There was a long debate, but in the end, HJR 4, a constitutional amendment to allow indebtedness for hospital districts without voter approval, easily gained the two-thirds vote it needed to pass the House today. The measure passed 65-5, with just four Republicans and one Democrat opposing it. It's the first of three constitutional amendments in the wake of an Idaho Supreme Court decision that limited such indebtedness; the others are for airports and city-owned electric utilities. To take effect, constitutional amendments need two-thirds votes in each house of the Legislature plus majority approval of the people at the next general election. All three measures say no tax revenue could be tapped to pay off such indebtedness.

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