With friends like this…
POSTED: Friday, April 30, 2010 at 11:08 AM PTBY: Michael Boss
Tags: C.L. "Butch" Otter, Health Care Reform, Idaho Legislature
On March 17, Governor Otter signed into law House Bill 391 - the Idaho Health Freedom Act. The bill’s somewhat Orwellian title might initially give a glimmer of hope to folks like me, whose private health insurance policy premium went up by 14 percent during the same month the bill was passed. In [...]
Tiny bill highlights Idaho aquifer plan’s big woes
POSTED: Monday, April 5, 2010 at 05:22 PM PTBY: Associated Press
Tags: Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho Legislature, Idaho Power
The Legislature’s struggle to create a small, voluntary fund to protect a southeastern Idaho aquifer underscores the state’s failure to come up with a permanent way to pay for managing the water source that is the region’s lifeblood.
This year’s bill was supposed to be simple: With a permanent funding source in dispute, lawmakers would instead [...]
House: No hearing on Idaho land sale amendments
POSTED: Monday, April 5, 2010 at 04:26 PM PTBY: Associated Press
Tags: Department of Lands, Idaho Legislature, State lands
The House won’t hold hearings on proposed amendments to Idaho’s Constitution that would have given Department of Land officials more flexibility to sell large parcels of state- or university-owned land without holding a public auction.
The decision on March 29 means the earliest the amendments could go before voters is 2012, not this November, as [...]
Urban renewal reform will have to wait till next year 
POSTED: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 11:43 AM PTBY: Simon Shifrin
Tags: Idaho Legislature, urban renewal
A House committee couldn’t come to agreement on a package of reforms to the state’s urban renewal law this session, and lawmakers said the effort would have to wait until next year.
The chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, Rep. Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, said the panel would hold on to a compromise bill patched [...]
Business sectors still down, but some positive signs appear
POSTED: Monday, March 22, 2010 at 01:43 PM PTBY: Brad Carlson
Tags: Idaho Department of Commerce, Idaho Legislature, Idaho Technology Council
The Idaho Legislature Business Caucus, a currently all-Republican initiative to receive more input from businesses informally and year-round, made its public debut March 19. Brian Dickens, administrator of the Commercial Innovation Division of the Idaho Department of Commerce, delivered a mix of good and bad news about the business climate at the same meeting.
Revenues remain [...]
Which ivory tower are you afraid of?
POSTED: Friday, March 19, 2010 at 10:44 AM PTBY: Robb Hicken
Tags: Health Care Reform, Idaho Legislature, small business
When I finally caught up with Suzanne Budge, Idaho director for the National Federation of Independent Business, it was on Fox 12’s television set for the Idaho Business Review/Better Business Bureau “Business at its Best” show.
She has been extremely difficult to get a hold of because the Legislature has been in session. It’s one of [...]
Rebate for jet parts crashes in Senate committee
POSTED: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 10:43 AM PTBY: Simon Shifrin
Tags: Idaho Department of Commerce, Idaho Legislature, jobs, sales tax, Western Aircraft
A Senate committee has scrapped a bill that would have provided out-of-state jet owners with a rebate on the sales taxes they pay on parts installed on their aircraft in Idaho, a measure that one Boise company said would have helped it expand and add jobs over the next year.
The Senate Local Government and Taxation [...]
Rep. Lake: Bring a bill to end tax exemptions
POSTED: Monday, March 15, 2010 at 06:38 AM PTBY: Associated Press
Tags: Idaho Legislature, Rep. Dennis Lake, taxes
Quit talking about repealing tax exemptions. Bring a bill to do it.
That’s the message Rep. Dennis Lake, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee chairman, sent the Senate by shelving without a hearing its measure calling for an annual review of existing sales tax exemptions.
Some Senate Republicans and the Legislature’s Democrats complain existing exemptions benefit narrow [...]
House panel agrees to full hearing for Internet sales tax measure
POSTED: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 11:16 AM PTBY: Simon Shifrin
Tags: Idaho Legislature, Streamlined Sales Tax Project
A House committee voted narrowly to consider a bill that would let Idaho officials participate in talks with two dozen other states about collecting sales taxes on Internet purchases.
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee agreed on a 10-8 vote March 10 to schedule a full hearing for a bill that would allow an Idaho State [...]
Exemption for businesses that invest $3M passes Senate panel
POSTED: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 10:42 AM PTBY: Simon Shifrin
Tags: Empire Lumber, Idaho Legislature, tax exemptions
A Senate committee voted unanimously to support a measure that would allow county commissioners anywhere in Idaho to offer property tax exemptions to businesses that invest at least $3 million in new manufacturing facilities.
The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee approved the measure on March 9.
The bill represents an expansion of a law passed by [...]
