Untitled Document

Idaho State-of-the-State budget address
Governor C.L. 'Butch' Otter
January 8, 2007

Part II

And there is one piece of tax relief that must be addressed here and now – the tax we pay on the purchase of groceries.

I have carefully considered eliminating the sales tax on groceries. There clearly is a need to reduce the tax burden on lower-income individuals and families who must spend a disproportionate amount of their income on food. Simply eliminating the tax is an attractive idea, but the eventual $180 million budget impact would be tough to absorb.

That’s the equivalent of the combined general fund appropriations for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor, Environmental Quality, Lands, Parks and Recreation, Water Resources, Vocational Rehabilitation, Administration, Revenue and Taxation, all of the constitutional officers and the legislative and judicial branches.

I will not impose that burden on future state budgets.

However, I will be submitting legislation to increase the grocery tax credit for lower-income Idahoans to as much as $90 per person. It will be my pleasure to work closely with Chairmen Hill and Lake to accomplish that goal, and to advance other tax legislation.

The highest priority of our state budget always has been and continues to be education. Along with public safety, it is among the truly proper roles of our state government.

That’s why I’m focusing what limited ongoing revenue is available on the highest priorities for both public schools and higher education.

Our talented new State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Luna, shares my commitment to providing a public school system focused on the needs of students and responsive to the concerns of their parents.

Tom understands we must provide greater focus on ensuring our students have the math and science skills they need to compete in the global marketplace. He has some great ideas, and I know Chairmen Goedde and Nonini are ready to aggressively push ahead as well. So I’m recommending a general fund appropriation of more than $1.36 billion to advance our educational goals and meet all the statutory requirements for public education.

With that level of funding, Tom is prepared to cover the cost of a safe school study, while providing more than $5 million for classroom supplies and almost $10 million for textbooks.

For our colleges and universities, I am recommending a general fund appropriation of more than $275.6 million. That includes $12.9 million to help make salaries more competitive.

Speaking of our universities – HOW ABOUT THOSE BRONCOS!

Congratulations to President Kustra, Coach Petersen and everyone involved at Boise State for their great victory in the Fiesta Bowl.

Now the whole country knows what Idahoans have known all along: The kind of pride, determination and competitive spirit the Broncos showed against Oklahoma last week is what makes our state motto ring so true.

Around here, Esto Perpetua is more than a slogan; it’s a way of life.

Before I go any further, I want to recognize the work, achievements and contribution of an Idahoan who made a great difference in the life and culture of our state while earning a national reputation for his leadership.

Dan Harpole was executive director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Tragically, cancer claimed Dan’s life on December 29th. Idaho lost a tremendous advocate for the arts, and a man who turned the Idaho commission into a national model of a state arts agency.

Dan recently was awarded the Chairman’s Medal from the National Endowment for the Arts in recognition of his – and I quote – “nationwide service as an outstanding public leader, an inspiring public spokesman, and a tireless and devoted public servant.”
I speak for all Idahoans in expressing sorrow at his passing, and deep sympathy and condolences to his family members. With us today are Dan’s children, Hunter and Fiona, and their mother Kerri. … Thank you.

As the arts benefit the human spirit, there are few programs that state government supports with greater potential for benefiting Idaho’s economy than higher education. Educating our citizens, meeting the needs of business for trained employees, and supporting Idaho industry and our society at large through research are only a few of the ways that our colleges and universities benefit the state.

It’s an important investment in our future, so I’m recommending that higher education be among our top priorities for using the one-time money available in fiscal 2008.

Idaho has an impressive high school graduation rate, but the percentage of Idaho high school graduates who go on to college is among the nation’s lowest. One good way to help is by providing scholarships for those students who can least afford to go to college. So I am recommending that $38 million be used to create a needs-based scholarship endowment for Idaho students.

The earnings from this endowment will provide at least $2 million per year for needs-based scholarships.

Another way of increasing access to higher education is expanding community college opportunities.

The Legislature, the State Board of Education and business leaders throughout Idaho have been studying how best to meet the pressing needs of our people and our economy.

I agree with them that first and foremost we must maintain local control over our community colleges. I also agree that we already have the legal framework in place to create additional community college districts with the support of local voters.

In addition, I support providing the option of lowering the voter approval requirement for establishing community college districts from two-thirds to 60 percent – IF the vote is held in conjunction with general elections. If they choose some other date for the election, the two-thirds requirement should remain in place.

As a carrot, I am recommending $5 million in ongoing state support for establishing a new community college district.

That’s the same level of state support now going to each of our existing community colleges. And if more than one new district is created during the next year, I’ll support a supplemental appropriation in the 2008 legislative session providing the same level of support for those additional districts.

There also has been considerable discussion about how to best deal with the shortage of trained nurses. Lieutenant Governor Risch had the right idea. But rather than bonding for them, my recommendation is to provide $37 million for new buildings to house nursing education at Lewis-Clark State College and the College of Southern Idaho.

Friends, Idaho families work hard to avoid running up credit card debt. We must do the same. If we have the money, let’s pay for our responsibilities as we go rather than financing them into the future.

Another way in which higher education helps stimulate our economy is through research. I am recommending a one-time increase of $15 million for the Higher
Education Research Council for research projects that facilitate economic development. That includes research being conducted by our three universities at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, a joint venture between the universities and the Idaho National Laboratory.

Finally, Idaho’s dairy industry has experienced amazing growth. The value of Idaho dairy exports has more than doubled in the past three years alone. However, our primary education and research programs benefiting the dairy industry are in Moscow, while the heart of the industry is in the Magic Valley.

That’s why I’m recommending $10.9 million to help support a collaborative effort between the dairy industry and the University of Idaho, along with other state and federal agencies, to establish a dairy and animal research and education facility in the Magic Valley.

That lab complex will substantially improve Idaho’s ability to research and manage the health of all Idaho livestock and wildlife that hasn’t already been killed by our exploding wolf population, while consolidating programs for greater efficiency.

One of the qualities drawing the dairy industry and other businesses to Idaho is our water. Our river systems and aquifers are the lifeblood of our economy. Managing them wisely is the key to our future success. We are fortunate to have the able and seasoned leadership of Chairmen Stevenson and Schroeder in advancing that commitment to progressive management.

Soon the Idaho Supreme Court will rule on our water management practices and priorities. When it does, I urge you to join me in acting quickly and decisively to enact the necessary changes to our state rules and laws to ensure Idaho’s water is preserved, protected and put to work appropriately for the beneficial uses of our people.

Part I

Part III