Latest news with #HouseBill61
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia Senate panel advances ‘anti-squatters' legislation
A so-called "anti-squatters" bill will next go to the Senate Rules Committee, which determines which legislation will be heard in the chamber by April 4, the last day of this year's legislative session. Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder The Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee Monday passed the 'anti-squatters act' that establishes a process for requiring law enforcement officers to remove people accused of illegally staying at a residential property. Under House Bill 61, people who stay in residential properties, hotels or cars without the owner's express permission are guilty of misdemeanor unlawful squatting. Any person violating the law would be subject to having law enforcement officers remove them from the property within 10 days of notification. The bill's advancement by a 7-2 committee vote comes on the heels of a coalition of housing rights advocates heading into a disappointing homestretch of the 2025 legislative session after seeing little progress on bipartisan bills aimed at protecting Georgians from higher rents, problematic landlords and increasing threats of eviction. If passed, people convicted of unlawful squatting must also pay restitution based on fair market rent to the property owner. The squatters bill will next go to the Senate Rules Committee, which determines which legislation will be heard in the chamber by April 4, the last day of this year's legislative session. The bill's supporters argue that it closes loopholes in the anti-squatting laws. Housing rights advocates have argued that the bill infringes on the due process that should be afforded to people who have been living in extended stay hotels for long periods of time. Innkeepers are permitted to evict tenants and withhold belongings if they fall behind on payments or overstay their welcome under the anti-squatting law. Marietta Republican Rep. Devan Seabaugh, the bill's sponsor, said that extended stay hotels are still businesses rather than social safety nets for families who cannot afford traditional housing. 'They play an important role in our communities, and they often provide affordable, flexible lodging for individuals and families in transition, whether due to job changes housing shortages or emergencies,' Seabaugh said. 'I think we can all agree on that, and we recognize and appreciate how helpful they are to people facing hard times, but at their core, these are private businesses, not public housing providers or charitable shelters.' Seabaugh said the bill's requirement of the property owner providing police with an affidavit is not trying to target holdover tenants but instead people who are illegally occupying a property. Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson argued that there should be a distinction between squatters and tenants who have consistently paid their rent but may have fallen behind for a few days. 'A squatter is someone who intentionally goes into my house and sets up camp and says, 'it's my place,'' Jackson said. 'A person who's been staying in an extended hotel for a year straight and misses a day, they're not a squatter, they're a person who's late. To charge them with criminal trespass and to set them out and their kids out is an injustice.' Sen. Randy Robertson, a Cataula Republican, said the new anti-squatting measure could provide better regulation over the many extended stay hotels that he says are magnets for crime. Robertson said that more effort can be put into engaging government agencies like the state's Division of Family and Children Services to support families living in long term hotels who are at risk of becoming unhoused. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho Senate passes bill to cut income taxes, reduce state revenue by $253 million
State senators listen to legislative proceedings from the Idaho Senate floor on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Senate, in a 27-8 vote, passed a bill on Tuesday to cut Idaho's income tax rate, reducing state revenue by $253 million. House Bill 40, sponsored by Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg, would do three things to cut taxes in Idaho, including: Reduce income tax for individuals and corporations from 5.695% to 5.3%, costing $240 million annually; Expand the income tax exemption to military pensions, at a cost of $12 million; Eliminate capital gains tax for gold bullion sales, at a cost of $1 million. House Bill 40 is one of three bills introduced this legislative session to cut taxes, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Other bills aimed to cut taxes include House Bill 61, which would increase the sales tax credit on groceries for Idaho taxpayers from $120 a year to $155, and House Bill 74 which would offer $100 million of property tax relief to Idahoans. If all three bills are passed into law, it would offer up to $403 million in reductions to state revenues, more than the $100 million in tax reductions Idaho Gov. Brad Little called for in his State of the State address at the start of the legislative session. Ricks said the bill would help Idaho families pay less in taxes, keep their money and ultimately stimulate the economy. But opponents criticized it as irresponsible under times of economic uncertainty nationwide. The Idaho Senate voted largely along party lines to advance the bill. Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, was the first to speak against the bill. She said the bill is 'irresponsible,' and would betray working families in a time of economic uncertainty. 'Here we go, chopping off this revenue (when) we couldn't even pay our employees,' Wintrow said, recalling that it took weeks for legislators to agree on a pay raise rate for state employees. 'We thought about it for weeks and then we gave them a buck to a buck 55. When they see that, how are they going to feel?' Wintrow cited a study from the nonpartisan Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, which said an Idaho family earning between $55,000 and $91,000 would expect to see a tax break of about $127 under House Bill 40. Idaho Gov. Brad Little concerned about magnitude of tax cuts that reduce state revenue 'I don't know last time you went to the grocery, but I could barely get out with $127,' Wintrow said. Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, was one of two Republicans to vote against the bill — the other being Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle. While Guthrie said he supports tax cuts, House Bill 40 does not meet his requirements for balance and fairness. 'We are in some unique times that carry with them some incredible unknown. We must think beyond today,' Guthrie told the floor, noting the federal government has aggressively cut federal employees, federal programs and implemented significant tariffs on countries including Mexico, Canada and China. 'I'm not here to say that the actions at the federal level are a good or bad thing, and what kind of effect it'll have on our economy,' Guthrie said. 'Who knows? But the point is, we are in uncertain times.' In response to concerns about an economic recession, legislators supporting the bill said letting Idahoans keep money would boost the economy. 'If there are hard economic times for the people of Idaho, the best thing this body can do is cut as many taxes and fees as possible,' freshman Sen. Joshua Kohl, R-Twin Falls, said. House Bill 40 already passed the Idaho House of Representatives in a 63-7 vote. It now heads to Gov. Brad Little's desk, who can sign it into law, allow it to pass without his signature or veto it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho House calls for increasing sales tax credit on groceries to $155 per year
The Idaho House of Representatives in session at the State Capitol building in Boise on Jan. 23, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho House of Representatives voted Friday to increase the grocery tax credit Idahoans receive to offset the sales tax collected on food to $155 per year. Under current law, most Idaho taxpayers receive a tax credit of $120 per year, while seniors receive a credit of $140 per year. House Bill 231 would increase that credit to $155 per year for everybody. Each Idaho taxpayer who files an individual income tax return is able to claim the credit automatically. Each Idaho taxpayer can also claim the credit for their spouse and each of their dependents. That means that a family of four would receive a credit of $620 per year under House Bill 231, up from the current amount of $480. The $155 credit would cover about $10,033 worth of groceries per year, or $861 per month for a family of four in Idaho. House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, co-sponsored the bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Monks said he prefers increasing the tax credit while leaving the sales tax on groceries in place because if the state repeals the sales tax on groceries, Idaho would not be able to collect that revenue from the millions of out-of-state visitors and tourists who visit Idaho each year and buy groceries. Monks said increasing the credit helps Idaho families afford to pay their food bills, while still collecting revenue from out-of-state shoppers. The bill also includes a provision to allow Idaho taxpayers to save and scan all of their receipts each year to claim an itemized credit of up to $250 per year if the $155 does not cover all of their food. However, not all items sold in grocery stores would be subject to the grocery tax credit – soda, candy, heated food, toilet paper, shampoo, cleaning products and many other items sold in grocery stores are not covered by the credit. Food sold in restaurants is not covered by the credit. Some of the bill's opponents warned that taxpayers would have to jump through a lot of hoops to claim an itemized credit of up to $250. For example, If a taxpayer chooses to scan their receipts and file for an itemized grocery tax credit, they would have to separate out the sales tax paid on qualifying food items from everything they bought that wasn't covered by the grocery tax credit, like soda and cleaning products. It may also be necessary for the taxpayer filing an itemized credit to calculate the flour-to-weight ratio of some items they buy at the grocery store to eat – if an item contains more than 10% flour by weight, it would not be considered candy. After a long debate, the Idaho House voted 61-6 to pass House Bill 231 on Friday. CONTACT US The House Revenue and Taxation Committee introduced House Bill 231 on Thursday, about 24 hours before it went up for a vote in front of the full Idaho House on Friday. House Bill 231 replaced House Bill 61, a nearly identical grocery tax credit bill that legislators introduced Jan. 27. The difference between the two bills is the new bill inserts the word 'retail' before the word 'seller' three different times. House Bill 231 heads next to the Idaho Senate for consideration. The legislation is one of three bills that seek to cut a combined $403 million in taxes this year. House Bill 231 would reduce revenue to the state by $50 million per year, according to the bill's fiscal note. House Bill 40, which would reduce the corporate and individual income tax rate from 5.695% to 5.3%, would reduce state revenue by $253 million. House Bill 74, which sends money to school districts and a homeowners property tax reduction fund, would reduce revenue by $50 million per year and provide an additional one-time transfer of $50 million. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Revised grocery tax credit bill advances in Idaho Legislature
Shoppers make their way through a store aisle at a Walmart. (Marty Schladen/Ohio Capital Journal) The Idaho House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Thursday recommended advancing a slightly revised version of a bill to increase the tax credit Idaho taxpayers receive for buying groceries. The new bill, House Bill 231, is a slightly modified version of House Bill 61, the original grocery tax credit bill that legislators introduced on Jan. 27. Both bills increase the annual tax credit that Idahoans receive each year from $120 to $155. The only difference is the new version inserts the word 'retail' before the word 'seller' on three different occasions. House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, sponsored both bills. On Thursday, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to hold the original bill, House Bill 61. Committee members then voted to introduce the new bill, House Bill 231, and recommended sending it straight to the second reading calendar on the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives. Monks said the point of the bill is to provide an across-the-board increase in the tax credit for groceries to combat inflation. Idaho does charge sales tax on groceries, but all Idaho taxpayers and their dependents receive a tax credit intended to offset that tax. