“We’re trying to keep the cities and counties whole while at the same time providing a little tax relief for the citizens, and at the same time providing some money for roads,” House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, told the Senate Transportation Committee, introducing HB 311. The bill removes the sales tax from groceries, repeals the grocery tax credit, lowers Idaho’s top individual income tax rate from 7.4 percent to 6.7 percent, and raises the gas tax 7 cents to 32 cents a gallon.

House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, told the senators, “I would count this year a success, this legislative session a success, if we made major investment in the foundational structure of Idaho. What is that? It’s education, and it’s the road system. And at the same time I wanted to effect change, or work with you all to position Idaho to be in a net better position when it came to economic development. I think that the bill that you have before you, and it probably had not be considered in a vacuum, but coupled with other bills that have come over from the House, that you will have before you at some point, I think starts down that road.”

Committee Chairman Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, said he’ll now alternate between supporters and opponents of the bill for brief testimony.