In an op-ed article, Idaho Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, defends his unsuccessful legislation that would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raises taxes & fees: “When considering taxes and our liberty, I think of a quote from Daniel Webster, during the famous Supreme Court case McCullough v. Maryland, stating “An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy.” I believe there is an important relationship between taxes and individual freedom: any time you raise taxes, you take a little bit of freedom away from those you are taxing. Therefore, it is important that the Legislature puts this in place to ensure that proposals which have a deep impact on our liberties are deliberative and have widespread support from our elected representatives.” More here.

DFO: I believe this bill would hamstring the already tight-fisted Legislature from reacting responsibly to growing revenue needs for education, social services, corrections, and sundry other budget items.

Question: Do you think the Republican dominated Idaho Legislature already does a good job keeping the state budget in check?

Here's a link to Betsy Russell's full story at spokesman.com on the failure today of freshman North Idaho Sen. Steve Vick's proposed constitutional amendment to require two-thirds votes not only for any tax increase, but also for any fee hike or the removal or reduction of any tax break. The measure, HJR 1, actually got a bare majority - 37-33 - but not the required two-thirds. If he's re-elected, Vick said, “I do plan on bringing it back in the future.” More Eye On Boise here.

Question: Do you consider Senate District 3 Sen. Vick to be as radical as district mates Rep. Phil Hart and Rep. Vito Barbieri?

After much discussion and debate, the House State Affairs Committee has voted to hold off on passing HJR 1, Sen. Steve Vick's measure to amend the Idaho Constitution to require a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate for any tax or fee increase; committee members want to work on amendments.  Several committee members, including Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, advocated doing away with the “net increase” wording Vick included in the measure/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Do you support a two-thirds vote requirement for the Idaho Legislature to pass bills that increase taxes?