Bill would tax gas on reservations
House GOP leaders introduced a bill Monday undermining negotiations between the state’s Indian tribes and the governor’s office over gas taxes, to the dismay of advocates for cooperation with the tribes.
House Transportation Chairwoman JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, who co-sponsored the bill with all four members of House GOP leadership, said Idaho is losing out on $3.3 million a year that it could be collecting if it imposed the state gas tax on Indian reservations.
The bill would impose the state’s tax on reservation gas sales but suspend its application if a tribe reaches agreement with the governor’s office over the issue by July 1. It would rescind that decision if lawmakers the following year don’t approve the agreement.
Abortion
Lawmakers moved forward Monday with legislation requiring doctors to get permission from a girl’s parent before performing an abortion, despite concerns from opponents who say the mandate would harm girls from dysfunctional or abusive homes.
Members of the Senate State Affairs Committee approved SB 1082, which would make it a felony for a doctor to knowingly provide an abortion to a minor without a parent’s written consent or intervention by a judge.
Elk ranching
Lawmakers picked an industry-backed bill to establish licenses for elk ranches Thursday, rejecting legislation to prohibit new ranches and ban controversial “canned hunts.”
The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee voted 8-1 for Senate Bill 1074, which requires elk ranchers to pay a $200 license fee but leaves the creation of new ranch guidelines to a later process.
Democratic senators who favored restricting elk ranching slammed the bill as ineffective and “incremental.”
Vote by mail
A bill that would allow counties to hold elections entirely by mail was returned Friday to the House State Affairs Committee, which had voted 11-7 in favor earlier in the week. Some proponents saw the tactic as a precursor to killing it.
House Bill 94, pushed by Kootenai County Clerk Dan English, is supported by the secretary of state.