Ada County is moving to collect back taxes from state Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, for claiming a homeowner’s exemption for her Garden City home in 2016 while also claiming to be a resident of the north-central Idaho district where she was elected to the state House, the Lewiston Tribune reports today.

"The evidence we have is that she didn't consider herself to be (an Ada County) resident," said Ada County Assessor Robert McQuade.

His office is sending Giddings a "notice of intent" to collect the property tax she avoided when claiming the 2016 homeowners exemption, reports Tribune reporter Bill Spence. The letter gives Giddings 10 days to respond. If she feels the office is in error, McQuade said, she'll need to provide evidence supporting her case. If she doesn't respond, or if the evidence she provides doesn't satisfy the Assessor's Office, "Then we'll send her an assessment notice and bill her for the amount (of the back taxes)," he said.

Giddings claimed exemptions in both Ada County and Idaho County in 2016, because she was building a new home in Idaho County into which she moved in the spring of that year; that double claiming is allowed in cases of new construction, where the homeowner moves partway through the year. However, in order to run for office from Idaho County, she had to be a resident of her legislative district for a full year before the November 2016 election. Giddings only qualified for the Ada exemption if she considered it her permanent home – a condition she would not meet if she considered herself a resident of Idaho County in 2015.

Spence reports that Giddings didn’t respond to a request for comment on Thursday; his full report is online here.