Committee advances bill to let married homeowners each claim full Idaho homestead exemption; bankruptcy provision left for amendment

The Idaho Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee on an apparent voice vote sent House Bill 282 to the fourteenth order of business for possible amendment after lawmakers heard that the bill would let each married homeowner claim a full homestead exemption and that a separate bankruptcy-related change may need more work.

Representative Lance Clow, District 25 (Twin Falls), told the committee the bill addresses Idaho’s homestead exemption, which protects home equity from involuntary liens such as judgments. “Homeowners are each entitled to $175,000 of protection of their equity,” Clow said. He said the current statute treats married couples differently: married owners share a single $175,000 exemption, while two unmarried co-owners each may claim $175,000.

The bill’s first section would allow married co-owners to claim the exemption individually so that two owners would be able to claim two $175,000 exemptions, Clow said. The bill’s second section would change…