IdahoIdaho fire and ambulance districts let voters petition over tax budgets
District voters may petition for fire or ambulance property tax budget changes, and those districts have a separate budget growth limit that applies retroactively from January 1, 2026.
What it does
Qualified district voters may use petitions to propose raising or lowering their fire or ambulance district’s property tax budget. The board may adopt a proposed cut after a public hearing; otherwise, voters decide.
Fire protection and ambulance districts may increase their budgets by up to 15% under this calculation. The section sets an 8% limit for other districts and lists exceptions.
Argument forQualified district voters could petition to raise or lower their district’s property tax budget, giving them a direct say in that decision.
Argument againstA 15% budget growth limit could let fire and ambulance districts raise property tax budgets more in a year than the 8% limit for other districts.
More detail
Fire protection and ambulance service districts allow voters to propose property tax budget increases or decreases through an initiative. The process covers fire protection and ambulance service districts. Petition signers must be qualified voters in the district. The petition needs signatures from at least 20% of the qualified electors who voted in the district’s most recent general election held in November of an odd-numbered year. The board may adopt a proposed budget reduction within 30 days after notice, following a public hearing. If it does not adopt the reduction, the initiative goes to voters. Passing an initiative requires the same vote share as a budget increase under section 63-802(1)(h). This process does not apply to bond elections. Initiative elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years. The initiative provisions take effect July 1, 2026.
For fire protection and ambulance service districts, the total budget increase calculated under this section may not exceed 15%. The 15% limit applies to fire protection and ambulance service districts’ budget increases calculated under paragraph (1)(a). The section sets an 8% limit for other districts and lists exceptions to the limits. Section 2 applies retroactively to January 1, 2026.
Where do you stand?
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed 1st Chamber
- Passed 2nd Chamber
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Apr 2Reported Signed by Governor Brad Little on April 10, 2026 Session Law Chapter 316 Effective: Retroactive to 01/01/2026 SECTION 2; 07/01/2026 SECTION 1 & 3Became Law
- Vote recorded Rules Suspended (2/3 Vote Read in full as required) – Read third time in full –. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 2Delivered to Governor at 6:25 p.m. on April 2, 2026To Governor
- Apr 2Returned Signed by the President; Ordered Transmitted to GovernorMinor
- Apr 2Signed by President; returned to HouseMajor
- Apr 2Received from the House enrolled/signed by SpeakerMajor
- Apr 2Reported Enrolled; Signed by Speaker; Transmitted to SenateMajor
- Apr 2Returned from Senate Passed; to JRA for EnrollingMinor
- Apr 2Rules Suspended (2/3 Vote - Read in full as required) – Read third time in full – PASSED - 33-0-2AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke(Bjerke), Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Carlson, Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lakey, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Semmelroth, Shippy, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Woodward, Zito, ZuiderveldNAYS – NoneAbsent and excused – Ruchti, TaylorFloor Sponsor - OkuniewiczTitle apvd - to HousePassed 2nd Chamber
- Apr 2Read second time; filed for Third ReadingMinor
- Apr 1Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second readingMinor
- Mar 30Introduced, read first time; referred to: Local Government & TaxationMinor
- Vote recorded Rules Suspended: Ayes 68 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 2, read in full as required –. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 30Received from the House passed; filed for first reading
- Mar 30Rules Suspended: Ayes 68 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 2, read in full as required – PASSED - 67-0-3AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon(Cannon), Cayler, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Fuhriman, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Hawkins, Haws, Healey, Hill(Brown), Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Manwaring, Marmon, Mathias, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Petzke, Pickett, Pohanka, Price, Rasor, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Rubel, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Shirts(Batt), Skaug, Tanner(13), Tanner(14), Thompson, Vander Woude, Veile, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Mr. SpeakerNAYS – NoneAbsent – Green, McCann, PalmerFloor Sponsor - MoyleTitle apvd - to SenatePassed 1st Chamber
- Mar 30Read second time; Filed for Third ReadingMinor
- Mar 27Reported Printed; Filed for Second Reading
- Mar 27Introduced, read first time, referred to JRA for PrintingIntroduced
- Apr 2Reported Signed by Governor Brad Little on April 10, 2026 Session Law Chapter 316 Effective: Retroactive to 01/01/2026 SECTION 2; 07/01/2026 SECTION 1 & 3Became Law
Taxes & Budget