4 Urban Renewal Bills OK’d, 2 Lose

The House is taking up a slew of anti-urban renewal bills today, and the first up is HB 99, sponsored by Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, to require a two-thirds countywide vote before any urban renewal agency could issue bonds. Hart said it’d treat urban renewal agencies like all other local governments by requiring a two-thirds vote for bonding. “There’s a perception that urban renewal somehow deals with free money,” Hart told the House. But Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, noted that the bill requires a countywide vote for a city urban renewal agency. “It’d take two-thirds of Boise to agree to Kuna’s urban renewal,” Smith told the House. “This is an onerous requirement …”/ Betsy Russell , Eye On Boise. More here .

• House kills first anti-urban renewal bill 49-20
• 2nd bill, requiring election for new URA, OK’d unanimously
• House passes URA opt-out legislative 43-27
• Urban renewal bill limiting projects passes 43-26
• Sims’ urban renewal bill for countywide vote dies 43-27

Question: Which of the 4 surviving urban renewal bills will face the toughest fight in the Senate?