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Eye On Boise

Public land sale amendments clear Senate

After lots of questions, the Senate has voted 30-5 in favor of SJR 102 and 32-3 in favor of SJR 103, giving more than the required two-thirds passage to a pair of proposed constitutional amendments to give the state Land Board more flexibility to sell off state endowment land. The measures would amend the Constitution to remove a requirement for public auction when selling state endowment lands, and to remove a limit on the sale of more than 320 acres to a single buyer or company. A task force of business people who studied the issue for the state said the changes would better match modern business practices, and the Land Board endorsed them.

Many of the questions came from lawmakers from North Idaho's timber country, who raised questions about whether the move would prompt the state to sell off its North Idaho timber land - and do away with a key source of jobs in the area. "Timber has proven itself to be a valuable and consistent return over time, over history," Sen. Darrell Kerby, R-Bonners Ferry, told the Senate. "Would this potentially change that makeup of public trust lands, and tend to go from timber holdings to commercial property, for example?" Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said it'd still be up to the judgment of the Land Board, as it is now, as to what will bring the maximum long-term return to the beneficiaries of the state endowment - mainly public schools.

Kerby said people in his area wonder if the changes might prompt the state, for example, to develop a ski resort on Priest Lake-area land that's now timber land. "In the region that I come from, there's high anxiety over unintended consequences that may occur as a result of this," he said. Winder responded, "Actually the process will give your constituents a great opportunity to weigh in on this, because they'll get to vote on it."

To amend the Idaho Constitution, a measure first must get two-thirds support in each house of the Legislature, and then win majority support from voters at the next general election. SJR 102 and 103 now move to the House.



Eye On Boise

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