On a 7-2 vote, the Senate Transportation Committee has agreed to send HB 311, the House-passed tax bill, to the full Senate with no recommendation. Only Sens. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Lori DenHartog, R-Meridian, dissented; both said they didn’t want to rush a decision on such a big bill, and wanted to hold off to allow for more testimony.

Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, made the motion to advance the bill without recommendation. “We could talk about killing this bill in committee. We could talk about passing it to the floor. We could talk about a lot of things,” he said. “But we basically are being asked at this time to make a decision as to whether or not we support the tax policy issues being brought into the issues of funding transportation. And I think it complicates the issue.” Winder said he personally favors doing away with the grocery tax. But he said the full Senate, not the Transportation Committee, should decide the fate of the bill.