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

Eye On Boise

Prolific Rep. Hart has introduced a dozen bills so far this year, including sales tax measure

Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, keeps a well-highlighted printout of the U.S. Constitution on his desk in his state Capitol basement cubicle. The third-term Idaho lawmaker has proposed a dozen bills so far this session, his busiest session yet. (Betsy Russell)
Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, keeps a well-highlighted printout of the U.S. Constitution on his desk in his state Capitol basement cubicle. The third-term Idaho lawmaker has proposed a dozen bills so far this session, his busiest session yet. (Betsy Russell)

At a time when Idaho legislators have been loath to propose tax increases, Athol Rep. Phil Hart has introduced legislation to bump Idaho's sales tax from the current 6 percent up to 8.25 percent. The tradeoff: He'd also like to eliminate the income tax on all earned income. "I think when you tax something, you get less of it," said the third-term Republican. "We are heavily taxing jobs, and we have less jobs." That's just one of a dozen bills Hart has proposed so far this year, his busiest legislative session yet. Most have something to do with constitutional rights or privacy; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

Follow Betsy online: