House approves revamped KTEC bill

The House has voted 62-7 in favor of HB 236, a revamped version of Rep. Bob Nonini’s bill to let the Kootenai Technical Education Campus, a joint project of three North Idaho school districts for vocational ed, move up its construction schedule by a year, by spending money as it comes in from a tax levy, rather than waiting until the money’s all in before building. Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the House he worked with some of the lawmakers who objected to his earlier version, to include provisions including requiring contractors who bid on the project to be informed up-front that payment could be delayed if taxes lag. In order for the project to run into trouble, Nonini told the House, each of the three districts’ property tax bases would have to drop by around 90 percent, “numbers that have never even come close to reality.” He said, “So I hope that gives you the comfort level to support this legislation.”

The seven “no” votes included House Speaker Lawerence Denney, Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star; the bill now heads to the Senate side for consideration.