The Senate has voted 26-9 in favor of HB 463, the governor’s tax-cut bill, sending the measure to the governor’s desk; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com. The nine “no” votes included all six Senate Democrats, plus three Republicans: Sens. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, the Senate tax chairman; Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, the Senate’s former tax chairman; and Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, the Senate finance chair.

Keough, who didn't speak during the debate, said afterward, "I have not had one letter from my district asking me for this bill. I have had many letters asking me for consideration for the child tax credit beyond what's proposed here." Consistently, she said, for the last 22 years, she's been hearing calls from her constituents to remove Idaho's 6 percent sales tax from groceries.

"And the last few years, the biggest message of all has been they want the Legislature to live up to its constitutional mandate to thoroughly fund schools, and not rely on supplemental levies, which are misnamed." Keough said she agreed with Siddoway's comments. "We could've done better," she said.