Vandenberg Fails To Revive Bill

Coeur d’Alene Democrat Marvin Vandenberg failed Wednesday to revive a bill stuck in committee that would have expanded the homeowner’s property tax exemption.

House members voted 57-11 to keep the bill in the Revenue and Taxation Committee after Vandenberg tried a rarely used parliamentary maneuver to wrest the bill out. The committee had voted to hold it, effectively killing the bill for the remainder of the session.

“They’re only interested in the governor’s plan,” Vandenberg said of his fellow representatives. “It’s just smoke and mirrors.”

Gov. Phil Batt’s plan for $40 million in property tax relief, which includes a 3 percent cap on local government budget increases, is advancing quickly. Tax committee members have opted to kill alternative property-tax relief bills in favor of the governor’s.

Vandenberg said expanding the homeowner’s exemption to include half the value of a residential lot, up to an acre, would have given homeowners more tax relief than the governor’s plan, which will give more relief to business.

“Businesses did not cast votes on Nov. 8 - homeowners did,” Vandenberg said.