The big three
Staff writer Betsy Z. Russell is tracking the top issues of the session.
Education
The state Board of Education wants to require more math and science, along with other requirements, for Idaho high school students to graduate. Community college expansion is a hot issue this year, with the Boise area pushing for its own campus. Tribal leaders are backing an effort to address Indian education statewide, and new state schools Superintendent Tom Luna has his own plans to promote accountability and innovation.
Where things stand: The House and Senate education committees voted overwhelmingly in favor of tougher math and science requirements for high school graduation proposed by the state Board of Education. Now it’ll be up to legislative budget writers to decide whether to fund the initial request to start training and hiring more math teachers. Gov. Butch Otter, in his State of the State message, endorsed an interim committee’s plan to reduce the required supermajority to form a new community college district from two-thirds to 60 percent in general elections. Otter also proposed a $38 million endowment to provide $2 million a year in needs-based scholarships to Idaho college students.
Taxes
With the sales tax now at 6 percent – lawmakers raised it from 5 percent in a special session in August – attention has turned to the fact that Idaho is one of only nine states that fully taxes groceries. Many want to either repeal that tax or offset it with an enhanced grocery tax credit. Business interests are pushing for a big tax break on the personal property tax and hopes to trim back property tax relief granted to homeowners last year.
Where things stand: Otter proposed his own targeted grocery tax credit, and it received mixed reviews from lawmakers. Otter’s credit would increase the current $20-a-person credit to as much as $90 for the poorest Idahoans, but the amount would phase down for those with higher incomes, with those earning more than 240 percent of the poverty level ($50,000 for a family of four) receiving no credit. Anyone who had received food stamps would be ineligible for the credit for the months they received that benefit. Under Otter’s plan, a fifth of the state’s population would get the full $90. Many lawmakers are working on their own grocery tax proposals.
Growth
Idaho’s growing population and changing economy have created pressure on everything from roads to prisons to water use.
Where things stand: Otter called for issuing $264 million in bonds for the next round of bonding for major highway projects around the state, but he said professionals, rather than politicians, should decide which projects will be addressed. The Idaho Transportation Department’s plan calls for the bonds to fund continued work on six projects started during the first round of highway bonding last year, including major upgrades to U.S. Highway 95 in North Idaho, plus an additional project in the Twin Falls area. In a bit of good news, legislative budget writers heard that caseload growth has slowed in the fast-growing Medicaid program, which provides health insurance for the poor and people with disabilities, primarily because of a strong economy.