Tax proposal for Capitol renovation shelved

BOISE – The Idaho Statehouse turns 100 next year, but Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s staff have rejected a tax increase proposal that would raise money to renovate it.

They have turned down the Idaho State Historical Society plan that would have levied a $10-per-tax-return fee on Idaho taxpayers.

The measure would raise $9 million, with two-thirds of the money going to repairs of the Capitol and the rest to a local historical group.

The Republican governor’s spokesman, Michael Journee, said other pressing needs and bad timing are conspiring against the effort.

“There are a lot of priorities out there that we’re having to take a really tough look at, and we’re talking about pretty serious, immediate issues that need to be taken care of,” Journee said, without listing them.

Original plans called for work on the statehouse to be done in time to mark the 100-year milestone. Kempthorne and lawmakers mothballed the Statehouse renovation in 2002, using more than $22 million earmarked for the project to keep the state budget from sinking deep into red ink.

Historical Society Executive Director Steve Guerber said he is disappointed.

“The longer we neglect things, the more it puts us in the hole,” Guerber said. “It seems we always have to be in the catastrophe mode before anybody responds. I don’t want to see that happen with the Statehouse.”

Under the proposal, anyone who files a state income tax form pays a $10 fee into a special fund dedicated to the construction and maintenance of state buildings.

For the time being, Guerber would like lawmakers to create a special account for historical preservation and figure out later how to fund it.

The governor’s office did give a nod to the society’s proposal to mandate a historical review of state projects. It is intended to ensure buildings with historic significance are not torn down without consulting the historical society’s experts.

That is what happened a few years ago at Idaho State School and Hospital in Nampa when aged buildings were razed to make way for a new client residence.