Legislators head into an early spring break April 2, but will be back next week to hear some of the most contentious bills including the Salish Kootenai Water Compact, Medicaid expansion and tax breaks.
One of those tax cut bills belongs to Republican Representative Seth Berglee. Under his House Bill 433, people could receive an income tax break of up to a $1,000 for private K-12 school tuition. He says parents who choose private schools should also get something out of their tax dollars.
“I feel like it’s unfair to require someone to pay money for education and then tell them ‘you don’t get a say in what type of education your kids get.'”
Democrats in the House like Representative Kathy Kelker argue that those lost tax dollars could have helped fund other state programs.
“And if the tax credit amount is deducted from the public schools, the public schools would be lacking in funding and would need to ask for more, or that would be a possibility.”
The hearing will likely happen Wednesday of next week.