Committee sends bill to floor that shifts burden in some property-tax appeals, clarifies proration of homeowner exemption

The Idaho Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee voted to send House Bill 354 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation on a voice vote after hearing sponsor testimony and support from county and real-estate groups.

House Bill 354, introduced to the committee by State Representative Dustin Manwaring of District 29 (Pocatello), would do two primary things: shift the burden of proof in certain property-tax appeals and put into statute how to prorate the homeowner (homestead) exemption when eligibility begins or ends partway through a year. “If the county assessor is not within that standard, didn’t apply that standard the year before and they raised somebody’s rates more than 10% in a single year, we thought it would be appropriate to shift that burden to the assessor,” Manwaring said during the committee hearing.

The bill would move a set of equalization standards currently in an administrative…