Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's final recommendations from Gov. Butch Otter's transportation funding task force, which were 18 months in the making. House Tax Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, cast the only vote against the task force's final resolution. "I…
The governor's transportation funding task force also has agreed to support a legislative task force's recommendation to permanently restore to the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation the 3 percent share of gas taxes that it's long been receiving for trails, reflecting the amount of…
Rather than come up with specific proposals to raise gas taxes, registration fees or other revenue sources, the governor's transportation funding task force has opted to simply send along a matrix it agreed to earlier in which it defined and prioritized the various ways the…
No decisions yet. House Tax Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, noted that if Idaho were to raise its gas tax enough to fund the whole $540 million-plus need the governor's transportation funding task force has identified, "We'd be facing a 66 cent a gallon fuel tax…
The governor's transportation task force has been wordsmithing by committee various "whereas" clauses in its proposed resolution, on things like how funding for local highway jurisdictions should fit needs, rather than just follow a distribution formula. Some districts have dozens of bridges, for example, while…
Several members of the governor's task force are expressing squeamishness over wording in their proposed resolution that calls for the state to "move toward a more balanced system of cost responsibility between broad classes of vehicles, but ... do so in a way that does…
The total figures being tossed around by the governor's task force on transportation funding are big: $262 million to operate, preserve and restore the current road system, both at the state and local level; plus $281 million needed for "capacity and safety enhancement" at both…
The governor's transportation funding task force has begun working through a proposed resolution - which currently contains lots of blanks - on what it should recommend for future road funding in Idaho. Among its clauses: One saying that federal funding likely "will remain essentially flat…
The governor's transportation funding task force has been kicking around some questions about how it should fashion its recommendations, but hasn't yet begun debating the specifics - that'll happen this afternoon. Lt. Gov. Brad Little, the task force chairman, is passing out a draft resolution…
Here's some news: Bogus Basin ski resort will open for the season on Thursday - Thanksgiving Day. "Recent storms have delivered 2-feet of snow for a 'front side' opening," the resort just announced on its website. Chairs 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, Easy Rider and…
Severe winter weather and hazardous driving conditions in central and eastern Idaho have prompted the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to close all of its offices in regions 5, 6 and 7 for the day - that's Burley, Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Pocatello,…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The Missoula City Council has voted to make permanent a $200 fee for companies seeking permits to haul oversized loads through the city. Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil is seeking permits from Idaho and Montana to…
Idaho could impose a $1 per month surcharge on auto insurance policies and raise $19.4 million a year - enough to replace the millions in funding for Idaho State Police that ISP would lose if a planned shift off the gas tax takes effect, to…
ITD Deputy Director Scott Stokes is briefing the governor's transportation task force on efficiency moves at ITD. The agency's goals are safety, mobility and economic vitality, Stokes said. Its new computerized management systems - a key recommendation from a legislative audit - "begin going live…
The state's Local Highway Technical Assistance Council held a "local highway efficiency summit" in October and completed a study of efficiency at Idaho's local highway districts. The results, LHTAC administrator Lance Holmstrom told the governor's transportation task force this morning, showed that "local highway jurisdictions…
The governor's transportation funding task force has convened its final meeting this morning in the state Capitol. "We've got a lot of work to do," Lt. Gov. Brad Little, the task force chairman, told members as the meeting opened. First off this morning, the task…
Longtime Idaho state Rep. Hilde Kellogg, R-Post Falls, died Monday at the age of 92. She served in the state Legislature until age 88; she died of natural causes at Kootenai Medical Center and services are pending. You can read the Coeur d'Alene Press's full…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Federal immigration officers arrested 13 illegal immigrants across southern Idaho last week and all but one are expected to be immediately deported. The Post Register reports the Boise office of the U.S.…
Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, isn't running for president pro-tem of the Senate. "From my perspective, either Bart Davis or Brent Hill would be an excellent choice for being pro-tem," Cameron said. "As long as those guys are considering running, then I'm in full support of…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
