Governor focuses on economy in annual address

State government, including ITD, will play a lead role in growing the economy and expanding job opportunities for its citizens during economic recovery, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter emphasized in his annual State of the State and budget address Monday.

In a concise, 35-minute address to Idaho legislators on the opening day of the 2012 session, Otter encouraged lawmakers to remain committed to individual freedom and limited government.

Idaho’s values include “our independence, our spiritual strengths, our strong belief in self-determination and our enduring love of liberty. Those values in turn are driven by faith in the broader American ideal that we as individuals have both the ability and the responsibility to make our future better than our past,” Gov. Otter said.

His vision is to see “an Idaho that is more independent, dynamic, diverse and built on a foundation of freedom, personal responsibility and public accountability. I want to see an Idaho focused not on scarcity or what we lack, but on a more prosperous and hopeful future for all of us.”

Gov. Otter also asked legislators to formally recognize retiring Idaho Transportation Board Chairman Darrell Manning and publicly thank him for many years of service to the state.

At the same time, he introduced Jerry Whitehead, the board’s District 3 representative, to succeed Gen. Manning as chairman of the transportation board. He also asked legislators to support ITD Director Brian Ness and the transportation department.

Based on encouraging economic forecasts, the governor called for backfilling some of the state’s reserve funds, setting aside $45 million for tax relief and $41 million for one-time “rewards” for “our most deserving employees, including our public school teachers.”

Gov. Otter said the rewards should be “structured in such a way that it gives management as much flexibility as possible. It also should be in the form of one-time payments, and it should be conditioned on tax revenues meeting our projections.”

The second-term governor began his address by acknowledging the services of veterans returning from the Middle East and committing to training and job development that will allow them to secure meaningful employment. He proposed a “Hire One Vet’ effort to ensure veterans have the necessary tools to resume productive lives as civilians.

See the governor’s 2012 State of the State Address and budget message.

Published 1-13-2012