In a surprising end-of-session plot twist, Gov. Brad Little has vetoed a property tax relief bill that passed the Legislature only last week.
The complicated House Bill 292 carried far-reaching implications for schools. It would have directed $100 million to schools to use for property tax relief — such as paying down bonds and levies.
However, HB 292 also would have eliminated the standalone March school elections, and the date school districts most often use to run bond issues and levies. Less than two weeks ago, schools across Idaho sought $1 billion in ballot measures, although most big-ticket requests failed.
The March election factored heavily into the governor’s veto.
“House Bill 292 removes the very election most used by school districts that rely on supplemental levies to keep up with record growth and maintain schools for Idaho families, thereby removing local control,” Little said in a veto message, delivered Monday. “I do not find it reasonable to permanently eliminate an election date that has become important to so many families and local schools.”
The March school election wasn’t the only reason for the governor’s veto. State officials say HB 292 would have put $400 million in transportation projects on hold, since the state would no longer be able to use sales tax monies as a bonding tool.
The veto sets up an immediate political showdown, as the 2023 Legislature returns for its 12th and perhaps final week in session.
HB 292 passed both houses with bipartisan and veto-proof support — 63-7 in the House, and 32-3 in the Senate.
Republicans will caucus Tuesday, when the House comes back into session, said House Speaker Mike Moyle, a co-sponsor of HB 292. But Moyle said he expects the House to try to override Little’s veto.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll want to,” Moyle told Idaho Education News Monday afternoon.
While Little urged the Legislature to start over — saying, in his veto message, “Let’s get property tax done right this session” — any rewrite would almost certainly delay the adjournment of the 2023 legislative session.
And any negotiations would take place while lawmakers work through several other unresolved issues. None of the K-12 budget bills have passed the House or the Senate. And the House still has to take up a bill to implement one of Little’s top legislative priorities — “Idaho Launch,” a proposal to provide incentives for high school graduates looking to attend community college or pursue workforce training.
It’s not immediately clear how the veto — and any late-session negotiations on property tax relief — would affect the fate of any other bills still sitting on the Legislature’s docket.
“I think all of them get impacted now,” Moyle said. “I think that you will have a bunch of people that are upset that worked hard on (HB 292).”
Reactions — and the education implications
Education groups were quick to applaud Little’s veto — and specifically his move to preserve the March election date. And they urged lawmakers to rework HB 292 and provide the property tax relief the bill had promised.
“Public school districts rely on supplemental levies to maintain their operations and losing this March date creates issues with budgeting for the next school year,” Idaho Association of School Administrators Executive Director Andrew Grover said. “Removal of the March date in this legislation was not a necessary component of property tax relief in HB 292.”
“We urge the House and Senate to sustain the veto and work together quickly to bring a bill back that keeps the March election date intact and eases the other concerns related to transportation funding,” the Idaho School Boards Association said in a statement.
“Providing property tax relief and maintaining — or even expanding — school district funding tools are not mutually exclusive concepts,” Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly said. “IEA members encourage the Idaho Legislature to pass property tax relief that does not undermine the ability of local communities to support their public schools.”
“School districts across Idaho rely on this date to pass supplemental levies that provide crucial operating funds to make up for the funding they don’t receive from the Legislature,” Idaho Business for Education President Rod Gramer said.
But on Monday, Moyle said removing the March election was an important component of HB 292.
“How can school districts honestly look at their patrons and ask for running a supplemental (levy) in March when they don’t even know what the Legislature’s going to give them?” he said. “That’s not even honest. … It’s gaming the system.”
Audio: House Speaker Mike Moyle reacts to Monday’s veto.
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Get caught up on late-session education news — from budgets to dinosaurs.
Is the end near? With lawmakers hoping to adjourn the 2023 legislative session by the end of the week, several education issues remain on the to-do list.
The program, one of Gov. Brad Little’s top education priorities, would allow high school graduates to receive up to $8,000 to attend community college, pursue a career-technical education certificate or complete workforce training.
Sponsors pulled the $12 million-a-year pilot bill from the House Education Committee’s agenda. The abrupt move could also bring the Legislature’s protracted debate over school choice to a grinding halt.
The tradeoff for schools: Give up one of your four election dates — a crucial one — in exchange for $100 million. And the possibility of more money down the road, but there are no guarantees.
March 28, 2023 at 02:20AM
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Little vetoes property tax overhaul, setting up potential political showdown - Idaho EdNews
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