I hope each of you were able to have meaningful …
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From the Executive Director: Week of January 27, 2020
As legislative committees in the House and Senate wind down the annual rules review process, the pace of the Legislative Session is about to pick up. IAC expects to introduce five legislative proposals this week, three related to elections in Senate State Affairs, and two in the Senate Judiciary Committee, one related to courts fees …
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From the Executive Director: Week of January 20, 2020
As we enter the 3rd week of the 2020 Legislative Session, one thing is on most legislators’ minds: how to provide meaningful property tax relief to constituents. There are dozens of ideas floating around the Capitol ranging from eliminating new construction to instituting a one year freeze on the property tax portion of non-school taxing …
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