Otter’s plan kicks off session

Idaho’s new governor laid out his vision for the state on Monday, the first day of the 2007 Legislature. Gov. Butch Otter called for $22 million in credits to mitigate the sales tax on groceries for low-income residents – one very visible piece of his proposed $2.84 billion budget, a 9.6 percent increase from this year.

Much of the spending increase would come in the form of one-time expenditures from the state surplus.

A centerpiece of Otter’s plans is to sharply increase the grocery tax credit for the neediest Idahoans. People with the lowest incomes – a fifth of the population – would see the credit rise to $90 a year, up from $20. The credit amount would decline as incomes rise, down to zero for people with household incomes 240 percent or more of the poverty level, or about $50,000 a year for a family of four.

It’s the low-income who need to benefit from the new $22 million initiative, said Otter, a millionaire.

“Butch Otter’s not going to get any money at all,” the governor told a joint session of the Legislature in his first State of the State message. “What we’re trying to do, obviously, is relieve them of an extra burden that they have in the purchasing of their groceries.”

Otter also proposed:

“ Eliminating the Department of Administration and the Division of Human Resources.

“ Spending part of the state’s $200 million surplus for one-time investments, including $38 million to endow needs-based scholarships for Idaho college students; $37 million for nursing education buildings at Lewis-Clark State College and the College of Southern Idaho; and $12 million for an Idaho State Police building in Coeur d’Alene.

“ Merit-based raises averaging 5 percent for state employees, whose pay on average now lags 15 percent below market levels.

“ A $5 million “carrot” to encourage formation of a community college district, such as one that’s been discussed for the Boise area.

“ Issuing the next round of GARVEE bonds to fund highway construction projects that would total $264 million. Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles bonds are paying for initial work on six projects totaling $200 million, including significant upgrades to U.S. Highway 95.

“ A $10 million push to eradicate noxious weeds.