In brief: Estate tax ruling costs $47.6 million

OLYMPIA – A state Supreme Court ruling limiting the collection of estate taxes will cost the state nearly $50 million in the current budget.

Justices decided Thursday that Washington’s estate tax will not apply to married couples who had used a certain estate planning trust prior to 2005. State officials had argued that taxes were due once the second spouse died.

Department of Revenue spokesman Mike Gowrylow estimated that the decision will cost the state $47.6 million during the current biennium for refunds of taxes that were paid and others that won’t be collected. He estimates that the decision will cost the state $5 million per year after the first adjustments are made.

Regulators rule again against dam

BOISE – Irrigators who dream of a $27 million, 108-foot dam on southeastern Idaho’s Bear River lost an appeal aimed at allowing their project to proceed.

The Idaho Department of Water Resources announced its decision Thursday against the Twin Lakes Canal Co.

In July, the private canal company was denied a winter water right permit it needed for the dam, prompting its stockholders to ask Idaho regulators to reconsider.

But on Thursday, Water Resources administrator Gary Spackman reiterated the original findings: The proposed application would reduce the quantity of water under existing water rights, conflicting with local public interest.

An environmental group, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, opposed the dam, saying the Oneida Narrows stretch of river slated to be inundated by the hydroelectric project is home to fish species that merit protection.

Couple faces prison for housing fraud

BOISE – A former Idaho couple embroiled in their family’s scheme to buy and quickly sell homes at the height of the U.S. housing bubble has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and face up to 20 years behind bars.

Aaron Michael Hymas and his wife, Tiffany Kim Hymas, pleaded guilty on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boise.

The Hymases, who now live in Utah, acknowledged trying to defraud a lender in 2007 by misrepresenting income.

Prosecutors say the scheme involved numerous Hymas relatives and their acquaintances but collapsed with the fortunes of the imploding housing market, costing lenders tens of millions of dollars.

Nine people have been sentenced in related cases, while others await punishment, including Travis Hymas.

The 29-year-old’s sentencing hearing is next week; his wife, Season Hymas, faces trial in November.

Fish and Wildlife lifts fire restrictions

OLYMPIA – The state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday that it is lifting its emergency wildfire restrictions on land it manages, but is urging people to use caution when using those lands to avoid sparking a wildfire.

The department is following the lead of other state agencies, including the state Department of Natural Resources and the governor’s office, that also have lifted statewide burn bans in recent days, according to a press release from the state agency.

By lifting its emergency restrictions, Fish and Wildlife is allowing campers, hunters and others who visit state lands to build campfires, practice target shooting, and operate chain saws, according to the press release.