Legislation & Growth
How the Statehouse impacts cities & growth
Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, put forth a new bill Tuesday he called “taxpayer defense.”
The legislation would limit the duration of a lease a city can have on property, buildings, and land to five years unless there is a majority vote of the people.
“A city can still do the good leases that will work, but they’re gonna have to get a vote of the people if they’re going to put the citizens and future councils into debt for $100 million, or whatever that amount might be,” Skaug explained to the committee.
Skaug told committee members that the legislature passed a similar measure last year that limited the duration of county leases on courthouses and jails.
“We limited that in the exact same way this bill limits cities,” Skaug said.
While some members of the House Local Government Committee had questions about the legislation, Committee Chair Rep. Barbara Ehardt said the questions would be best answered in a full hearing. Ultimately, the committee voted 15-2 to print Skaug’s bill.
