House passes $90M INL bonding measure 56-14, despite Moyle’s fervent opposition

Finally tonight, at 7:23 p.m., the House voted 56-14 in favor of SCR 105, the $90 million bonding measure for the new Cybercore Integration Center and Collaborative Computing Center in Idaho Falls associated with the Idaho National Laboratory, in cooperation with Idaho universities. After multiple representatives debated vigorously in favor of the measure, on grounds ranging from national security to economic development in eastern Idaho to higher education, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, told a story about a horse that wasn’t what it was cracked up to be, and ended by saying the bonding deal could be bad like the horse in his story, and that he thought the deal could be worse “than when you bought storage units,” referring to the state endowment. “I hope like hell that that horse isn’t what it could be, I hope it’s what they sold it to be and not a bill of goods,” Moyle declared.

Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, the bill’s floor sponsor, said, “This is about protecting our country, this is about growing our economy, and most important for me, this is about changing the paradigm in higher education to enable students to have  real-world, hands-on skills where they can actually get a good job when they graduate with their degree.” Horman noted that the bonding measure came unanimously out of both the House and Senate education committees, and won unanimous support from the Senate. “And I would ask for your support here,” she said.

The 14 “no” votes came from Reps. Barbieri, Boyle, Chaney, Dayley, Gestrin, Giddings, Harris, Hixon, Luker, Monks, Moyle, Palmer, Scott, and VanderWoude.

After that vote, the House adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday.