Rep. Phil Hart's proposal to create an official Idaho silver medallion that Idahoans could use to pay their state taxes was killed on a 7-2 vote in the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee this afternoon. The bill, HB 633, also would have granted big tax breaks to certain mining industry ventures. He called it a "safety net, if you will, for Idahoans who might want to put their savings or their money into a precious metal and protect that from inflation." The official state silver medallions would have varied in value with the price of silver.

Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, noted that the Senate committee has been rejecting all special tax breaks for certain parties or industries. "Additionally, I can't see any advantage of putting the (state) treasurer in the commodities market, asking them to start establishing a marketplace of exchange for this commodity or any other commodity. ... It would not benefit the state of Idaho to any significant degree."

Hart said after the vote, "I think they overlooked the constitutional requirement that the state of Idaho accept nothing but gold and silver coin for the payment of debts. This was an attempt to ease us into just that."

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