Bill Description: House Bill 317 would allow county voters to impose an extremely high excise tax on large commercial wind turbines, effectively killing such projects. 

Rating: -2

Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?

House Bill 317 is ostensibly a bill to impose taxes. In reality, it is a bill to allow a majority of voters in a county to kill a commercial endeavor by imposing taxes on the project that make it impractical. 

The bill would create Chapter 46, Title 63, Idaho Code, to require that "as soon as practical after receiving notice that a proposal to install any commercial wind turbine within the boundaries of a county, the board of county commissioners of such county shall prepare, approve, and submit a ballot question to the qualified electors of the county where such commercial wind turbine is proposed to be constructed or installed seeking whether such electors approve of the proposal to install the commercial wind turbines."

If the voters disapprove of the proposal, the law says the county "shall" impose an excise tax of $25,000 per foot on any commercial wind turbine with a height exceeding 100 feet. (This would make the minimum excise tax $2.5 million.) 

There are many reasons why people oppose wind farms (and the government subsidies that sometimes incentivize them). But it is unjust to use a ruinous tax as a means to effectively give a simple majority of voters veto power over private companies and private property owners. 

(-1)

Does it violate the principle of equal protection under the law? Examples include laws that discriminate or differentiate based on age, gender, or religion or which apply laws, regulations, rules, or penalties differently based on such characteristics. Conversely, does it restore or protect the principle of equal protection under the law?

House Bill 317 doubles down on injustice by saying, "The excise tax pursuant to this section shall not be imposed on any commercial wind turbine owned or operated by the United States government, the state of Idaho, any other government entity in the state of Idaho, or an Idaho Indian tribe identified in section 67-4001, Idaho Code."

This is logically backward. Voters are effectively given the power to shut down private wind generation projects but denied that same ability for projects operated by government. If anything, it should be the other way around.

(-1)