Airport debt measure clears House panel

HJR 5, a constitutional amendment to allow indebtedness for public airports and air navigation facilities, cleared the House State Affairs Committee this morning with just one “no” vote, after military officials confirmed that it’d be helpful to Idaho’s bid to land an F-35 training base at Gowen Field. The amendment is one of three pending this session, in response to the Frazier decision by the Idaho Supreme Court that limited public indebtedness without a vote for “ordinary and necessary” government expenses. HJR 5 specifies that the debt must be repayable solely from airport revenues, and not from taxes; it declares airport projects, acquisitions and facilities to be “public purposes.” The measure now moves to the full House. To take effect, a constitutional amendment needs two-thirds passage in each house of the Legislature, plus a majority vote of the people at the next general election.