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Monks and other Republican legislative leaders said they prefer offering the tax credit to Idahoans rather than repealing the sales tax on food outright because it allows the state to still collect revenue from the sales tax that tourists and other out-of-state visitors pay. Currently, seniors 65 and older receive a grocery tax credit of $140 a year, while the rest of the population receives $120 a year. If the new bill is passed into law, everyone would receive the same $155 credit. CONTACT US 'We've seen a lot of increases in inflation over the last several years,' Monks said. 'Food has gotten much more expensive. The price of eggs, chicken eggs, has gotten much more expensive.' 'It's frustrating, and our constituents are demanding that they see some kind of relief,' Monks added. The nonpartisan Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy wrote that increasing the grocery tax credit to $155 per year would help working class families as grocery prices increase. For families making less than $31,100 per year – the lowest 20% of income groups in Idaho – the tax cut for increasing the grocery tax credit to $155 per year would correspond to about .22% of their annual income, according to the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy. Like the original bill, House Bill 231 also includes a provision that allows Idahoans to save and scan all of their grocery receipts and claim an itemized credit of up to $250 per year if they pay more than $155 per year in sales tax for groceries, Monks said. On the other hand, Idahoans would not have to take any additional steps to claim the $155 credit under House Bill 231 – it would be applied automatically as a refundable credit, which means Idahoans can receive the benefit even if they don't owe any state income taxes. During Thursday's hearing, Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, made an unsuccessful effort to increase the amount of the grocery tax credit to $225 per year, but Monks called the change 'hostile' and Gannon's effort failed. The new, preferred grocery tax credit bill, House Bill 231, likely heads next to the full Idaho House of Representatives for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho Legislature introduces new property tax reduction bill
The rotunda at the Idaho Capitol in Boise on Jan.17, 2022. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) House Speaker Mike Moyle is sponsoring a new bill in the Idaho Legislature that seeks to reduce property taxes. On Monday, Moyle, R-Star, unveiled House Bill 74 in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. If passed into law, Moyle's new bill would send $50 million a year annually – ongoing – to the state's school district facilities fund to help local schools pay for a portion of new buildings and school renovations that would be paid for using property taxes. The bill also takes another $50 million in one-time funding and transfers it to the state's homeowners property tax relief fund to reduce property taxes for homeowners. In a series of polls and public policy surveys, Idahoans have consistently said the cost of housing and property taxes are among their top issues for the Idaho Legislature to address. 'There's more to do in property tax relief, but this is a start to get us there,' Moyle said. Although the Idaho Legislature does not receive or spend money collected from Idaho property taxes, school districts and local governments do. Property taxes pay for school operations and school construction; police, fire and emergency services; libraries; sewers; highways; weed control and more. Moyle told the House Revenue and Taxation Committee that cutting taxes is part of his strategy to reduce government spending. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX This is the third bill aimed at cutting different types of taxes that the Idaho Legislature has introduced in recent days. On Thursday, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee introduced House Bill 40, which would reduce Idaho's corporate and individual income tax rates from 5.695% to 5.3%. House Bill 40 also eliminates the capital gains tax for selling gold and silver and expands the income tax exemption to military pensions. Idaho Legislature introduces bill to reduce income taxes On Monday, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee introduced House Bill 61, which would increase the sales tax credit on groceries for Idaho taxpayers from $120 a year to $155. 'We try to touch on each of the three tax types and provide relief across the board,' Moyle said Tuesday. The fiscal notes attached to the three recent tax cut bills total $403 million in reductions to state revenues if all three bills are passed into law. That's more than four times the $100 million in tax cuts that Gov. Brad Little proposed in conjunction with his Jan. 6 State of the State address. Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, supported introducing Moyle's latest tax cut bill Tuesday, but he wondered if the state can afford the revenue reductions that would come from passing all three tax cuts, plus additional state funding from proposed bills that would allow Idaho families to be reimbursed or receive a tax refund for tuition or fees at private schools or private religious schools. 'I do think that we need to be careful,' Gannon said. Introducing House Bill 74 clears the way for the bill to return to the House Revenue and Taxation Committee for a full public hearing at an unspecified later date. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee will not be accepting remote, virtual testimony this year, Chairman David Cannon, R-Blackfoot, said Monday. Idahoans who are not able to travel to the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, may send emailed testimony to the committee by sending an email to hrev@ by 4 p.m. the day before a public hearing on a bill. Cannon said emails should include email testimony in the subject line, include the person's full name, the legislative district they live in, any groups or organizations they represent, the bill number they would like to provide written testimony over and whether they support or oppose the bill, followed by their written testimony. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
