Bill Description: Senate Bill 1111 as amended in the House sets specifics for how district-based elections will occur in cities and consolidates city elections by requiring them to occur on the November election day in even-numbered years.

Rating: +1

Analyst Note: Senate Bill 1111 originally dealt only with setting specifics for how district-based elections will occur in cities, and it was not rated. A House Amendment inserted the majority of House Bill 319 into Senate Bill 1111. As House Bill 319 was originally rated, that rating now carries over.

Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

Senate Bill 1111 modifies several sections of Idaho Code to move city elections — including those for city officers, mayors, city bonds and levies, and city initiatives and referendums — to the November election day in even-numbered years.

There are several benefits of this change. The first (and most concrete) is that it saves money. A local government that consolidates its elections into fewer days spends less. .

The second benefit is that voter turnout has historically been higher in even-year elections; moving elections to fewer days will likely mean that certain electoral questions are decided by more voters. A third potential and related benefit is that higher turnout for bond and levy elections gives more taxpayers the ability to weigh in on efforts to increase their taxes. Ideally, all bond and levy elections — regardless of source — would be limited to the November election day in even-numbered years.

(+1)