Lawmakers Grapple With Impact Fee Proposals New Bill Denies Tax Exemption For Two Years To Pay For New Schools

Three of the four legislators who voted to kill impact fee legislation this week say they’d favor the fees if they included schools.

And one of them, Sen. Stan Hawkins, R-Ucon, has drafted a new bill that some North Idaho officials say they’ll support.

“We’re just in a mess - growth isn’t paying for growth,” Hawkins said Thursday. “We’ve got to do something for schools.”

Hawkins’ legislation would approach the problem in a simpler way than the complex development impact fee legislation: it would deny a homeowner’s exemption for the first two years to a newly built home.

Idaho’s homeowner exemption from property taxes is significant: 50 percent of the value of a house, up to a $50,000 maximum. That can cut a homeowner’s taxes almost in half.

Hawkins says the beauty of his approach is that without complex studies or rules, it would provide extra money to all taxing districts - schools, cities, counties, highway districts, and more.

And the money would be tied to new construction.

“This would give us a solution to fix the problem,” said Kootenai County Commission Chairman Dick Compton. “I don’t think it’s perfect, but it’s better than nothing.”

“This bill he’s working on is at least a tool that would help the local areas,” said Coeur d’Alene Mayor Al Hassell. “It’s not the cure-all. But it’s a tool.”

Sen. Atwell Parry, R-Melba, said, “I personally would like to see some impact fees.” But Parry, vice chairman of the committee, is wary. He’d like fees to be limited, and to benefit schools. And he doesn’t want longtime residents unfairly targeted.

Sen. Rex Furness, R-Rigby, said, “We’ve got to have impact fees that also bring schools into the legislation … That’s the big reason I haven’t supported ‘em.”

Furness said North Idaho residents shouldn’t assume that the committee is deaf to their pleas. “I have great empathy for you people up there. I’ve been wishing there was something we could do to help.”

Ron Rankin, president of the Idaho State Property Owners Association, endorsed the impact fee bill this year, but said Thursday he favors Hawkins’ proposal, too. “Everyone has to recognize that when new homes are built, they do impact all the existing services,” Rankin said.

Rankin endorsed impact fees only after backers inserted language preventing the fees from being added to the taxable value of the home. That’s not an issue with Hawkins’ proposal, he said.

Sen. Jerry Thorne, R-Nampa, the committee chairman, is reserving judgment on Hawkins’ proposal. Thorne opposes impact fees on principle.

Thorne said he doesn’t like the idea of a longtime Idaho resident having to pay a fee just because he moves into a new house. “The impact is coming from people coming in from out of state to live in Idaho,” he said.

When it comes to dealing with the costs of growth, he said, “I really don’t have an answer. I don’t think the answer is impact fees.”

But, he said, “I’m just one vote.”

, DataTimes