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Idaho Transportation
Department
Office of Communications
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563

 

Board plans eastern Idaho tour, meeting

The Idaho Transportation Board will visit Teton County and the far eastern reaches of Idaho next week as part of its trip to District 6. The tour, which will take U.S. 20 to West Yellowstone and on to Victor and Driggs, coincides with the board’s July business meeting in Rigby Thursday (July 19).

After lunch with employees at the Driggs Maintenance Shed, the board members will head to Idaho Falls on various routes. Throughout the day, board members and ITD officials will visit construction sites and be briefed by staff on various projects, such as the Henry’s Lake fish passage and the Osborne and Ashton bridges.

Transportation board business meeting

Fuel tax evasion report
For a number of years, the board has provided funds to the Idaho State Tax Commission for efforts to recover unreported fuels taxes. The FY06 report will be presented to the board during its business meeting in Rigby. In the eight years from FY99 through FY06, the commission has spent $462,524 and has recovered $3.8 million in unreported fuels taxes. When the commission initially requested funding, it committed to a recovery rate of 3 to 1, but the actual experience has been 8.2 to 1.

At the request of the commission, the draft STIP includes $82,000 for FY08 to continue the fuel tax evasion efforts. Most of funds would be used for personnel to crosscheck fuel distributor reports, review import/export reports and investigate activities involving unlicensed distributors. Some of the money also would be used for auditors’ traveling expenses in conducting joint audits with other states when a compliance problem exists.

2008 legislative ideas
Although ITD staff members reviewed the majority of the legislative concepts the department anticipates submitting for the 2008 session with the board last month, it will return to review those ideas next week and ask for approval to forward the concepts to the Division of Financial Management.

Ten of the 21 concepts are from the Division of Motor Vehicles and nine others relate to funding.

In addition to the revenue proposals that were submitted last year to increase the department’s funding, a concept for public transportation funding also is being considered. To raise approximately $3 million in revenue, a portion of which would go to a dedicated public transportation fund, three options are being advanced:

The Forum on Transportation Investment identified public transportation needs in excess of $1 billion over the next 30 years.

Scenic Byways Web site
Staff will demonstrate the new web site that was established to promote Idaho’s scenic byways. Funded by a federal grant with matching funds provided by the Division of Tourism, the Web site has interactive features that guide prospective travelers to sites along Idaho’s 27 scenic, historic and back country byways.

The Division of Tourism plans to spend up to $40,000 to promote the Web site. The link to the web site is www.idahobyways.gov . Information about the new Web site also is available in the July 6 Transporter http://www.itd.idaho.gov/transporter/2007/070607_Trans/070607_ScenicWeb.html ).

Published 7-13-07