Tight Budget Squeaking Along Spring Flooding, Weak Revenue Forecast Keeps Spending Low
Stripped of cash for pay raises and most new programs, the Republican leadership’s 1998 state budget continued working its way toward the desk of Gov. Phil Batt on Friday.
With some frustration, the Senate approved only a fractional increase in state support for higher education. And the overwhelming GOP majority in the House repelled yet another attempt to restore money for Batt’s 2 percent state worker pay hike.
“There isn’t much more we can do,” Democratic Sen. Bruce Sweeney of Lewiston acknowledged.
The House sent Batt even tighter Senate-passed versions of his already pared-down budgets for the Parks and Recreation Department, Commerce Department and the state retirement board. It also shipped to the Senate for a final vote spending plans for the Transportation Department and the public health districts.
In turn, the Senate sent to the House for final action budget bills for the Department of Water Resources, catastrophic health care costs for indigents, the Department of Education and major pieces of the Health and Welfare Department spending blueprint, along with the higher education aid package.
Leaders managed to keep most lawmakers behind their penny-pinching campaign to create a hedge against a weakening economy and spring flood damage. The effort also creates enough leeway that a major tax increase can be avoided before the 1998 election.
For the most part, the votes followed little, if any, debate as members seemed so resigned to the hold-the-line approach that they appeared tuned out.
In fact, at one point in the Senate the floor manager of part of the Health and Welfare appropriation ended his remarks with the comment that money was included for the Hells Angels and the Idaho Family Forum.
Only the senator seated next to him noticed.
The most heated exchange came with the Democratic attempt to put the money into the parks budget for the 2 percent pay raise.
“Should the state employees bear the entire burden of concern about the spring floods or the revenue projection?” asked Democratic Rep. Ken Robison of Boise, who lost the same fight a day earlier during the final meeting of the budget panel.
The attempt was rejected on a 50-18 vote Friday.
Republican Lee Gagne of Idaho Falls called it “a question of political courage. It would be easy to give the dollars. We were sent here to make the tough choices. If we don’t believe the money is there, we shouldn’t be spending it.”
The $178.6 million in general tax support for the three universities and Lewis-Clark State College was one of the few parts of the new budget that cleared the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee with more money than leaders intended.
But even at $500,000 over the leadership target, the bill was still only three-tenths of a percentage point higher than lawmakers originally approved for this school year.
“We did the best we could in a tough situation,” said Republican Sen. Evan Frasure of Pocatello, who engineered the extra cash. “But it’s certainly a bare-bones budget.”
Education Chairman Gary Schroeder of Moscow was one of just three senators voting against the budget. He said the declining share of state tax revenues going to higher education, primarily because of sky-rocketing prison expenses and escalating student fees, were unacceptable.
“The students are borrowing more and more money to stay in school,” he said, citing a 10 percent fee increase this year and authority for up to 15 percent more for next.
“We’re balancing the budget by increasing student fee.”
xxxx LEGISLATIVE ACTION Associated Press
Sent to Governor SB1245 (Finance) Allocates $24.6 million to the Department of Parks and Recreation for 1998 operations. SB1247 (Finance) Allocates $5.7 million for Public Employee Retirement System for fiscal 1998 operations. SB1248 (Finance) Allocates $23.1 million to Department of Commerce for fiscal 1998 operations. SB1113 (State Affairs) Provides for a fee for the providing of large amounts of public records. SB1118 (Local Government and Taxation) Revises procedures for required bidding for highway district expenditures. SB1090 (Transportation) Allows the use or issuance of a single license plate for Idaho old timer and Idaho classic vehicles, street rods and year of manufacture plates. SB1142 (Transportation) Provides that certain fees from special timber license plates shall be credited to Department of Lands for use in educational efforts about management and conservation of forest resources. SB1161 (Transportation) Provides that removal of off-premises outdoor advertising is prohibited without compensation. HB286 (Agricultural Affairs) Increases the membership of the Beef Council. HB130 (Transportation and Defense) Allows teenagers under 16 and currently limited to driving during daylight hours to drive from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Introduced in House HB382 (Appropriations) Allocates $2.29 million to the Idaho Educational Public Broadcasting System for 1998 operations. HB383 (Appropriations) Allocates $9.9 million to Idaho Lottery Commission for 1998 operations. HB384 (Appropriations) Allocates $3.1 million to Division of Financial Management for 1998 operations. HB385 (Appropriations) Allocates $621,400 to Human Rights Commission for 1998 operations.
Introduced in Senate SB1261 (Finance) Allocates $9.2 million for 1998 operations of the Commission on Aging. SB1262 (Finance) Allocates $500,500 for 1998 operations of the Endowment Fund Investment Board. SB1263 (Finance) Allocates $8.1 million for 1998 operations of the State Liquor Dispensary. SB1264 (Finance) Allocates $1.4 million for 1998 operations of the governor’s office. SB1265 (Finance) Allocates $6.1 million for 1998 operations of the state School for the Deaf and Blind.