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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Highway 95 Repair Bill Withdrawn Rep. Hilde Kellogg Still Urges Repairs For North-South Route

Rep. Hilde Kellogg admitted defeat Thursday, and withdrew a bill calling for a statewide vote on a $300 million bond issue to repair Highway 95 from Canada to Oregon.

But she urged lawmakers to continue to look at such innovative proposals for fixing Idaho’s pressing problems, and noted that Idaho desperately needs to improve its major north-south route, on which 114 people died in traffic accidents between 1990 and 1994.

“I do want to take just a moment to remember the people that have died on that highway,” Kellogg told the state House. “There were many of them that I knew.”

The legislation lost out because it came just as lawmakers were preparing to approve another plan to raise gas taxes and vehicle registration fees to fund a statewide road-improvement program. That bill, developed by a special legislative committee after extensive study and hearings over the summer, won final legislative approval this week.

The Highway 95 plan also called for statewide road improvements. That was to be accomplished by using the money Idaho normally spends on Highway 95 projects and shifting it to other state and local roads and allowing the proposed bond package to take care of the north-south route.

The plan envisioned millions of dollars being divided between the state and local jurisdictions for road maintenance and repair statewide.

The $300 million in bonds would have paid to bring Highway 95 to a standard 34-foot width, with passing lanes and guard rails wherever they’re needed. The bonds would have been paid off by a 3-cent gas tax increase and a $10 surcharge on vehicle registration, if voters approved it next fall.

“It would’ve been by a vote of the people, and that was the most beautiful thing about the bill,” Kellogg said.

John Goedde, a Coeur d’Alene insurance company owner, led the charge for the bill on behalf of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce. After hearing Goedde’s presentation, the House Transportation Committee earlier this session voted unanimously in favor of the plan.

“House Bill 785 was not a North Idaho bill, it was a bill for all of Idaho,” Rep. Donna Jones, R-Payette, told the House Thursday.

Kellogg, in her speech on the floor of the House, thanked Goedde, Jones, state Treasurer Lydia Justice Edwards and others who helped refine the proposal.

“We really need to work to find creative ways to fund the needs of Idaho, other than the property tax,” Kellogg said.

She then asked the House’s unanimous consent to return the bill to committee, killing it for the session.

, DataTimes