The House Revenue & Taxation Committee has voted 10-8 to kill HB 439, the grocery tax relief bill. Read my full story here. The vote came after a hearing that stretched for more than two hours in a stiflingly hot, jam-packed committee room. Fifteen people testified, with eight opposing the bill and calling for instead removing the sales tax on groceries entirely. Three backed the bill as-is, and four others favored it but wanted an amendment to let food stamp recipients get the credit; the bill excludes them.

Rev & Tax Chairman Dennis Lake said the bill’s dead now, but he’s expecting new bills – and already has received two. “To the best of my knowledge, the governor’s office will have a proposal” as well, he said. He’s not set a date yet for the panel to consider new proposals. “It won’t be in the next couple of days,” Lake said.

Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, lead sponsor of HB 439 along with 18 co-sponsors, urged the committee to support his proposal, which would have increased the current grocery tax credit from $20 to $30 for most people next year, and to $55 for families of four earning less than $25,300 a year. The credit then would have increased in subsequent years. The bill also would have eliminated the current exclusion from the grocery tax credit for low-income Idahoans who make too little to have to file income tax returns. Bayer said that change accounted for half the cost of the $23 million proposal.

Committee members made three motions. The first to be voted on, from Rep. Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, was to send the bill to the full House without recommendation. It died, 7-11, with five Democrats and six Republicans voting against, including Lake. The substitute motion, from Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, to kill the bill passed 10-8, with Lake switching sides and opposing that motion. Rep. JoAn Wood’s motion to endorse the bill and send it to the full House with a “do-pass” recommendation then wasn’t considered because Hart’s motion had passed.

Here’s the breakout of the 10-8 vote. Voting with the majority to kill the bill were Reps. Lenore Barrett, R-Challis; Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls; Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake; Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries; Hart; George Sayler, D-Coeur d’Alene; Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum; Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise; Bill Killen, D-Boise; and James Ruchti, D-Pocatello. Voting against were Reps. Gary Collins, R-Nampa; Mike Moyle, R-Star; Bob Schaefer, R-Nampa; Dell Raybould, R-Rexburg; Roberts; Wood; Scott Bedke, R-Oakley; and Lake.

Said Clark, “It was the right thing to do. If that would’ve gotten out of here, we wouldn’t see any other options whatsoever.”

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