ID H0959

Fire protection districts and ambulance service districts must allow voters to directly increase or decrease property tax budgets through initiative petitions, with elections held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years.

Initiative petitions require signatures from at least 20% of qualified electors who voted in the most recent general district election, with a 180-day collection period after receiving the official ballot title or until April 30, whichever is earlier.

Fire protection and ambulance service districts receive a higher annual budget cap of 15% total increase (compared to 8% for other taxing districts), and calculate new construction/annexation revenue using the previous year's levy rate rather than a preliminary rate.

District boards may adopt a proposed property tax budget reduction within 30 days after petition notification (following a public hearing), which would prevent the initiative from appearing on the ballot.

The budget limitation provisions apply retroactively to January 1, 2026, while the initiative petition procedures take effect July 1, 2026.