Kootenai County and local taxing districts wouldn't be affected by losing millions of dollars in personal property tax revenue, under a bill proposed Monday by the Idaho Association of Counties.

The latest bill about the tax on business' equipment and machinery would exempt the first $100,000 in taxable equipment.

The tax break would extend to public utilities, unlike in a bill the IAC proposed weeks ago.

The IAC expects the state will be able to replace the roughly $20 million lost from the tax revenue.

That way, counties, school districts and municipalities that rely on the non-earmarked tax revenue won't hit a financial speed bump.

"Counties get a full replacement for the revenues lost," said Seth Grigg, policy analyst with IAC.

Under the bill, replacement funding will come annually from the state general fund.

The taxing districts in Kootenai County received nearly $6 million from the personal property tax in 2011.

Of that, the Coeur d'Alene School District received about $750,000. The county received $1.2 million.

Another bill proposed this session would eliminate the tax entirely, which would leave a $120 million revenue hole the state likely couldn't fill.

Kootenai County Commissioner Dan Green pointed out that if the state couldn't reimburse the lost revenue, governments would try to recoup the loss by boosting property taxes.

"I would support the state reimbursing us, because it would no longer be a shift from personal property to real property owners in Kootenai County," said Green, who hadn't seen the newly proposed legislation yet.

Businesses have long labeled the personal property tax as a burden that's time consuming to calculate.

House Bill 315 goes to the House Revenue and Taxation Committee today.

Grigg said the bill, expected to replace the group's prior bill, provides an exemption for 90 percent of Idaho businesses.

The bill allows for a tax exemption put on the books in 2008 to be triggered this year, he added. The 2008 law called for a $100,000 exemption that would only happen when revenue growth reached a certain level, which the floundering economy has prevented.

"We feel it would provide tax relief for a law that's already on the books, rather than waiting for the exemption to trigger at some point unknown," Grigg said. "Now is an appropriate time to trigger."