Ten REALTORS® and lenders in the Idaho Falls area are being recognized for their work connecting homebuyers with the affordable home loan programs offered through Idaho Housing and Finance Association. In the past year, REALTORS® and lenders in the area have teamed up with Idaho Housing to help nearly 1,100 homebuyers purchase their first homes, representing a $119 million investment in the community.

Residents in 23 Idaho counties can estimate their 2016 property taxes by visiting the Idaho State Tax Commission’s website at tax.idaho.gov. The “Quick Picks” section on the home page links to a calculator that allows taxpayers to estimate what they will owe.

Rates for Idaho Power Company customers will increase by about 3.77 percent June 1. Rates go up or down every June 1 as part of the company’s annual Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) and Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA).

Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, is cosponsoring a bipartisan measure reforming the federal civil asset forfeiture process. H.R. 5283 would boost transparency, accountability and oversight of seizures and forfeitures by law enforcement agencies.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has suspended for a third time a request by Eagle Water Company to implement a surcharge on customers’ water use. On Nov. 10, 2015, Eagle Water, which serves about 3,500 customers in and around the City of Eagle, asked the commission to approve a surcharge that would add about $3.64 to the average residential user’s monthly bill.

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today joined Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) to introduce the Timber Innovation Act – bipartisan legislation that would help accelerate research and development – and ultimately construction – of wood buildings in the United States. Specifically, this legislation would focus on finding innovative ways to use wood in the construction of buildings above 85 feet in height or roughly seven or more stories.

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today announced that the Fiscal Year 2017 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill reverses proposed cuts to Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, and cleanup activities in Idaho. Simpson is Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, which passed the bill through the full House Appropriations Committee today, and had the lead role in deciding funding for all Department of Energy programs.

Nationally recognized author and community development strategist Peter Kageyama will be speaking at a Twin Falls luncheon for the Magic Valley business community June 9. The event, hosted by Idaho Housing and Finance Association, is entitled Creating Quality Places Where People Want to Live, Work and Play, and will be held at the Canyon Crest Event Center at 330 Canyon Crest Dr. in Twin Falls from noon to 1:30 p.m.

April 18 is the last day this year to submit applications to your county assessor for a reduction in your 2016 property taxes. Those who qualify for Idaho’s Property Tax Reduction (Circuit Breaker) Program can get property taxes on their primary Idaho residence and up to one acre of land reduced by as much as $1,320. The state pays a portion of the homeowner’s property taxes

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is approving two rate adjustments – on an increase and the other a decrease – for Rocky Mountain Power customers that become effective today. Rocky Mountain Power’s annual Energy Cost Adjustment Mechanism (ECAM) will be a slight decrease to customers of 0.7 percent, or about 58 cents less on an average residential monthly bill.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is approving a Rocky Mountain Power application to sell a section of its service territory to Idaho Falls Power, the city of Idaho Falls municipal utility.

The Idaho Fair Housing Forum will hold its annual Fair Housing Conference on April 5-6 at Boise City Hall. Four additional workshops will be held across the state during April, traditionally recognized as “Fair Housing Month” to commemorate passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which guarantees equal access to housing

PacifiCorp, which does business in eastern Idaho as Rocky Mountain Power, is asking state regulators to modify its net metering tariff to increase the “participation cap” in its Idaho territory from 714 kilowatts to 2,000 kW.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has granted a motion by commission staff to suspend for another 90 days an application by Eagle Water Company to implement a surcharge on customers’ water use

Idaho Housing and Finance Association has announced the spring and summer schedules for its signature Finally Home!® Homebuyer Education course. Classes are now offered across the state in Boise, Nampa, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint and Moscow.