Rep. Phil Hart’s proposal to create an official Idaho silver medallion that Idahoans could use to pay their state taxes was killed on a 7-2 vote in the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee this afternoon. The bill, HB 633, also would have granted big tax breaks to certain mining industry ventures. He called it a “safety net, if you will, for Idahoans who might want to put their savings or their money into a precious metal and protect that from inflation.” The official state silver medallions would have varied in value with the price of silver/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.