Legislative Update--Senator Mark Harris

Dear friends and neighbors —

An issue regarding the illegality of part-time employees working for both mortuaries and county coroners was brought to my attention early this Legislative Session by a constituent from Bonneville County. In counties larger than 20,000 residents, current law dictates that anyone other than employees, owners, proprietors of mortuaries, and morticians cannot work for or become county coroners. County coroners are always looking for help and employees of mortuaries are high on the list of having the qualifications necessary to help, but the law prohibits them from being hired. This Session, I was able to run a bill to fix the problem. Senate Bill 1121 (S1121) basically removes the restriction for mortuary employees, so they can work for coroners if needed. S1121 passed the Senate unanimously as well as the House and was signed by the Governor into law this week. A thank you goes out to Representative Josh Wheeler (LD 35B) for being the House sponsor of this bill.  

It was interesting to see that this week the Joint Finance and Appropriation Committee (JFAC) approved $550,000 for seven new full-time positions at the Idaho State Tax Commission for the purpose of implementing and handling the extra work created by the passage of House Bill 93 (H93). H93 is the new school choice bill passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor earlier this Session. It allows families to receive a tax credit of up to $5,000 per child to be enrolled in a private school. The program is to be administrated by the Idaho State Tax Commission. This cost had not been anticipated by the sponsors of the legislation as the original fiscal note that accompanied the bill through the legislative process only included three full-time positions when it was presented to the Senate. This $550,000 will, however, come out of the $50 million that was appropriated for H93. The incomplete fiscal note was one of the criticisms of the bill.

The Senate voted on and unanimously approved House Bill 304 (H304) which is a $100 million property tax relief bill. H304 puts $50 million in an existing School Facilities Fund that was established in 2023 when H292 became law. This money will be distributed to school districts based on average daily attendance and should be used to pay off levies and bonds. The other $50 million goes toward property tax reduction on owner-occupied homes. People should see reductions around 5% on school facility bonds and levies, and about 9% reduction for homeowners. With the passage of H304, Idahoans will see $400 million in tax reduction between property tax reductions, income tax cuts, and an increase in grocery tax credit money.   

On Tuesday, Governor Brad Little signed into law House Bill 206 (H206) and House Bill 207 (H207).  These two bills are the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) bills I have been working on for the last three years. The passage of these bills is an important step in getting EMS to a place where they can secure needed grants and other funding for the equipment and support they need to help our rural communities when emergencies strike. This victory makes a big difference, but more work needs to be done. It is great that these bills are now law.    

I continue to be blessed by having the privilege and honor to serve the good people of Legislative District 35. Please feel free to share your thoughts, concerns, and any questions you have about legislation before the Legislature or about State government in general. You can email me at [email protected] or call me at 208-332-1308.