Weekly Statehouse update: Driving cards, committee complicates property tax relief

Legislation to allow speed cameras in a few highway work zones takes an unprecedented step. A Senate committee narrowly approves driving cards for undocumented immigrants. And property tax relief gets complicated.

Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.

HB 1015: Worksite speed control pilot program

Bills to allow speed cameras in highway construction zones have been offered for years. But they’ve never been passed by the full House – until this week. HB 1015 would allow cameras in four work zones statewide. And drivers going at least 11 miles per hour above the speed limit could be ticketed if captured by the cameras.

SB 248: Driving privilege cards

Almost no one testified in opposition to a bill that allows immigrants without documentation to get “driving privilege” cards. But SB 248 only cleared a Senate committee by a 5-4 vote. Some senators think people who’ve broken the law are being rewarded by the bill. But supporters say allowing undocumented immigrants to get driving cards will improve public safety.

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HB 1499: Taxation of homestead property

And a bill to provide property tax relief got a lot more complicated as a House committee tried to reduce the negative impact such relief would have on the budgets of local governments and schools. HB 1499, which its author says has “lots of moving parts,” is likely to undergo more changes by the end of session.

Find all the bills our statewide team is covering in our bill tracker at ipbs.org/projects/2023billtracker/ 

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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