Huckleberries Online

Edit: No To 2/3s Vote For Tax Hikes

Posted by DFO

Feb. 8, 2012 10:12 a.m. • 7 comments

Idaho legislators can certainly come up with more than their share of home-grown and ill-conceived ideas. The last thing they need to do is import ideas from — egads! — California. Nevertheless, a group of lawmakers wants to bring a little bit of California into Idaho tax law. They are pushing a constitutional amendment that would require any future tax and fee increases to receive two-thirds support from the Legislature. The co-sponsors include a list of Treasure Valley Republicans: House Majority Leader Mike Moyle of Star (pictured); Rep. Marv Hagedorn of Meridian; Rep. Steven Thayn of Emmett; and Rep. Robert Schaefer of Nampa. (Resident House non-taxpayer Phil Hart of Hayden is on board, but what else would you expect?) The Two-Thirds Gang argues that these amendments, on the books in California and 15 other states, “help keep spending down and protect taxpayers from additional financial burdens”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Should tax increases in Idaho require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for passage?

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/02/08/1985255/a-simple-majority-is-good-enough.html#storylink=cpy

Seven comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Frum Helen Back on February 08 at 10:23 a.m.
I don’t understand or appreciate people moving here from California and then wanting Idaho to be like California. It irritates me. I put that nicely. My thoughts aren’t so nice.
duroc on February 08 at 10:57 a.m.
Only if a 2/3 vote is also required to make cuts or modify any existing programs (education, medicare, etc). What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

In all seriousness: No, I don’t support this nonsense. How much power does the Idaho GOP really need? If anyone needs an example of the truism that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” just take a look at Idaho.
ShoshoneConservative on February 08 at 11:09 a.m.
I don’t think it’s necessary. I haven’t seen a rash of tax increase proposals come before the Idaho Legislature lately that even make it out of committee.

In Idaho, requiring a simple majority seems to be enough to keep a tax increase from passing, and I don’t think that is going to change in the near future.

By the way, the Senator who is the main force behind this - Vick - moved to Idaho from Montana, not California.
fortboise on February 08 at 11:29 a.m.
The letters to the editor in today’s Statesperson included the expressed notion that being Republican means never, ever, raising taxes. Funny how that came to be.

Some members don’t trust others (or themselves, maybe?) and would like to make it more structural.

That structure is part of what made our Governor opine that if California were his horse, he’d shoot it. So, um, let’s do that here, too?
bcnqrgd on February 08 at 11:44 a.m.
How is that working for California? Duh…
Norther on February 08 at 11:59 a.m.
If it ain’t broke, don’t “fix” it. There are enough issues going on in Idaho that need some attention. This isn’t one of them. If there is one near constant in today’s Idaho politics it is this: Raise taxes, get fired. We don’t need no stinkin bill for that.
RationalUniverse on February 08 at 12:00 p.m.
Why should the minority (34%) dictate to the majority (66%)? Does not seem democratic to me.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.