So, now that the Legislature has adjourned and has approved a $95 million transportation funding package – assuming the governor signs it into law – when would Idaho’s gas tax and vehicle registration fees go up? The answer: July 1. There’s been some confusion about this; I did write earlier that this proposal would immediately raise the gas tax by 7 cents a gallon, as opposed to earlier proposals to phase increases in over four or five years. To clarify, the bill, HB 312a, does contain an emergency clause, but it only applies to the section about a surplus eliminator – not to the sections about raising gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. So if Gov. Butch Otter signs the bill, the new fees and taxes would take effect on the same date as most new laws – July 1, the start of the state’s next fiscal year.