Columns

Sen. Shawn Keough in her article of last week stated that property tax relief was at the top of our agenda this session. Your District 1 delegation and other legislators are co-sponsoring a property tax bill that I anticipate introducing the week of Jan. 28.

The proposed legislation would exempt from property tax any increase in valuation of real property or operating property greater than 3 percent per year. If the value of the property increases less than 3 percent in any one year than the lower value would be used to determine the property tax due that year.

At the time ownership changes on the property by sale, inheritance or other transfers of ownership then the actual value of the property at the time of the ownership change would be used to determine property tax the first year of new ownership. The 3 percent limit would be applied to the value in subsequent years. There are several provisions that identify when a change in ownership would not be considered a transfer. These include transfer of the property for purposes of a mortgage or other debt security, transfer of a title between spouses and transfer of the title to state, federal or territory ownership.

Additionally if improvements in excess of $1,000 are made, the owner has to notify the county assessor of the improvements in order that the value of the improvements can be added to the existing value of the property.

Beginning next year passports will be required to enter the U.S. from Canada, even if you are a U.S. citizen just returning home. I believe this requirement will deter the spontaneous travel between Canada and Idaho and will not only be an inconvenience but will impact the economic benefits resulting from Canadian citizens visiting our state.

Because of this I am pursuing the possibility of Idaho joining with British Columbia and Washington state in an Enhanced Driver's license program (EDL). It is important to note that this is not a precursor to the national ID program that is being pushed by our Department of Homeland Security, but merely an alternative to a passport that is completely voluntary.

The license would take less time to acquire than a passport and would be less expensive. A passport costs about $92 whereas the EDL would be in the range of $15-$20.

The EDL will be recognized by the Department of Homeland Security as being a valid travel document and the department is encouraging its use. I believe that the EDL would be helpful in ensuring that we do not lose the benefit of spontaneous travel into Idaho by Canadian citizens and conversely, the opportunity for Idahoans to continue traveling into Canada with almost the same freedom as we have experienced in the past.

We value your input and encourage you to call, write or e-mail us with issues of concern to you. Thank you for your interest!