According to Idaho legislative records, conference committees have been convened in five of the past 30 years. Most – but not all – were successful at working out differences between the House and the Senate. Here are the past ones:

2008: A conference committee agreed on a phase-out of the personal property tax, tied to a state revenue-growth trigger; though that passed, the trigger never was reached, so it didn’t take effect and was replaced by other legislation in later years.

2005: A conference committee agreed to extend the temporary 57 cent per pack cigarette tax rate through June 30 of 2007, at which point it would revert to 28 cents a pack.

2003: A conference committee agreed on the same temporary cigarette tax increase, to run from 2003 to 2005.

1998: A conference committee agreed on anti-abortion legislation

2000: A conference committee convened on various tax credits, but was unable to reach an agreement.

1987: A conference committee met on a proposal to raise Idaho’s gas tax by 3 cents a gallon, but after debating various 3-cent and 2.5-cent proposals, failed to reach any agreement.

1986: Two conference committees were convened. One agreed on a temporary, 1-cent increase in the sales tax to run for 15 months; both houses agreed on it, but late in the session, it was returned to the House Revenue & Taxation Committee and didn’t become law. Another agreed on amendments to legislation setting a $500 civil penalty for public officers who violate the law by calling for brand names in public contracts.

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