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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Why the numbers were different

When Gov. Butch Otter’s transportation bills were introduced yesterday, the numbers in the fiscal notes didn’t match up to his description of the program. For the first year, it appeared the package would raise only $42.9 million instead of $47 million, and in the fifth year, $171 million instead of $174 million. Today, Clete Edmunson, Otter’s transportation adviser, cleared up the mystery: There’s still another bill coming. The discrepancies were in the vehicle registration fees. When the whole package was separated out from one giant 160-plus-page bill to five separate ones, a piece about various other things that were impacted by registration fee changes, such as license plates, was pulled out, but didn’t get put back into one of the five bills. A sixth bill, containing those items, still is coming. “We’re going to bring a separate piece of legislation, hopefully introduce it tomorrow,” Edmunson said. “So that’s the difference.”



Eye On Boise

News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.