It's been a long and wild day in the Statehouse. Here's a link to my full story on the outcome of today's stormy debate and votes in the Joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee, and here's a link to my full story on Rep.…
Here's why Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, decided to second Sen. Russ Fulcher's motion on the state revenue estimate: "I could see where things were going, and they were going to an even more conservative number, and so I was trying to salvage what I…
The successful motion, made by Sen. Russ Fulcher and seconded by Sen Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, sets fy 2010 revenue at 2.280 billion - which is $69 million below the governor's figure, and means, if the state budgets actually are set based on these figures,…
The vote was 13-5; Sen. Russ Fulcher's motion has passed. Voting yes were Reps. Kren, Lake, Roberts, Henderson, McGeachin, Bayer, Bedke, and Sens. Fulcher, Hill, Bair, Hammond, Geddes and Keough. Voting no were Reps. Sayler, Killen and LeFavour and Sens. Goedde and Bilyeu.
Rep. Bill Killen, D-Boise, has proposed a substitute motion at the average of committee members' projections, which is below the median projection. It's $2.3315 billion for fy 2010, and $2.3756 billion for fy 2011. Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, who seconded the motion, said, "To make…
Rep. Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, has proposed a new motion setting revenue for both fiscal years 2010 and 2011 at $2.25 billion. That would force the Legislature to cut another $120 million from the current year's budgets - meaning far more holdbacks than Gov. Butch Otter…
The amended substitute motion, from Sen. Hill, died on a 7-11 vote. Then, the substitute motion, from Sen. Fulcher, died on a tied 9-9 vote. Then the original motion, from Rep. Lake, died 5-13.
With some committee members uncertain about what was in which motion, the Joint Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee is taking a 10-minute break to make sure the figures are clearly laid out for all members before a vote.
The joint committee on revenue is now debating the three motions. "We do not have the luxury this year of missing it like we did last year," said House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, who said he favors Sen. Russ Fulcher's substitute motion or…
House Tax Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, moved to propose the Joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee's median projection as the recommended revenue projection for fy 2011, and accept the governor's figure for 2010. Then, Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, proposed a much lower figure: $2.28…
A long list of human rights leaders, including two former Idaho governors, three former directors of the Idaho Human Rights Commission, and more, have sent an "open letter" to the Idaho Legislature opposing Gov. Butch Otter's proposal to phase out all state funding for the…
December state tax revenues are down by $12.6 million from forecasts, Mike Ferguson, chief economist for Gov. Butch Otter, told the Joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee. You can see Ferguson's complete handout to the committee here. Despite the bottom-line drop, "There is embedded…
The Joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee has begun its meeting in the basement auditorium of the state Capitol, and is now hearing from the state's chief economist, Mike Ferguson. The committee's draft report - members will vote on their final recommendation today -…
The Boise Weekly reports that Gov. Butch Otter is proposing cutting his own office's budget by 3.8 percent for fiscal year 2011, but accounting for some of his policy advisers the same way former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne did until 2006: By stashing them in other…
Senate Republicans caucused for about half an hour today, and House Democrats for an hour. GOP senators had Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron give an update on state revenues and the governor's budget recommendation. "This is the first opportunity we've had to give the full…
Idaho could find a whole lot more big fossils - wooly mammoths and the like - in coming years as big energy transmission projects spread across the fossil-rich southern and eastern portions of the state, and state officials want to gear up by shifting some…
Idaho enacted a state law regulating and permitting wine tastings five years ago, so why not allow the same for distilled spirits? That's what Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, proposed this morning in legislation that the House State Affairs Committee agreed to introduce on a…
The Joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee will meet at 2 p.m. today in the large auditorium in the west underground wing of the Capitol to finalize its report to the Legislature on revenue levels on which to base the state budget. The meeting…
This morning, legislative budget writers are in the second of three days of hearings on the Department of Health & Welfare budget, with today's focus on mental health and substance abuse services, psychiatric hospitalization, child welfare and developmental disabilities - all areas where budget cuts…
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