Court: Otter can intervene in arguments over grocery tax repeal veto

BOISE - Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s petition to intervene in the lawsuit challenging his veto of the grocery tax repeal bill was granted Friday by the Idaho Supreme Court.

That will allow Otter to make his own arguments in defense of the validity of the veto, rather than leaving that task to Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, the target of the lawsuit.

A group of state lawmakers contend that the veto came too late and should be overturned. If the governor’s veto were held to be invalid, the bill would become law – and Idaho would remove its 6 percent sales tax from groceries.

The high court’s order allows Otter to submit briefing and make arguments. The court will hear oral arguments in the case on June 15.