Idaho Legislature: Ask Legislators to VOTE YES on H0369 - Taxing districts, tax increases (posted 03/07/25)

• Bill: legislature.idaho.gov/s…

• Contact Legislators (linked below):

(Check the linked page or use My Bill Tracker for the bill’s current status.)

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H0369 requires taxing districts (local government entities that collect property taxes) to follow specific procedures before increasing their property tax revenue beyond the previous year's budget. The bill increases transparency and gives property owners more information and input about potential property tax increases.

For taxing districts proposing budgets over $1 million:

• Must publish a detailed public notice in a local newspaper and mail a personalized notice to each property owner.

• Notice must clearly outline the proposed tax increase, showing how much additional tax would be paid per $100,000 of property value for different property types (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and operating property).

• Must hold a public hearing after 6:00 PM, explaining reasons for the proposed tax increase and providing an opportunity for public comment.

• Hearing must be the sole agenda item and cannot conflict with other local government hearings.

• County commissioners cannot approve their proposed tax rate increase if they fail to comply with the above requirements.

Smaller budgets are exempt from these requirements and some other exceptions exist. Frankly, these notifications and meetings should apply to ALL taxing districts regardless of budget. For example, what’s to stop a taxing district from bypassing the requirements by finagling a budget of $999,999.99? It’s not to much to ask that taxing districts inform and justify their rate increases before they proceed to take more money from property owners!