Bill Description: House Bill 304 would authorize two annual $50 million transfers from the tax relief fund. One would go to the School District Facilities Fund and the other would go to the Homeowner Property Tax Relief account.

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NOTE: House Bill 304 is related to House Bill 74, introduced earlier this session. House Bill 74 includes a one-time transfer of $50 million from the bond levy equalization fund to the homeowner property tax relief account. House Bill 304 replaces this with an ongoing $50 million transfer from the tax relief fund to the homeowner property tax relief account.

Does it directly or indirectly create or increase any taxes, fees, or other assessments? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce any taxes, fees, or other assessments?

House Bill 304 would amend Section 57-811, Idaho Code, to authorize two annual $50 million transfers from the tax relief fund. One of these would be to the homeowner property tax relief account "established pursuant to section 63-724, Idaho Code."

The second transfer would be to the School District Facilities Fund "established pursuant to section 33-911, Idaho Code." This would supplement the annual transfer of 20% of each year’s distributions to the tax relief fund to the School District Facilities Fund.

The purpose of the facilities fund is to offset local property taxes by providing another source of revenue for school districts. But House Bill 292 from 2023, which created this fund, does not require any spending cuts and allows districts to continue passing new bonds and levies, which further increase property taxes.

While these transfers may provide some property tax relief, they do so by subsidizing local government spending, not by reducing it or limiting its growth.

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