A correction: Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, actually voted "yes" on Sen. Jim Hammond's motion at the legislative task force today to delay for one year the shift of gas tax funds away from the state parks department; I thought he said "no," but it was hard to hear him. That makes the vote on Hammond's motion unanimous, rather than 7-1. To recap: Here's what the task force decided today: For BOTH parks and the Idaho State Police, it voted to delay the shift by one year, to July 1, 2011. Further, the task force declared its intent that the parks fund shift be permanently reversed, and that the ISP gas tax funds be replaced with a new dedicated funding source for ISP. Said task force Co-Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, "I wish we had a more concrete answer, but we don't."

Lawmakers on the panel said they could afford to put off the decision for a year because the Idaho Transportation Department had such significant savings on highway projects this year from bids coming in lower than expected; and also said they didn't want to get out ahead of the governor's transportation funding task force. Interestingly, the move puts off a final decision until after the 2010 election, in which every seat in the Legislature is up for election. Off-road recreation advocate Sandra Mitchell told the panel she supported the one-year delay on the parks shift. "It is a program that has worked admirably for decades," she said of the longstanding deal to send 3 percent of Idaho's gas tax proceeds to parks, to account for the gas taxes that are paid by snowmobilers, boaters and other off-road enthusiasts on gas they don't burn on highways. "We do believe that it is wise to wait - we do that reluctantly," Mitchell said. "We trust ... that you are going to do the right thing, and the right thing is to give us back our gas tax."

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