It may sound counter-intuitive, but the same economic stimulus bill that's promising a billion dollars in federal funds to Idaho also could cost the state $14 million in state tax revenue. That's because, as Idaho Falls Post Register reporter Nick Draper reported today, tax breaks…
Rep. Steve Hartgen's bill to ban Internet harassment ran into a blizzard of questions in the House Judiciary Committee today, which finally voted near-unanimously to hold the bill until next Thursday. Rep. Bill Killen, an attorney, asked Hartgen if the bill would cover his accessing…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the rejection today of legislation to raise Idaho's beer and wine tax to pay for substance abuse treatment. Among the tidbits in the story: Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, suggested that rather than focus on…
Here's a news item from AP: "Idaho's public utilities are a step closer to being allowed to set up programs to help poor, cash-strapped customers pay their power and gas bills with help from other ratepayers. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 7-2 Wednesday for…
Asked how he pulled it off, here's what lobbyist Bill Roden had to say about the lopsided vote today to kill the beer and wine tax increase bill: "It was a good vote." He added, "We worked at it. But you know legislators, they listen…
Here's the Rev & Tax vote that killed HB 140, the bill to raise the beer and wine tax to fund substance abuse treatment. The motion, by Rep. Ken Roberts, was to kill the bill:Voting yes (to kill the bill):Reps. Collins, Barrett, Moyle, Raybould, Roberts,…
After three days of long and intense hearings, the House Revenue & Taxation Committee has voted 13-5 to kill legislation to raise Idaho's beer and wine taxes. The measure, HB 140, was designed to raise a tax not raised in more than four decades, to…
Senate Transportation Chairman John McGee's message to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning had a marked difference from that of his House counterpart, House Transportation Chairwoman JoAn Wood, who addressed the panel last week. Wood said her idea was that Idaho should use the federal…
Both Senate Education Chairman John Goedde and House Education Chairman Bob Nonini had a similar message for legislative budget writers this morning: Preserve student-teacher contact time even as the state faces budget cuts in education. "The superintendent says it best - the students don't get…
Senate Education Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, in his presentation to JFAC this morning on education budgets, said his committee reviewed the $62 million in cuts for public schools proposed earlier by state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna, and had concerns about whether one really…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
