As we prepare to adjourn Sine Die as we call it… things are getting silly. People are playing competing country music songs on their computers, the speaker has a baseball he’s joking about throwing to the ceiling and Bill Killen has passed out some little plastic parachuters for all of us upstairs to throw from the balcony to those below.
We laid several issues to rest today and I’m in a good mood. I’ve done my mourning for the year so today I’m amazed at where we are after all this toil.
Business personal property tax is now a small-business-focused $100,000 exemption which costs about $17 million, rather than an unlimited exemption that would help mostly big industry. This exemption looks a lot like the $50,000 exemption Democrats crafted and proposed both this year and last. We have reason to be proud.
This afternoon the state retiree benefit plan, restricting what the state will pay for health benefits was killed by the State Affairs Committee. This issue should be taken up with state employees and retirees involved in the process and more information provided so they are informed and not left in fear of what complex legislation will mean to their lives. It will be a sad day when we as a legislature choose leave state employees to the whims of private plans and rising premiums, with less healthcare security rather than more.
Of the two pieces of legislation dealing with local option sales taxes, sadly H688, the legislation which I’d hoped would be amended to give authority to local voters to fund public transportation and other needs, was killed by the senate and never revived. Fortunately, HJR4, the constitutional amendment restricting the use of local option taxes was laid to rest by the Senate this afternoon. The delay the amendment caused communities like ours here in the Treasure Valley is inexcusable. Each year more people grow frustrated waiting in traffic. They have every right to be angry with this legislative majority which did nothing but stand in the way and propose obstacles to the local authority which local people have waited far too long for.