The annual IRS conformity bill that caused such a fuss in the House cleared the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee this afternoon on a unanimous vote, but not until after several senators had shared misgivings about the final language in the bill.

Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, called the original version of the bill, which cleared a House committee but then was pulled back and changed, “the right thing to do.” It eliminated a 2014 clause from Idaho state law, referred to as Subsection C, requiring same-sex married couples to recalculate their federal income taxes so they could file separately in Idaho. The new version left that clause in, but added another section after it, Subsection D, essentially setting it aside for purposes of tax filings. “Subsection D in my opinion at least makes it clear that subsection C is inoperable,” Burgoyne said. “I wish we could have found the courage as a Legislature to delete Subsection C from the code entirely.”

Senate Tax Chairman Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, said, “When we’re sworn in, we take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and at the same time, we take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the state of Idaho. Because of these court rulings, we find ourselves conflicted between which Constitution we’re here to uphold. … The Civil War was fought over this very issue, and who has primacy over certain issues. A lot of us can argue that this should be made at the state level, but we’ve taken stands before just to lose in court. … We are where we are.” He said he’s sorry “that we couldn’t find a better way to resolve this issue.”

Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, called the new version of the bill, HB 425, “a difference in statement with no difference in result.” He called the issue “overblown” and “a tempest in a teapot,” and moved to approve the bill. Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, seconded the motion, saying, “When you look at C and D, they couldn’t be more in conflict with one another. … It looks like the language could’ve been smoothed more than it is, but we have what we have.”

The committee’s unanimous vote sends the bill to the full Senate. If it passes there and receives the governor’s signature, the bill, which has an emergency clause, will immediately become law – and people who have business activity on their tax returns will be able to start filing in Idaho. Right now, they’ve been waiting since Jan. 19 for the conformity issue to be settled by lawmakers before they can file.